lesson. For years I would curse through my
regulator (it’s surprisingly easy) at other divers
getting in my way. My buddy and I would aim to
be the first in the water or even the last, to try to
get the reef or shipwreck to ourselves.
I wanted pristine shots of reefscapes, unsullied
by other humans, long atmospheric vistas of
submerged hulls and quietly rusting deck guns.
I longed for the perfect macro shot with
undisturbed sand that wouldn’t leave me with
hours of post-processing to remove all the
backscatter.
I’d get the high-resolution RAW images, and
when I got home spent days correcting colour
balances, removing backscatter and tweaking
sharpness, only to see the picture appear at one-
16th of a page or smaller, used perhaps as part of
a series of shots surrounding something the
editor judged to be more attention-grabbing.
Photographing people brings a wealth of new
challenges. Diving buddies are often, and quite
understandably, less than interested in spending
their dives as your model. I’m lucky to have a few
friends who don’t mind taking a few minutes out
of their dive to pose for me.
A North Sea shipwreck (1)at around 35m
meant a cold, dark and deep dive. Without my
buddy, this shot would not have conveyed any
sense of scale. We can now imagine a vast wreck
stretching out behind her.
This image required lots of post-processing to
remove backscatter and tweaking in Photoshop to
adjust the colour balance and correct the colour
of the dead men’s fingers growing on the prop.A
NOTHER EXAMPLEwas taken on a famous
shipwreck in the Red Sea (2). I had agreed
with my buddy beforehand that I’d wait for him
to come past, allowing him to enjoy the dive
untroubled.
I managed to balance the exposure using the
output from my strobes as well as a fairly wide
aperture to retain some blue in the background.
Waiting for the diver to pass in front of the dark
superstructure aids the image.
Having a buddy you know and trust who iswilling to be your model is wonderful, but when
travelling alone as I often do you could end up
diving with a stranger who won’t take kindly to
being bossed around. I had a great relationship
with this videographer (3), whose lights provided
an extra focal point in the image.
By far the best solution is to cosy up to the
dive-guide, who is almost duty-bound to do as
you ask, within reason! Guides can vary in their
usefulness; they often now have cameras of their
own, so you can form a nice partnership, pointing
out subjects and posing as you go.
But I’ve met some who are very reluctant to be
photographed even when I stress how a good
series of images could benefit their organisation.
Have some shots in print or on your phone to
show a willing guide what you want, and perhaps
discuss a series of hand signals to ease the process
for both of you.
The best images usually come about with the
full assistance of a dive-team or organisation as
opposed to tagging along with a group of holiday-
makers. Professional photographers love to be☛divErNEt.com
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BIG ANIMAL DIVER
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