How to deal with hazy water?

I was trying for some photos of sea lions this weekend and while viz was probably close to 30ft, it was a hazy 30ft. I was close to the surface so I was trying for several shots without strobes, but all the shots I took picked up the haze, while a friend got some much better, clearer results. This isn't the first time, but I haven't gotten the trick down to dealing with conditions like this, either with or without strobes. What's the best way to deal with these conditions? I'm using an Olympus E-M1.

Can you please post a few samples of what you ended up getting? Also, let us know the settings of each shot.

Thanks

I think these are the best examples of what I'm talking about. I shot these with A, f4 ISO 800, 1/400

If the visibility is only 30' you probably do not want to shoot through more than about 3' of water. Was your friend using a fisheye lens and shooting much closer to the subject? Filtering (to get rid of the green) may help a little but still there are a lot of particles visible (last shot in your post) even at the low resolution needed for the web. I have similar particle issues shooting in streams.

I think he was shooting with a wider angle lens than I was, but not a fish eye. He hasn't put his photos online yet to compare results. but we were shooting at similar distances. He definitely has more experience than I do, and I'm still trying to figure out how to capture certain subjects.

How many of your buddy's shots were back lit vs. front lit? Back lighting makes the backscatter worse. One option is to do macro photography. I remember back in the film days when the vis was only 5' (often in Alaska) - this was when the 1:1 framers came out to use with a Nikonos!

Macro isn't much of an issue. I shoot those all the time. I'm trying to get the hang of more wide, dynamic shots.

What lens were you using and at what focal length? Are these pics cropped?

In dirty water one needs to get very close to the subject to cut down on the haziness.

I was using the 12-50mm, and they're not cropped. I'm just trying to see how people have been able to get better results in these types of conditions. What would be some good settings to try, strobe positions if using them, etc.

I would go to f5.6, that will help a little.

The key thing why you are getting "haze" in this sort of a shot is what Tom mentions, shooting toward the light. If you are in the shallows like this and using natural light you need to get the sun behind you, it will help illuminate the sealions and bring out the colour. Shooting at a downward angle in these situations also works, similar to your third shot.

Also, don't be afraid to try strobe, these guys are getting close enough to you for that, just bring the strobes out really wide and point them parallel with the lens and keep the front of the strobes behind the front of the housing. with strobes an fstop of 5.6 - 11 is good for subjects such as these that will be 2-4 feet away from you