Greetings All:
I'm a new member and just thought I would drop in and introduce myself!
I'm actually not even a diver... but do have a need to buy underwater gear. So I thought I better get involved and figure out what is needed and were I should get it.
Now for the questions I've got......
Before I can ask the questions I better (try) and articulate why I need the gear and what I plan to do with it.
As part of the International Polar Year (happens every 50-years) I have been assigned as the photographer on a very large science project that will take place in the high Arctic of Canada, Alaska, Northern Russia and Norway. We will be working from a 1200 class ice breaker that has been modified to be a floating science platform.
The project will take me to the Arctic for almost a year as I collect images for a photo book that will tell the story of "Climate Change" and "Two Ways-of-Knowing".... The modern Science way and the traditional knowledge of the Native people in the circumpolar regions of our globe.
As part of my shooting we will be doing a lot of work with large mammals like Polar Bears and Whales. Also working a lot with seals, and other fun creatures.
With the above in mind, I' want to get gear that will allow me to get my camera into the water. But not very deep… I'm most interested in the ability to shoot (1/2 in 1/2 out) type shots of people and animals on the ice and the underside of ice in the lower frame.
As part of the study we will be hunting with the Inuit of the regions as they hunt for everything from Whale to Bears to Seal. Further we will be tagging over 100 bears and tracking them with GPS for just over a year.
So now back to the gear.....
My (early) thinking is the ability to trigger my camera with either a pocket wizard or long cabled remote trigger. I'm looking for a system that will allow me to use something like a mono-pole to attach the camera and slide it into the water. Direct the shot and hope for the best....
I know this might sound like hit and miss..... But I do ground (point estimating) with a D200 on a kite all the time and have actually got quit good at it.
As I see my options.... I can go with a dive housing. But they all have all these functions that I will never use as I will never be in the water with the camera.
This housing I'm assuming will need to be modified to deal with my pole and remote triggering functions. Mind you I might be wrong there.
Next I hear people talk about something called a "Splash Housing".... Will this do what I need?
Finally, what type of “light†issues should I be looking at? I cannot ever see myself with my gear deeper than 6-10 ft. So does one still need to allow for flashguns to be in housings?
I know I’m sort of writing a book with this first post…. But I wanted to try and tell people my (needs) so they could give me their best advise.
Thanks for your time
Doug
