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Wide
angle proves a little trickier. Your subject will need more
light and there will be more water between you, thus the potential
for backscatter. Be mindful of you strobe positioning, use
either the horizontal or vertical positions and avoid diagonals
across the port - your image is likely to burn out in those
corners. Accept that generally, the greater the distance between
your lens and the strobes, the better and employ that second
strobe on occasion to ensure your intended image is covered.
Fit spotting torches to aim your light. It'll safeguard your
strobe coverage.
When
shooting with a fish eye, two strobes is (in absolute must
for the angle of coverage. Never use TTL, there's just too
much to affect the readings. Remember the strobe positioning
and experiment with TTL and full power, and bracket the aperture.
Consider your background and mix your strobe light with ambient
- try prolonged shutter speeds of 1/30th, 1/15th or even 1/8
th second.
The
subject of light is anything but lucid. Quite the contrary!
Consider the basics, explore the variables and you'll begin
to appreciate the complexity of this vast topic. Its value
to the underwater photographer should not be underestimated.
Understand it and your work will reflect your learning. 'A
photographer should be able to do with his camera and light
as he chooses' Kurt will tell you. He will urge you to experiment
and explore every possibility to 'paint with light'. Your
images should reflect a sense of adventure, danger and exploration
but there is also room for creativity. Experiment further
with models using your slave strobe as a torch. Carefully
position the slave strobe to light something of interest and
make good use of it in difficult environments like caves when
trying to light a number of divers. Consider your tungsten
torches as a second light source in your creative shots but
keep an element of realism in them - they have to be believable.
The
options for success with fighting are many. Have your image
in mind and consider your alternatives but in doing so 'read
the light and use every bit available!'
Focus
On: Best of British Portfolio
The
Best of British Portfolio attracted 15 entries for consideration
and once again it has to be pointed out that the definition
of 'Portfolio' (unless a 'theme' portfolio ('samples of an
artists work') means you should be showing a balanced set
of images that illustrate your ability in a number of photographic
techniques, not all wide angle or macro! That said what images
were shown adequately depicted the beauty of UK diving in
a generally acceptable proficiency. Sue Heaps and Lesley
Maw shared 6" place with 24 points each. 5th place
with 38 points went to Pedro Vieyra. Pat Morrissey
grabbed 4 th place with 45 points. In 3rd place with 49 points
- Bob Allen - with an admirable selection of nudibranch,
jellyfish, sea urchin, tompot blenny, common octopus and sun
star. Stealing ahead with 54 points - Bill Hewitt -
with his perfectly balanced portfolio of seal over kelp, jellyfish,
john dory, red gurnard, diver and skate and seal close up.
But out on her own with 85 points the Cuttlefish Trophy and
a generous cheque from biver for f100 - Anita Marshall
- and her brilliant display of diver swimming over submarine,
propeller of submarine, cockpit, wrasse, nudibranch and hermit
crab. Full
results and images
British
diving at it's best. Congratulations!
Main
Event: Diver behaviour and the environment by Kurt
Amsler
One
of Kurt's overriding passions is the protection and preservation
of the marine environment and this was the subject of the
2 nd half of his presentation. His mission is not just to
share the blue-washed beauty of the watery world we are privileged
to enter, but he also strives to promote awareness of the
problems and not hide the truth when things are not so wonderful.
Several
factors destructively affect the marine environment ranging
from light damage to complete devastation e.g. global worming,
the El Nino weather pattern and subsequent coral bleaching.
Much coral has been damaged/killed from the Maldives to Mauritius
and Madagascar, the Red Sea and the Caribbean. The beautiful
split image shots of a healthy, colourful reef underwater
and an idyllic, sun kissed island above simply cannot be achieved
any more in the Maldives.
Another
tragic and avoidable factor is man-made debris, thoughtlessly
abandoned to the oceans whether from boats or the beach. For
example, plastic bogs closely resemble jellyfish underwater,
and jellyfish are staple food for turtles. Many precious turtles
along with numerous other marine inhabitants are harmed or
killed by plastic bags and general litter.
