Underwater photography is said to be the hardest form of photography there is. It requires unique equipment and technique. There are many ways to get under the water to take underwater pictures, which include snorkeling, free diving, and scuba diving. There are also tons of great places for snorkeling from the Caribbean to the Red Sea.
One of the biggest problems of underwater photography is lighting. Because light reflects off water, there is less light in the water. The deeper and farther away from your subject you go, the worse the lighting gets. Colors are lost as divers dive deeper. The first color to go is red, then orange, yellow, green, and finally blue. There is more light in the water from ten a.m. until two p.m. To obtain light in dim water, a photographer must be eight feet or less from the subject and use a flash.
Another problem is water temperature. People shoot in water as cold as 33 degrees and as hot as 85 degrees. When water temperature is cold, a wet suit is worn for warmth. The colder the water gets, the thicker the suit. In extremely cold waters, a dry suit can be worn that traps a thin layer of air in-between the suit and the photographer's body to keep him/her warm. A dry suit makes it very hard to operate a camera. Gloves can also be worn for warmth, but they too make it hard to operate the camera. Underwater current can make it very difficult to take a picture.
The current also makes it difficult to remain in the same place and can cause photographers to hit reefs or other objects in the water. Salt water from the ocean can corrode equipment, and humidity causes camera housings and masks to fog up. A person must be very much into underwater photography to truly enjoy it. (Jack and Sue Drafahl, 8-11). In 1856, the first underwater picture was taken. To do this, William Thomson used a camera mounted on a pole. The first underwater pictures while diving were taken by Louis Boutan, in 1893. In 1914, John Ernest Williamson took the first underwater video. Jean De Wouters and Jaques-Yves Coustem build the Calypsoshot camera which became the well known and best selling underwater camera, the Nokonos (Wikipedia).
Two big advancements in underwater photography in the last decade include digital cameras and at home printers. Film has been used for over 150 years. Now all types of photography are being transformed by the digital camera. Today, most photographers use digital cameras but there are some who are to comfortable with the film to switch to digital (Jack and Sue Drafahl, 6). One way to get good underwater images is to snorkel. A major advantage to snorkeling is that you are closer to the surface where there is more light. There is a lot of coral and fish that live in shallow reefs that make for vivid colorful pictures. The only equipment snorkelers use is a mask, fins, snorkel, and an underwater camera.
On the downside, snorkelers cannot always dive deep enough to get good close-ups. Because people snorkeling are so close to the surface, surface ripples are often caught in the pictures. Shallow reefs cause waves to kick up, making it hard to stay still while taking pictures. A good method for snorkelers is to shoot straight down on the reef. Some of the best places for good snorkeling photos are in the Caribbean and on barrier reefs around the world. Many of the problems of snorkeling can be eliminated by free diving. (Boyd Norton 135-136) When free diving the person will dive down without a scuba tank and hold his/her breath while taking pictures.
Free diving offers different coral and fish than photographers see when snorkeling because the photographer can dive deeper. Because there is limited bottom time, the photographer must plan his or her dive with one or more pre dives so he/she can set up the shot. When free diving it is easy to get carried away and kick a reef with a fin. This will not only injure coral, but diminish the view. Most free diving is done to depths of 15 feet. However, it is possible to dive up to 80 feet, but it is not practical. A weight belt can be wrapped around the photographer's waste.
This will allow him/her to reach the bottom faster and have more time to take the shot. The weight makes free diving less tiring and more enjoyable. Scuba diving gives a diver much more freedom and flexibility. It allows for deeper and much longer dives. However, diving takes a lot more preparation and training. First, the photographer must get certified by a certified scuba instructor. This process takes about two months with classes twice a week. Once certified, the new scuba diver must get comfortable diving before he or she takes on the challenge of underwater photography.
