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Author |
: Mike Bartick |
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Date |
: May 28, 2009 |
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Ten years ago the decks of many dive boats were covered with an assortment of Hawaiian slings, spearguns and game bags. Divers headed out for a day of hunting and camaraderie to return with the day’s catch. Today many divers in Southern California are trading in their spearguns for cameras. Heading out to shoot photos instead of animals, a trend is well underway.
Even the newest diver can’t help but notice that beautiful purple and orange thing on the reef, otherwise known as the Spanish shawl or Flabellina iodinae. Even today, after several hundreds of photos of Spanish Shawls, I am still compelled to photograph them.
But there’s more to life then just Spanish shawls. California is home to over 110 species of nudibranchs according to nudibranch specialist and author Dave Behrens. There are even more that dwell and survive here that have been transported by ocean currents or otherwise.
The great thing about photographing them is that they don’t dart away or turn their backside to you leaving you with a less then desirable photo. Nudis are great subjects to photograph, and you don’t need much special equipment to do it. I have seen extraordinary photos taken with both point and shoot cameras and DSLR cameras.
A key piece of equipment for either is a good focus light. White colored light with a soft cast is best. This will help your cameras auto focus without turning everything orange. A flashlight is good to help locate your subjects but not recommended for modeling. A strobe is also recommended for flash, which will help with correct colors and when used correctly decrease backscatter.
But first we must find our subjects, nudibranchs. Nudibranchs love to eat sponges and hydroids. Some like the Tritonia festiva love to eat gorgonians and others can be found scooting around on the open sand.
What makes a good nudibranch photograph? That can be subjective but what I strive for is accurate colors, sharpness, behavior and definition of subject. I look for a photo that includes the rhinophores (“antennae” for the lack of a better description) and branchial plume as well. Or at least one of these two features should be sharp and in focus.
Contrast in the photo will make the colors of the nudibranch pop and a little negative space (a dark and/or out-of-focus background) is a great way to achieve that. Try shooting your subject with nothing but water behind it. This technique will create negative space behind your subject and increase the natural contrast. Try to fill your frame with the subject.
Sharpness is another story; a calm hand and easy trigger finger are essential. Relax, compose and release the shutter. Once your subject has been located, try to compose the photo in a way that the rhinophores are visible and facing towards you and not away.
Behavior on the other hand is not so much of a technical issue. Behavior is something we can research before hand or discover as we find our subjects. Things like mating, laying eggs, fighting with each other, eating hydroids are all examples of behavior. Either way behavior makes a snap shot a more compelling photograph. Technical aspects of a boring photo don’t always make it good while a behavioral photo is interesting.
Many, how-to books will tell you, get low and shoot up. By using this rule of thumb you increase the perceived size of your subject as well as defining your subject by setting it apart from the background and making it the center of attention. Shooting down over the top of a subject will increase the chances of losing your subject to the background and tend to make your subject smaller. The object here is defining your subject; make it the center of attention, the star of the show, and make those colors pop!
Imagine showing a photo of your child to someone. You hand them a photo of little Johnny sitting in a packed football stadium. Hundreds of people crowd the photo as you smile with admiration. The viewer is a bit confused as they have no idea who little Johnny is. This is the equivalent of a non defined shot. Shooting down on top of a subject will create this type of shot. You want to fill your frame with little Johnny’s smiling face, eliminate all of the background. Physically moving the camera closer to your subject is sometimes all it takes.
Eliminate the amount of water you are shooting through. Each foot will be doubled as the light travels out from the flash and then back to the cameras sensor. Water is a natural filter; remember your open water class? We lose our primary colors at depth. The strobe will add them back by providing the light. In time you will get “an eye” for what colors belong to what and the guesswork will be eliminated. There is a learning curve, so relax and have fun.
Inexpensive point and shoot cameras in housings are readily available at your local dive store. Underwater photography is a wonderful way to extend your interest in diving, create friendships and camaraderie and re-dive those great places from your vacations. Not to mention that every person in the office will begin to think you are destined for National Geographic!
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