Many
of the worlds most stunning marine habitats are also beautiful
holiday destinations and very few places are now untouched
by resort development. Originally, the coral itself was used
to construct buildings in the Maldives and Seychelles, destroying
ancient reefs and many habitats. Thankfully, due to more awareness
and education, this has now been stopped, but development
can sometimes be uncontrolled and inherently damaging to the
very environment it is seeking to exploit.
In
the northern Red Sea, 200 dive boats head out of Sharm harbour
every single day, although many efforts have recently been
taken to limit negative effects. Much damage has been done
in the past by carelessly thrown anchors, badly controlled
divers and indiscriminate fish feeding. However, there are
now more drift dives undertaken so less moorings required,
there are permanent mooring buoys strategically placed and
a much greater awareness of the dangers of random feeding.
Compared
with some issues, divers themselves pose a relatively small
threat to the health of the environment, but the problem still
does exist. People can be seen standing or lying on the reef,
or carelessly kicking, oblivious to the trail of destruction
in their wake. However, on a more positive note divers, operators,
guides and dive centres are all now much more aware of the
problems and are much quicker and more willing to try and
prevent bad behaviour!
Photographers
need to be acutely aware of their potential affect on the
environment. Camera equipment should be weightless and balanced,
gear too heavy or too light can lead to loss of control, For
macro photography, shooting down is never good as it is easy
to become disorientated and collisions can occur. Better by
for is to hold oneself horizontal, if necessary by placing
one finger on a piece of dead coral for steadiness, particularly
in a current. To move to the next site, leave by pushing against
dead rock or inhaling a breath and going out upwards/backwards,
making sure to look down and all around. This prevents general
or fin damage and stirring up sand. Wide angle photographers
should first check buoyancy, then set the camera and aim strobes
etc. before getting close to the reef.
Photographers can help educate by avoiding pictures showing
models appearing to be in the middle of a reef with perspective
implying physical contact. If a photographer can convince
a dive guide on the 1' dive that they are skilful, careful
and responsible to the environment the guide will be more
relaxed and also much more helpful. There is nothing like
local knowledge for locating those rare, elusive animals you
are longing to capture in your camera.
Greater,
more destructive problems are more difficult to control. Astoundingly,
1 million sharks are killed in the ocean every year - one
every 30 seconds, 365 days of the year. 80% of these are to
provide shark fin soup to the Asian market. Sharks are the
most important animals in the ocean as they are at the top
of the food chain and theim destruction adversely affects
the entire chain, right down to zooplankton. Shark fins are
big business, for example in Columbia the harvesting of shark
fins for export to Hong Kong is linked with the drug maf ia
and Kurt needed bodyguards at the hotel he was staying in.
Turtles are also under threat, for example in Indonesia where
they are still killed for souvenirs etc., or where their habitats
are destroyed to develop resorts, but looking up, there is
much greater awareness now and many significant campaigns
to save these graceful and breathtaking creatures. Kurt is
himself actively involved as Project Manager in the 505 Sea
Turtle Bali Campaign in association with PAbI Project Aware.
Dolphinariums
are also now thankfully banned in many places. All dolphins
in dolphinariums are wild, none are born in captivity and
they ore taken from their habitat at such a young age it is
like taking a child from it's parents at 3 years old. Experience
has been gained medically and their lives can be artificially
extended but they do not live well, they are often clearly
unhappy, and they die early. Happily, England was the I` country
in the world to ban dolphinariums, the last one being in Brighton.
Kurt sums up his philosophy with this quote: "I want
my pictures to show people who do not dive themselves what
wonders are concealed under the water's surface. Also, lead
them to respect those wonders and to act, if action is required,
to protect and preserve the sea and its inhabitants"
Reproduced
from in focus 77 (September
2003)
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