Do you ever get scared when you get up close to sharks?Many visitors to my site email me questions about underwater photography and about me. To make things easier I have compiled them in no real order into this FAQ page. If your questions are unanswered, the next place to look is my projects area, and failing that just get in touch and maybe I can help.
There are 2 ways to take a camera underwater:
I use Nikon 801 cameras in Subal housings (In the North America, the Nikon 801 is known as the 8008). Nikon SB25 or SB26 strobes in a Cullimore housing, sometimes a Sea&Sea YS90 strobe and Sea&Sea YS30 supplementary strobes. Usual lenses are Sigma 14mm, Tokina 20-35mm, Nikon 28-70mm, Nikon micro 60mm and Sigma 105mm macro. My usual film is Fuji Sensia 100ASA, but I do occasionally use other film types and speeds.
In the UK try Ocean Optics. They are the UK dealer for Subal and a variety of other housings, cameras and accessories.
Do you ever get scared when you get up close to sharks?I have never been scared by sharks; excited, but not scared. I do occasionally scare myself on a difficult dive, but more for technical reasons than anything to do with the marine life.
Most sharks are more scared of us than we are of them. In most cases you have to be very lucky and spend a lot of time sneaking up on a shark to get a good photo. If you startle them they will swim off.
Just think about which pictures and photographer's web sites you do and do not like. Do they look nice? Are they well balanced? Is your attention drawn toward the subject of the picture? Are there other things in the picture that distract you? Also for web sites - do they actually work? How long do you have to wait for them to download? You can discuss your project with others in my projects area.
Many marine animals have different eye pigments to humans and see a totally different spectrum. There is some research going on in the zoology dept at Bristol University that you may be able to track down with a web search.
See the background page on my web site.
Not directly, though my father worked as a graphic designer before he retired.
The chance of capturing that “perfect” picture from my own point of view (not necessarily a picture that sells well). Pictures that have come close are the sharks at Bikini Atoll and the under ice self portrait taken in Norway.
If you have to ask the question, obviously not. I am becoming known in UK diving circles.
My work is my life, that is why I do it. If it was anything less, I would still be working in the computer industry; something that pays a lot more but means a lot less.
Bristol in the UK.
Water filters light selectively from the red end of the spectrum. Red light is mostly gone by 10m and all gone by 20m. Red & pink things tend to look either black or violet (which is at the opposite end of the spectrum). By 30m everything is a mixture of blue and green shades. Underwater photographers use a strobe (flash) to bring back colour. Many underwater scenes are a delicate balance of strobe light and natural light.
I consider both natural and flash light intensity and angles, and other composition guidelines such as the rule of thirds, diagonal lines, negative space etc. The main obstacle is that underwater there are so many other things to consider that it is easy to loose concentration on the basic principles of composition.
At what age did you start taking an interest in photography?I always played with cameras as a child, but not with any systematic purpose. As a child I always wanted to dive and was always snorkeling when at the beach. I learned to dive at 18. I played with underwater photography using basic cameras for several years on and off before getting more serious in the mid 1980s. (See my background page).
I like the pictures with the sharks at Bikini Atoll and the under ice self portrait taken in Norway.
It is impossible to give a definitive answer to this, it all depends on what mood I am in. Have a look at my top ten scenic and life dives.
The PADI underwater photography speciality course is potentially a good foundation, but is often let down by an instructor who is not really a photographer, just a diving instructor running a speciality. View some of the instructor's work and see if it is any good before signing up for the course. Inquire about published work.
You could take underwater photos as a snorkeller, or you could learn to dive. An easy introduction is to buy a book and one of the disposable single use “splash” cameras. At shallow depths in strong sunlight these can produce OK results. Read the book then take the camera snorkelling anywhere that the water is clear. The most important thing with this type of shot is to get slightly lower than the subject and aim slightly upward.
Next option is to learn to dive and then do a photo course. Your local diving shop or dive centre will also be able to provide details, but you don't have to do it all locally. It is possible to book a holiday somewhere tropical with diving lessons and the photography course included.
Only try and take pictures on dives well within your capabilities. With that in mind, to take pictures on an easy dive you don't have to be that experienced a diver. To work professionally you also have to be a diver who is very comfortable in the water and has near-perfect buoyancy control. If you have to worry at all about your diving, then you won't have time to concentrate on your photography.
I had been diving as an amateur for many years whilst working in a more conventional job (see my background page). Photography was a natural extension to this. Eventually I started selling pictures on a semi-professional basis, then decided to take a big jump and do it full time.
I travelled abroad 6 times last year, and at least once per month in the UK. It is a question of economics. In most cases a UK picture is cheaper to take and sells for just as much as a foreign picture. To justify a foreign trip there must usually be more to sell than a single magazine article.
Diver first. Photographer second.
Likes: I love diving and travelling and it gives me a chance to do them nearly all the time. Dislikes: I am nowhere near as rich as I used to be.
There are few employers of underwater photographers. Nearly all the work is self-employed. You have to develop your own business right from the start. Most underwater photographers also have other businesses, such as commercial photography, diving instructing etc. Very few make a living from underwater photography alone.
Magazine editors usually want text to go with pictures, so you need to be able to write a story. Competition is fierce. It is hard to break in to a magazine, but once an editor has published you they will give you some preferential treatment in the future.
Lots as a diver, I am a diving instructor with a number of the training agencies. None as a photographer. I learned from books, magazines, talking to other photographers and looking at pictures. I did a physics degree and then worked in the computer industry, which has nothing to do with photography.
My best advice is to take lots of pictures. Also look at pictures in books and magazines and think about why you do or don't like them. You could also join an underwater photography group such as the British Society of Underwater Photographers (BSoUP) where you will be able to get lots of advice and help from other photographers.
Plymouth University has a marine biology course that includes diving and some underwater photography in the course. Heriot Watt University also has diving options within the marine biology course and some masters courses that include diving.
I don't know of any college courses devoted solely to underwater photography, but most general photography courses include room for project work, and an underwater project is always a possibility. When it comes to getting published, editors usually want text to go with pictures, so college courses with a journalism content may also be of use. Very few underwater photographers have formal photographic training. Most start out as divers or marine biologists.
If I want to become an underwater photographer, what university courses should I take?Keep as broad a base as possible. I would suggest a marine biology degree, and a pursuit of photography and diving in your spare time. Very few marine biology courses actually include diving. Diving is usually left to student clubs, so pick a university that has a very active student diving club. In the UK, Bristol University where I studied has a good diving club (I am still an instructor there).
If you want to become a professional marine biologist you will need to go on to a doctorate in marine biology. For other underwater careers, including photography, the marine biology degree will be useful background. Having said all that, my degree was in physics.
Commercial diving can also involve underwater photography, but solely for engineering rather than artistic purposes.
As long as the site is not commercial, help yourself on condition that you credit me as the source and link back to my site. My general conditions are given on the Copyright page.
The program I am currently using for tides is WXTide, free on the web. A search for “WXTide” should find it. You should be able to use this to generate any tide table you need.
There is a photo of a clown fish in one of my galleries.