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BSoUP's Open Portfolio Competition 2003

Winner - Charles Hood

by Charles Hood

Colin Doeg (right) presents the Open Portfolio Trophy to Charles Hood [Photo: Pete Ladell]

Born in 1960 I got the underwater photography bug in the mid seventies while living and diving in the Middle East. I started using a 110 film Minolta Weathermatic camera borrowed from my mother. I then progressed to a Kodak Instamatic 126 in a home made housing. I think it was only totally waterproof on one dive. When I returned to the UK in 1979 I finally got qualified with the BSAC at London University. While working at the Diving shop Ocean Leisure & Ocean Optics in London I bought a second hand Nikonos III and joined BSoUP.

Much of the eighties saw me leading expeditions to far flung places of the world.

I fondly remember well diving Sipadan when the maximum the whole Island could take was a mere 12 divers. I then went on to lead expeditions to the Southern Red Sea (this was when Hurghada had two diver operators), Galapagos, Maldives, and California.

The last fifteen years I have concentrated more on underwater photography winning several domestic and international competitions. The most recent of which before this competition was DIVE magazine underwater photographer of the year 2001. Today I work for DIVE magazine and as a freelance journalist and underwater photographer. I have also just published my first book - 100 Best Dives in Cornwall.

Two years ago I switched from film to digital first buying a Nikon Coolpix 5000 in a Subal housing and then a Nikon D100 in a Sea & Sea housing. As a photojournalist digital is by far the best medium for underwater photography. You get instant results. Furthermore the exposure latitude is at least 3 stops. I normally work in manual exposure mode so having this range takes the risk out of not getting the shot. Technically I am self taught, apart maybe from Peter Rowlands' golden rule - f8 at 1/60th second! I have an affinity for taking images not found in the text books. I even sometimes deliberately straighten diagonal shots and usually break the rule of thirds. This often results in getting an image no one else has. This doesn't always work. I got laughed at, at one BSoUP meeting when I showed an image of me feeding a fish which included my finger and the bait in the frame. But the next month I was astounded when Mike Valentine praised me for a shot of a shrimp sitting on my strobe. If I have one message for anyone taking underwater pictures, break the rules, think for yourself and constantly experiment.

I currently live in Wimbledon with my warm-water diving wife Sandra, pool-diving 8yr old daughter Samantha and aspiring camera technician 6yr old son William.

No 1. Mako Shark - St. John's reef in the southern Red Sea. This was a pregnant 3m female who we found illegally caught on a line. We cut her free and tried to revive her but unfortunately she died. Nikon F100, 16mm full frame fish-eye, twin YS 60 strobes, manual mode f22 1/15s Fuji Provia.

No 2. Diver with red sea urchin. Sandra my wife was handed this urchin by a guide in Hawaii - they definitely don't have a 'no touch' policy over there. Nikon D100, 16mm full frame fish-eye, twin YS 60 strobes at 1/2 power, manual mode f11 at 1/60s

No 3. Hawksbill turtle - southern Red Sea. This was taken in just 4 metres of water while decompressing. I'm convinced it thought the dome of my housing was a jellyfish as it kept trying to bite it. Nikon F100, 16mm full frame fish-eye, twin YS 60 strobes, manual mode f11 1/30s, Fuji Provia.

No 4. Squirrelfish southern Red Sea. To get close to these fish you need a long lens. The beauty about a standard 35mm film lens on a digital camera is that the effective focal length is increased. So a 105mm acts like a 158mm this allows you to get close without disturbing the subject. Nikon D100, 105mm (158mm equivalent) micro, twin YS 60 strobes at full power, manual mode f11 at 1/125s

No 5. Cuttlefish in kelp forest. This is in fact two images, the kelp was taken in California and the cuttlefish in Cornwall. Kelp - Nikonos 111, 15mm lens natural light f5.6 1/8s Fuji Provia. Cuttlefish - Nikon D100, 28mm (42mm equivalent), twin YS 60 strobes at full power, manual mode f22 at 1/125s

No 6. Coral Grouper southern Red Sea. This grouper was hiding under an over hang and with the long lens I could capture this close-up without having to get too close. Nikon D100, 105mm (158mm equivalent) micro, twin YS 60 strobes at full power, manual mode f11 at 1/125s

BSoUP OPEN PORTFOLIO COMPETITION