The Beauty of the Dive

Scuba diver. Found at Plongée sous-marine & obt'd Image:Plongeur bouteilles.jpg id'd there as (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Thanks Natalie---this about sums it up!!!

Diving on a shipwreck, I look up while inside a cabin and see a pool of air from my exhaled bubbles. The pool shimmers, mirror-like, and for a moment I see my own image gazing back at me. I make a face at my reflection and breathe out. The exhaled air hits a different part of the ceiling. Large bubbles burst into a thousand tiny particles upon impact, and then slither like quicksilver up to the larger pool. Magic!

I am obsessed with scuba diving. How do I love diving? Let me count the ways:

1. I love the descent. The moment I deflate my buoyancy compensator and slip below the surface, the physics of my environment changes. I am in free fall. I am in control. I love to stretch my arms out and swoop down to the reef like a bird. When I am not with students, I descend as fast as I can equalize my ears. The speed of the water rushing past me gives me a high. I come to a perfectly controlled arrest, stopping a few feet above the reef in an effortless hover. It's like sky diving, but without the possible splat.

2. I love the surface. A good portion of my dive is spent looking up. The surface roils like some foreign atmosphere above my head. I like seeing waves upside down - little bubbles of air are trapped below the surface and sparkle in the light. On a clear day, I can see clouds, birds, and the diffused yellow circle of the sun. Looking at the surface keeps me aware of the vastness and power of the ocean. It makes me feel insignificant and secure at the same time. I am a miniscule being tucked comfortably beneath a blanket of water.

3. I love the silence. The terrestrial world is cacophonous. Until I get underwater I have to endure the rattle of the boat engines and the static-y white noise of the wind on my ears. Below the surface the upstairs world fades away. With the exception of the rush of my bubbles and an occasional crunch as a parrotfish takes a bite of coral, the environment is completely silent. I am only forty feet below the everyday world, but I might as well be light years away. For a short period of time, I am alone with my thoughts and at peace.

4. I love the sunlight on sand. On a bright day with clear water, rays of light shine all the way to the ocean floor. I am hypnotized by the playful antics of light beams on white sand. During their journey through the water, the rays break into little squirming rainbows which remind me of a psychedelic screen saver. I have spent whole dives ignoring turtles to staring intently at these dancing, shining bits of wonderful.

5. I love the sense of adventure. Even if I am swimming over a reef that I have visited a thousand times, I still have the sense that I am sneaking around a new and almost forbidden place. I could peek around a coral head and find a shark or unexpected seahorse. Every dive is different and I always feel a little bit like Jacques Cousteau underwater.

6. I love divers. Scuba diving makes me feel like I am part of a special, exclusive club. My friend Denise McDonald explained it well, "We all have our own secret language, hand signs and meeting places." Scuba divers share an admiration of the underwater world that few non-divers can understand. I have a sense of belonging - similar to being part of a secret society or a community of like-minded individuals.

Thanks to Natalie Gibb:::About.com

Kathy Dowsett

www.kirkscubagear.com

Better Underwater Photos From Your Compact Digital Camera

Image via Wikipedia

Digital cameras are everywhere these days, especially those compact varieties that fit in your pocket or purse. You can take it everywhere - and with an underwater housing, now you can take it underwater too! However, you may have come home from a recent dive trip disappointed in the overwhelming blue hue saturating your photos. The goal here is to provide a few tips and techniques - in plain English - to help you get some satisfying shots.

1. You've got to use the right tool for the job. That compact digital might take awesome high-resolution photos on land, but the underwater environment throws in a few additional challenges that we need to deal with in order to get a good shot. Compact cameras are usually more suited to macro shots and fish close-ups. To capture that wide-angle reef scene in any color other than blue, you need a wide angle lens and probably an external strobe. Going after shots suited to the equipment you are using will yield more successful results making you a happier diver.

2. Slow down. It is extremely difficult to find a subject, avoid scaring it away, compose your shot, and take the picture when you are swimming a million miles an hour around the reef. Especially when shooting macro, focus on one or two coral heads and find those cleaner shrimp, arrow crabs, and nudibranchs. Close-ups of fish eyes or faces make for interesting abstract shots too. Take several pictures of the same subject and pay attention to composition.

