One of my First Ever Underwater Shoots

I went to florida this august like we do every year, but the past 2 years i've tried underwater photography. Only going once a year is hard on the learning curve, so any help is appreciated. I'm 19, and have been a photographer for many years now, and I work at a local newspaper as a staff photographer while going to school for bio sciences. I'm hoping to work as a photographer for a nature oriented magazine. I'm still working on getting certified with my busy schedule, so all these photos were taken snorkeling in 10-20 feet of water.

Shot with a Nikonos V, 17mm Sea and Sea lens, SB105 flash, Velvia 50F, scanned on Minolta Dual Scan IV

Also, I was having a lot of problems with backscatter in my photos. I was talking to stephen frink's wife while down in key largo, and she was mentioning that a main cause for this is aiming the flash in front of the subject. The reason people do that is because the subject appears closer than it actual is. Is that a solid way to elimit the backscatter problem?

Let me know any techniques or critiques you have. Thanks a lot.

oh, and a fun one to finish it off (testing out the gear in the pool on a friend):

Great stuff Tyler. Backscatter is everyone's problem. Generally you want your strobes positioned so that they do not illuminate the water between your camera and your subject, only the subject and beyond. This means having the strobe(s) away from the camera to some extent and aimed a little outwarss. I strongly suggest you pick up a book like Martin Edge's Underwater Photography, where all of this and much more is explained and diagrammed.

Great stuff Tyler. Backscatter is everyone's problem. Generally you want your strobes positioned so that they do not illuminate the water between your camera and your subject, only the subject and beyond. This means having the strobe(s) away from the camera to some extent and aimed a little outwarss. I strongly suggest you pick up a book like Martin Edge's Underwater Photography, where all of this and much more is explained and diagrammed.

Some good shot,s , just keep trying, your getting the hang of it!

Welcome to the long and expensive journey of underwater photography! I think the Nikonos V is a great place to start and you can do some great stuff with it. It looks like you have a good sense of composition. Keep at it!!!