Defining the path to great Underwater Photography

It's interesting to see that negative aspects (don't harm the reef, for instance) are creeping in. What about the biggie: "it's too difficult, all my images are ****, do you want to buy a camera..."? I think that thought intrudes itself from time to time and it's the encouragement of our peers that carries us through to the good times, when we reach the next stage.

What about the biggie: "it's too difficult, all my images are ****, do you want to buy a camera..."?

LOL, I'm thinking that may be another presentation entirely.

Cheers,

Steve

Thanks again for all the help folks, I thought I'd share how the chart turned out for the presentation.

The fonts look better in the real chart but you get the idea.

Cheers,

Steve

Thanks again for all the help folks, I thought I'd share how the chart turned out for the presentation.

 

The fonts look better in the real chart but you get the idea.

 

 

Cheers,

Steve

Excellent Steve; appropriate for all photography really

I've been thinking a little more: underwater photography is pretty much natural history, human history and divers. With the honourable exception of Alex's dancing divers from a few years ago, most diver shots are in the context of wildlife and wrecks. Somewhere along the line, there ought to be space for "research": learning the habits of the sharks, nudibranchs, sea-lions and so on, learning the history of your wreck, looking at other photographers' work, going away with people who can teach and inspire and a little more time for reflection.

I've been feeling a bit stale; it was stopping to think about controlling the way a viewer approaches the image and then considering what subjects would suit the technique, that let me win a prize at the British national "splash-in", as well as getting my enthusiasm back:

Tim

Brilliant image Tim! I'm loving where you're going. Please say more about controlling the way a viewer approaches the image.

Steve

Oh, I was trying to make you start by looking at the middle, concentrating on the super-sharp focus of my macro lens, and deliberately throwing the edges right of of focus: making you look at the technically exciting bit. The image was taken through a Cokin radial blur filter, cut (with a hacksaw and considerable difficulty) to fit inside my macro port. It's a work in progress, and I have some other ideas for similar effects (at least one, the LensBaby, was a disaster in the water!).

Tim

I realize this post is old, but this is one of the best posts I've read on photography- and the technical challenges of underwater added in. This chart is spot on.

Thanks Mike, there is an amazing group of people who contribute here. I know I have a lot of fun learning from them.

Cheers,

Steve