3. Built-in flashes are evil. Do you have a bunch of backscatter in your shots ruining that otherwise perfect picture? The culprit is that built-in flash. On compact digital cameras the flash is located so close to the lens that it illuminates any particles that are in the water, and then your camera records all that backscatter at 10+ megapixels! How do you avoid this? There are a couple of options. You can either stay shallow and shoot with ambient light (no flash) and a color correcting filter, or you can get an external strobe and angle it at about 45 degrees above and to the side of your subject so those particles in the water are illuminated from the side, not the front. You may need to do a little creative engineering to sync your strobe to your camera. You will also need to cover or deflect the built-in flash so it does not affect your shot. If your housing does not come with an attachment to cover or deflect the built-in flash, duct tape also works great for this purpose.

4. Get close. You think you're close to your subject? You probably need to be closer. Three feet or less is ideal. Why? You need to be close because water absorbs light. You already know this from your regular diving - as you descend through the water column, the water absorbs the reds and oranges from the ambient light, and you are left with cooler colors, such as blue. Well, the same principle applies horizontally through the water. The light from your strobe has to travel to the subject, illuminate it, and then travel back to your camera lens. If you are more than a few feet away from your subject, the light is simply absorbed, and that strobe is just as good as dragging dead weight around. Also keep in mind the effect of refraction. Water makes an object appear 33% larger and 25% closer (4:3 ratio), so what appears to be three feet away is actually four feet away. Unfortunately strobes don't care about refraction, so you have to get a little closer than you think in order to properly illuminate your subject.

5. Think about composition. Fish tails do not make for interesting photos, even if it is the tail of the rarest fish on Earth. Shoot at upward angles, rather than looking down on your subject...and stop chasing those fish! Follow the Rule of Thirds for visually pleasing photographs.

6. Stay off the bottom! Buoyancy is key in diving, especially when taking underwater photos. By maintaining neutral buoyancy, you will avoid stirring up sand or silt in the water column, thereby keeping the water as clear as possible and helping to minimize backscatter issues. You also won't be labeled as "one of those" photographers who plants themselves on the reef, damaging coral and disturbing reef creatures, while trying to get the perfect shot. No photograph is worth damaging our beautiful and fragile reefs and wrecks.

I hope these tips help. These are just some of the practices I have followed over ten years of underwater photography. I've used both compact digital cameras and digital SLRs, and have gotten very nice results with both. Remember, the only way to get good at underwater photography is to take underwater photographs. And take lots of them! Practice taking photos on land. Get to know the features, functions, (and limitations) of your camera, and you will find that underwater photography can be extremely rewarding!



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6753325

Kathy Dowsett

www.kirkscubagar.com

10 Tips for Great Underwater Photos

Image via Wikipedia

1. As with anything in the water it is best to best to be calm and relaxed and move slowly. Taking photos while in the water either diving or snorkeling takes a little practice and is better if you work with the elements rather then against them.

2. Try to time the taking of the photos with the movement of the water, wind and other environmental variables. Again do not fight them but relax move in harmony with the elements.

3.Whether snorkeling or diving work on your stability in the water that means your buoyancy and how you are able to balance and relax in the water. It will take some practice to be able to become stationary, but well worth the effort.

4. Start taking pictures of fixed objects first such as reefs, underwater structures, corals, etc first. This will help your stability above and give you confidence to be able to frame your picture later. Keep your distance steady, slowly adjust the camera. Making adjustments quickly and constantly will make for erractive and out of focus pictures.

5. Hire a digital camera, this way you can take as many pictures as you want without running out of film. It is best to hire a small compact digital camera without strobes until you get your buoyancy correct. Heavier cameras make it difficult to hold a steady shot for the beginner.

6. Let your dive instructor or guide know that you want to practice taking photos; this will allow them to pick something that will photograph well and also plan the dive appropriately so you have all the time you need to get confident.

7. Ask questions of your tour staff, they will be more then happy to show pointers and evaluate how to improve your photos if you ask.

8. Avoid crowds, dodging other divers and snorkelers will frustrate you as well as take away your focus from your job at hand. Stay with a friend and pay attention to each other to make sure you are in contact, it is very easy to get separated while taking photos.

9. Have fun and try to photograph subject matter you are interested in, this will make the process a lot more enjoyable and you’ll be surprised how quickly you improve if there is a little passion behind your photos.

10. Once you are confident and taking some good photos of corals have a go at the fish or turtles. If the fish or moving animals move away from you do not chase them. No matter how good a swimmer you think you are they are better. Relax and move on to the next object, if you are calm and relaxed they may even circle back giving you another opportunity for that perfect photo.

As you can see to start taking good photos you have to be relaxed and most of all enjoy the experience. After a short time you’ll be taking some great photos that you’ll be proud to show your friends, colleagues and relatives for years to come.

Thanks to New Horizon


Kathy Dowsett

www.kirkscubagear.com

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