| My
winning Open Portfolio 2003
by
Charles Hood |
|
![Colin Doeg (right) presents the Open Portfolio Trophy to Charles Hood [Photo: Pete Ladell]](../../Portraits/CharlieHood2003.jpg)
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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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 |
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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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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
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BSoUP
OPEN PORTFOLIO COMPETITION |
