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BSoUP Beginners Portfolio Competition 2007
For the DIVER Trophy
Winner - Anna James
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Beginners Portfolio Competition 2007 - Winner
© Anna James
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My portfolio by Anna James
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I’m 28 years old. I come from Bristol
but have been living and working in Cardiff, South Wales for 3
years.
I have a degree in Film and Video production
and work as a Freelance Focus Puller (Camera Assistant) for
various television dramas including BBC’s ‘Doctor
Who’ and ‘Torchwood’ and currently I am
working for S4C on a Welsh language drama called ‘Y
Pris’ or ‘Cockle farmer’.
I have been taking photographs all my life.
As a child my Dad; Alan James used to show me photographs of
sharks, turtles etc. that he had taken with his favourite new
toy – an underwater camera.
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I got the opportunity to learn to dive in
British waters when I was 18. Since qualifying I have never dived
without a camera. My father lent me various camera systems over the
years and gave me my first film camera and housing, a Nikon F50
– which I still use for some of my work today.
Since then I have bought a Nikon D70 with Sea
and Sea housing and also a compact Sony W7 camera. I used the compact
camera to back pack around South East Asia last year and currently
use it as a back up camera. I am planning to upgrade to a Nikon D300
in the new year.
I have been a member of the Bristol
Underwater Photography Group for a couple of years. Attending the
group has really encouraged me to develop my skills and try new
techniques.
In addition to photographing fish, I also
shoot underwater baby portraits for a company that provides baby
swimming lessons. It is a great challenge and the rewards of catching
the baby at just the right moment are second to none.
http://www.waterbabies.co.uk/
My current aim is to get back into UK diving.
I would like to explore the local waters of West Wales. It seems a
shame to travel so far around the world when I haven’t yet
explored what is available locally on my doorstep.
To structure my portfolio I was looking for
striking images, with lots of contrast, light and colour. I tried to
select images that would complement each other by matching and
mirroring composition, colour, and subjects together.
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1/ Seahorse
Location: Nuweiba, Red Sea
Settings: Iso 200 1/125 shutter, F29, 60mm
Camera: Nikon D70, Sea and Sea Housing, 2 x YS90 Strobes
When I spotted this sea horse I was
pleasantly surprised as it was really well camouflaged in sea grass.
I knew if I took my eyes off him I wouldn’t be able to find him
again.
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2/ Diver in Yoga pose
Location: Shark Observatory, Sharm El Sheikh, Red Sea.
Settings: Iso 200 1/125 shutter, F20, 10.5mm
Camera: Nikon D70, Sea and Sea Housing, 2 x YS90 Strobes
I was swimming towards the entrance of a cave
and could see that there were already quite a few divers in there. I
wanted to take some cave shots with nice clear non stirred up water
so I hung back. In doing so I realized the view directly above me was
very interesting. As divers approach the cave I photographed them
looking straight up towards the sun. One Diver, Mike Green started to
do some Yoga style poses for me. I shifted myself so that he was
directly in front of the sun and was really please with the impact of
the shot created.
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3/ Pigmy Seahorse
Location: Mabul, Borneo.
Settings: Iso 200 1/125 shutter, F22, 60mm
Camera: Nikon D70, Sea and Sea Housing, 2 x YS90 Strobes
I love pigmy seahorses, but they are very
small, shy and tricky subjects. After many attempts I finally got the
shot.
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4/ Red Soft Corals on Yolanda Wreck
Location: Yolanda Ship Wreck, Sharm El Sheikh
Settings: Iso 200 1/125 shutter, F22, 10.5mm
Camera: Nikon D70, Sea and Sea Housing, 2 x YS90 Strobes
This dive was very busy, so while all the
other divers were looking at a nearby turtle I took advantage of the
empty spaces and worked with the interesting shapes provided by the
remains of the shipwreck covered in beautiful red and orange soft
corals.
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5/ Self Portrait
Location: Gilli Isles, Indonesia
Settings: Iso 100, 1/125 shutter, F5.6
Camera: Sony W7 Compact, Sea and Sea Housing, single YS90
Strobe
Often on safety stops I photograph other
divers, in this case I experimented with myself
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6/ Jackson Reef
Location: Jackson Reef, Tiran, Sharm El
Sheikh.
Settings: Iso 200, 1/250, F22, 10.5mm
I wanted to create a shot that looked like it
was being lit only by the sunlight. This I have achieved by placing
my strobe so that no light falls onto the underside of the
coral.
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BSoUP Beginners
Portfolio Competition
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