ViewBug community member Spider1987 chose a rather intriguing name for his featured photo, enjoy our conversation and learn the story behind his images.
"I Started shooting about 18 months ago. Always shot underwater, which is extremely challenging. I took a 3 day underwater photography workshop with the famous Amanda Cotton, who is also a dear friend and has been featured in many publications and Discovery channel shows. Almost everything I shoot is in the wild."
This photo was taken in the Bahamas at Tiger Beach, January 2015. It was my second ever, shark dive. My first was at a Unexco shark feed only days before & my shot titled, Chain Mail, won me Viewbug's best amateur B & W. My passion is diving & I really wanted to capture & share the wonders I've seen beneath the waves. I knew absolutely nothing about photography, let alone underwater photography, which is at minimum, twice as challenging. I had played around with with a Cool Pix and housing on previous dive trips, but my shots were all grey, green & blue. I was absolutely frustrated! I suggested to my good friend Amanda Cotton about doing a 3 day workshop in the Bahamas. The rest is history & I'm a much happier Diver! This was shot around mid day with ambient light, at 40 ft. depth. Shot with Olympus OMD-1 4/3 and Nauticam housing.
What equipment do you normally have in your bag?
When shooting anything large underwater, your pretty much use wide angle lenses. So my gear kit contains, 7-14 zoom, 14 -42 zoom, 8 mm fish eye
Strobes are Inon, Video light is sola 1200 & 4000, and the housing is Nauticam.
Any advice for others trying to capture something similar?
Yes, Do a workshop. Underwater photography presents all types of challenges that you won't find topside. Visibility & lighting being the most challenging of course. When shooting underwater, there are no tripods. Its all pretty much hand held. Your subjects are moving, you have to maintain good buoyancy control, your often dealing with strong currents & surge, you have to monitor your air, depth & dive computer always, and when diving with apex predators, you have to also have eyes all around you. Safety is always a priority!
Discover more amazing shots, visit Spider1987's profile.
