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Detail of a red coral (Corallium rubrum), Adriatic, ~55 meters down. Scanned and optimized Fujichrome Sensia (100ASA) frame. The camera was Nikonos V with 35mm ...
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Detail of a red coral (Corallium rubrum), Adriatic, ~55 meters down. Scanned and optimized Fujichrome Sensia (100ASA) frame. The camera was Nikonos V with 35mm UW Nikkor + Macro tubes (1:2), and light came from Sunpak flash... if I remembered it all correctly. It has been sooo long ago... ;)
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Mar, 2014Views
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Awards
Winner in Coral Reef And All Marine Critters Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
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pedronunoferreira
August 24, 2015
Awesome. Such a rare view and thanks to you we can see it and do not have to dive 100 metres to get it. Wish it would enter my viewbug.com/challenge/coral-reefs-and-all-marine-critters-photo-challenge-by-pedronunoferreira
pedronunoferreira
August 25, 2015
Wow, a living jewel, the true jewel because it lives. Thanks for participating in my photo challenge.
pedronunoferreira
October 06, 2015
Congratulations LookSee. To photograph at this depth, -55 metres down, with a conventional 35mm film camera and using a 100 ASA takes quite a lot of skill, especially in the detail that this magnificent photograph shows, which as you know from the messages we exchanged, is extremely helpful to what regards keeping such Corallium rubrum. Also to photograph a such depth, one has to be a very good and skilful diver which leads me to think what breathing mix were you using, how long did it take you to decompress ... and so on. Liquid Breathing to what I can know so far, is not yet a reality, but I wish it could be and dream of that ... the "dark depth", the Abyss, its might, mysteries, have always attracted me, and I am aware that when one looks to much time to the Abyss, the Abyss will look to that one ... well I am not afraid ... it makes me feel calm because the Abyss is the Abyss ... the surface is not always the surface, in fact more than the majority could and would be able to understand, the surface is more of the Abyss than the Abyss itself.
PRO+
LookSee
October 06, 2015
Thanks! If you'd like to start underwateer photography, see the Introduction To Underwater Photography at another site (see my Bio; page 2 of Blog / Articles). Start at Part 1, and the links at the end of texts will open the next Part).
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
Photo was taken under the vertical (Southern side) of Borovnik Isle in Kornati Archipelago (Croatian Adriatic). The depth was about 55 meters.Time
It was decades ago, but our daily dives were usually beginning around 1100 hrs, so I believe it was maybe noon. Not that it would matter in this photo, as it was too deep for any influence of daylight.Lighting
The scene was lighted by Sunpak strobe, aimed from the side. I also had another, DIY flash unit in small Ikelite casing, which worked (by photo-cell and a single reed / magnet switch) in permanent Slave Mode. This small flash was used to frontally light the object, while the Sunpak (here probably on 1/2 power) was cable-sychronised and provided the main, angled light.Equipment
The camera was a Nikonos V with 35mm UW Nikkor on 1:2 Macro tube. Film used is Fujichrome Sensia (100ASA), developed on-site. The slidefilm was later scanned and optimised in Corel PhotoPaint (v.X3)Inspiration
In Nikonos days you had to decide on dry land what kind of underwater photos you wanted to take. This then determined what kind of optics and/or accessories were to be mounted before you went below the surface. That particular day I decided to shoot Macro, and 35mm UW Nikkor + 1:2 Macro Tube proved to be most flexible for the kind of aquatory and themes planned. So the choice of photography was premeditated and limited in advance, by the kind of set-up prepared for the dive. Once in water, you had meagre 36 frames, but also sufficient power in the strobe unit's batteries. The Macro lighting distances are short, so the flash has to be set to less than full power. Outside of those limitations, there is way too much inspiration down there... Wish we had digital cameras then... :)Editing
There is not much to be done about post-processing of a slide film. We used to develop our films right there in the field. E-6 is a simple process which takes about half an hour. It worked really well. As the results were immediately visible this was a great advantage. If we botched some attractive theme, there was a chance to repeat the dive tomorrow. Much better than having your films developed once you got back home. The scanner I was able to use subsequently, that was a problem. It was a scanner for paper pictures, and its film adapter was something you put on the scan window and pulled the film through. It did the job, but there was no quality to brag about. The output images had to be tweaked quite a bit, to get rid of the scan error lines, dust, and such. Decades later I used some newer programs to correct those old images and the results are a lot better, though far from perfect.In my camera bag
Nowadays I use a photo vest and its million pockets to carry my main camera, a spare watertight P&S, spare batteries and some ND and CPL filters. In my heyday of underwater photography my underwater equipment could barely fit into a pretty large foam-lined metal case. Beside two Nikonoses, there were two flash units, a set of macro tubes and framers (the wire-bent squares sticking in front of lens to show you the focal distance and size for the lens FOV). Then there were two other lenses, front add-on lenses, filter system adapters (Cokin), LOTS of batteries, LOTS of film rolls, a baseplate, flash arm(s), emergency lights, tools, spare gaskets, lubricants, etc.Feedback
It is pretty complex if your aquatory isn't in the tropics. First off, deep diving requires adequate and sufficient education and license. But there are many ways to make very attractive underwater macro photos in shallow waters using only Daylight. Also, current underwater cameras are much more flexible in use. The choice of underwater themes is virtually inexhaustible, and large percentage of those can be reached by snorkeling. Deep diving is something else entirely, requiring different equipment; both for breathing and to protect the camera from the pressure. You might find more about this at http://www.creationearth.com/photography/tips_articles/introduction_to_underwater_photography_-_1_2083 in more detail - from the text I specially created for complete beginners. There are also some other texts related to underwater photography that you might like to read, so enjoy! :)
