Welcome to my World

I have been shooting underwater video since 1993 for my research and, in 1996, was finally able to line up the requisite finances (with which I could have almost bought a small country, it seems) to allow me to begin shooting still images with a housed SLR system.

First, the gear. If you talk to most underwater photo or video types and you'll probably start to suspect an unhealthy obsession with the tools of the trade, or hobby.

My video unit consists of a trusty Nikon VN-750 Hi-8 camcorder in an equally trusty and indestructible Amphibico housing, with an Amphibico 101S video light (that I use mainly as a focus light on my SLR housing, during night dives).

My SLR rig consists of a Nikon N-8008s in a Subal housing with two Sea and Sea YS-120 strobes. The lenses that I use underwater are the Nikon 60 mm macro, 105mm macro, 24-50 zoom, and a Sigma 14 mm ultra-wide-angle lens. Two months in Papua New Guinea resulted in me adding the 14mm lens to the mix — it seemed a crime not to take advantage of the opportunity for full-frame fisheye shots on those reefs. Even though using the 14mm lens to its fullest is more of a challenge than my limited technical competency is ready for (because my dives are made in the name of Science, I don't usually take time to play with the camera and strobes much and most of my pictures are essentially snapshots), it's already given me some nice results on a few of the photos I took with it. As is typical, this very expensive lens resulted in the purchase of an even more expensive port and gears — it's true that the best way to make a small fortune out of underwater photography is to start with a large fortune. The two macro lenses probably provide the best glass but I tend to spend a lot of time with the zoom lens on, even though it's not as élite or sharp a lens, because it provides greater flexibility and is an excellent 'hunting' lens on unfamiliar terrain or at sites where anything is possible. Unfortunately, I found that one of my YS-120 strobes was dead just a few days before leaving for my fourth trip to PNG and was forced to replace the $600-plus unit.

Strobe arms and tray components from TLC (Technical Lighting Control — since acquired by Nikon) and Ultralight hold it all together. I often use the Amphibico video light on the Subal housing, as a focus light and have rigged up a system of Ultralight components whereby I can hook video and SLR together, though the spirit hasn't yet moved me to attempt using this aluminum collosus underwater.

Underwater photography and videography — in addition to their potentially valuable utilitarian function as research tools — can add a dimension to diving that greatly enhances the experience. For example, underwater photo video types can be drawn to details that can utterly change the character of a dive, and perhaps make even the most humble dive rank right up there with the 'big dives' that we all see lauded in dive magazines. Bringing back images of the underwater world can also help foster a sense of responsibility, based on an appreciation of what is beneath the waves and the interconnections that connect processes and organisms across multiple spatial, temporal, trophic, and taxonomic scales. This appreciation of the aesthetic qualities of Nature can make the photographer a better diver and an evangelist for environmentally-friendly diving practises but it can also affect other people who see the images — the most obvious manifestation of this is in the high-quality photographic and television 'essays' brought to the general public by the professionals that we novice and intermediate lenspersons do our best to emulate.

I have put up some of the relatively few pictures that I've yet shot, and a few of the sites below offer some particularly outstanding examples of underwater photography.

Underwater photography and videography

My pictures

Pictures by others...and sources thereof

Technical information, 'how to,' and dealers