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There
are not many dive sites in Britain that have lots of underwater
life, convenient parking right on the site, a dive shop and
numerous cafes plus pubs within easy reach. Add to that a
beach and safe bathing area for children and we have the perfect
location for some serious photography.
Underwater
photography is difficult at the very best of times. I try
to make things as easy as possible. The first consideration
must be subjects to photograph. Well, Swanage pier meets all
the requirements. I have seen most common forms of sea life
under its rusty stanchions and also some rarer creatures.
Visibility
The
next consideration is visibility. This, of course, is of extreme
importance and, generally, the viz is perfectly acceptable,
being around 3 to 5m.
A
phone call before a visit is always worthwhile and the staff
at the dive shop are only too pleased to nip out and have
a look over the handrails.
I
always phone and check the local inshore forecast because
any sort of easterly wind kills the viz. It can be ruined
in a few hours by a wind from this direction.
Weekends
are best avoided for photographic dives as this is one of
the most popular dive sites in Dorset and, unless you get
on the pier very early, parking is impossible.
I
find concentration a real problem with hordes of divers thrashing
about so a much more enjoyable dive can be had mid-week, where
the pace is much slower and a leisurely atmosphere prevails
and the underwater traffic is at a minimum.
I
often spend most of the day actually underwater returning
to the car only for more film, different lenses or more air.
Convenient
The
convenience of diving the same place over and over is the
familiarity with scenery and also specific subjects.
It
is also amazing how the scene can change at different times
of the day. For instance, I particularly like the evening
sun in summer around 5 p.m. It streams through under the south
side of the pier in spectacular shafts of brilliant light.
A full-frame fish-eye is the lens to use on such days. Leave
the flash in the car. You won't need it. I like to work with
available light at this time of day. I have spent many exciting
hours at the far end of the pier and observed some truly magical
moments.
Good
pictures are not usually accidents. They are the results of
hard work, planning and dedication. Very few of my pictures
are unplanned. I usually know what I want and where I will
find it. I have ideas all the time about photography and Swanage
pier allows me to put those ideas into action.
Dedication
I
would say that dedication to the job is vital. I cannot give
up. If I don't get the right results one week I know I can
go back and try again the next week.
Wide-angle,
panoramic type pictures require above average visibility of
5m plus and this can be seen only occasionally. But on such
days I will exploit the situation to its full potential and
shooting six to ten rolls in one day is not unusual.
Preference
I
prefer 100 ISO film for most wide-angle work but this year
I tried Kodak Elite 200 ISO and was very impressed with the
fine grain of this film.
When
viz is less than 5m, I concentrate on the smaller subjects.
The best and most easily photographed is the now famous tompot
blenny. Swanage must have the largest concentration of tompots
per square metre anywhere in Dorset.
These
comical fish make great subjects for macro and they can be
easily approached very close. I cannot resist taking their
picture. I have several hundred in stock but I always shoot
more just in case I get something better.
Challenge
Living
in most crevices alongside the tompot can be found prawns,
another great macro shot but more difficult to light. Their
transparent bodies are a real problem. Back lighting is one
way I've tried which works sometimes but their bodies seem
to blend in so well that it's never easy to know if you have
something worthwhile. I just end up shooting lots of pictures
and moving the flash to different positions. Night dives are
good for prawns. They can be found and approached on open
sandy patches.
Wrasse
are also very common but most make poor subjects because they
are dull in colour. However, the corkwing wrasse is a jewel
of a subject, especially good around June when it builds a
nest and can be very easily photographed while engrossed in
this ritual.
A
rarer favourite of mine is the John Dory - a photographer's
dream subject, it really gets the motordrive into action.
These
peculiar fish can be found around September. Usually they
are alone but I was fortunate once to have half a dozen to
choose from on a single dive!
They
are surely one of the strangest fish. I observed them for
several hours one day last year. I remember it was a Monday
and I was the only diver on the pier - just great.
Feeding
They
were all at the far end of the pier and most were feeding
on sand eels. They ignored me completely as their vacuum-like
mouths sucked in their prey. The mouth of these fish has to
be seen to be believed, it extends by several inches when
feeding.
These
are just some of the subjects that draw me down to this popular
place week after week. I have exposed lots of film around
the rusty old stanchions and spent many hours underwater but
good pictures don't just happen, they are directly proportional
to the effort put in. |
