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New gallery album
Posted by Jason on April 20th, 2008
I’ve just added an album of photographs that I took on my recent trip to the Caribbean. It was the first time I was using my camera in the sea, so any comments or tips would be greatly appreciated.
The album is a bit short on pictures of fish (the blasted things kept moving) but fans of sponges and coral should be in seventh heaven.
You can see the pictures here.
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For a first outing, these are really very good. You’ve remembered to shoot across or up, rather than down, most of the time, and the composition is generally good - which is at least half the battle!
Neil.
Reply to NeilThey’re great Jason! I’m sure we’ve discussed before that it’s as much about knowing what won’t work - eg. moving fish don’t if your camera has got any sort of shutter lag - and concentrating on what does. I notice you’re shooting on program; have you had your day with Maria Munn/Ocean Visions yet? (I feel sure she’ll recommend using manual settings - if you can keep the ISO down to 100 you’ll get better resolution.)
Martin Edge is talking next Saturday (26 April) at Ocean Optics‘ new showroom/facilities. Check it out on their website (www.oceanoptics.co.uk); amongst other things the talk is about his technique of how to approach u/w photography. I’ll be there.
Reply to Alan LarsenThanks for your kind comments and advice, Neil and Alan.
Reply to JasonAnd, yes, I have been on the Maria Munn course; without it, I’m sure I would have just been using the camera’s underwater or automatic modes. She did cover exposure settings - I’ll admit that I found it the most daunting part of the course.
I spent most of my dives (and snorkeling excursions) fiddling about with my exposure compensation, white balances and ISOs. I had every intention of experimenting with exposure settings (on my camera I can choose either aperture priority or shutter priority; I can’t go entirely manual) but, when push came to shove, I got a bit confused about what I was meant to be doing and reverted to program mode.
I’ve been studying Martin Edge’s book and will have another crack of the whip in Cocos. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that there’ll be a photographer onboard to field my stupid questions - any volunteers?
As for next Saturday, the programme looks fantastic and I’d love to come. I’ll need to call Ocean Optics and check the times though, I’m working in the evening and suspect that I won’t be able to make it back for the 5:00 start of my shift.
I am definitely keen to come along to any future photography lectures.
lovely pictures - i wish mine were this good! thank you
Reply to srmuntsally
Thanks, Sally. They are much better than I was expecting.
Reply to JasonI can highly recommend Maria Munn’s one day Underwater Photography Intro, if you’re ever considering doing a course. I learnt much more than I could have by just reading my camera manual and she kept everything simple enough to suit a complete beginner (like myself).
You can find more info on her site: http://www.oceanvisions.co.uk/courses.htm
Hi Jason,
I simply can’t believe that was the first time you’d taken a camera underwater….. they are fantastic !
I’ve been taking photo’s since January and was getting disheartened for a couple of months. I then met a semi pro, who spent 30 mins with me and I was astounded by the results thereafter… nothing like a bit of pro advice, and for point and shoot, Maria is also really good.
There is a lot of opinion of what is a good photo and what is not, but there are some basics. My friend taught me to take horizontal or upwards, never down, get one eye of a subject, 2 is better, get some action from the critter such as mouth open, mating or feeding, think about contrasting colours and lastly composition.
Good luck
Reply to PaulThanks for the kind comments, Paul. And, yes, I absolutely agree with you: there is nothing like a bit of pro advice! I would highly recommend going on a photographic course to anyone who wants to get better results from their camera.
I’m actually just back from a diving holiday (my camera’s second) and will be putting some new pics in the gallery soon. I’m very happy with some of the shots, although the conditions were a little more challenging (deeper dives and lower light levels, primarily). I was also hoping to get my head around the aperture and shutter priority modes on my camera - in the event, I found it a little too confusing and all of my favourite shots were taken using only the white balance, EV, macro and ISO variables.
Perhaps it’s time I went for another course… a photography-dedicated liveaboard, perhaps? Now, where did I put my credit card….
Good luck with you pics too. Have you put any in the gallery yet? It would be good to see them.
Reply to JasonJason