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Reproduced
from in focus 78 (Spring
2004)
Photo
Technique - The (Ab)use of Black and White Film by Colin Doeg
Our esteemed Chairman made one of his all-too-rare appearances
this month, brandishing a series of slides which documented
his enduring fascination with monochrome underwater shots.
Quoting some of the advantages of using black and white film
beneath the waves, he listed its greater exposure latitude,
its ease of process, its inherently dramatic treatment of
subjects like shipwrecks and the joy he obviously still finds
in employing it for natural light photography.
Colin
began his talk by projecting an initial series of informative
slides containing - in fine white print on a jet black background,
of course! - the kernel of his thoughts on the power and attraction
of bringing a monochrome eye to bear on an underwater vista.
The versatility of this approach with Kodak TriX, allowing
for a wide degree of over/underexposure which might subsequently
be sorted out in the darkroom, appealed to many underwater
photographers in the days before easy access to highly-engineered
camera housings and reliable strobes. During his talk at BSoUP,
Colin showed us the basic tools of his approach to on-the-road
development - a stainless steel reel and a bottle opener ("purely
for opening film cassettes") - and spoke of the differences
between regular film and Agfa Scala slide film.
Focus
On - 'Best Shot of 2003'
The
'Focus On' section of the evening centred on the Best Shots
of 2003, and was won by Pedro Vieyra by a convincing margin
of 44 points, with Bob Allen, Jane Morgan, Ken Sullivan, Pedro
Vieyra (again) and Anthony Holley taking up 2nd, 3rd, 4th,
5th and 6th places respectively.
There
was a nice selection of wide angle and close up shots to be
seen, perhaps prompting the audience at the meeting to try
just a little harder next time they drop over the side with
a camera in tow.
Time
Exposure with Shipwrecks by Leigh Bishop
The
talk given by Leigh Bishop was eagerly awaited as always,
but this time he told us how he had subtly changed his approach
to taking photos underwater. Leigh, a full-time fireman, has
become committed to the idea of using ambient light in his
photography. Although having used a camera whilst diving since
1998, he had now come round to the idea of utilizing much
longer exposures with a wide angle lens, necessitating the
use of a tripod. He has similarly developed a real affection
for monochrome shooting, which he demonstrated with a dazzling
selection of slides from various deep-diving expeditions.
He
showed us pictures taken on dives down to the Britannic, the
Lusitania, the Transylvania, the Justitia, the Audacious,
the Empire Heritage, the Laurentic, the Wilhelm Gusthov, as
well as on shallower wrecks perhaps better known to recreational
divers such as the Dunraven. Leigh has found time to engage
with the basic problems of long-exposure photography underwater.
And when Leigh says long exposures, he ain't kidding: anything
up to and beyond 24 seconds of ten at f 22 or f 16, Fuji 400
or Agfa Scala (nominally rated at 200 ASA) pushed to 1600...
Given
that some of his shots were taken at 135m, and that his style
of diving can entail 6 hour deco stops, I doubt that many
of us will be queuing up too eagerly to join him on his photographic
adventures. Certainly not me, for whom his description of
penetrating the various decks of the Britannic brought on
a cold sweat and shallow breathing! But his talk was illuminating
in every sense, and BSoUP was fortunate that Leigh could spare
the time to show us so much of a world that more usually stays
unseen. More power to him!
Reproduced
from in focus 78 (Spring
2004)
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