Oceanic Whitetip Shark
May, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on a shark diving trip with Epic Diving to Cat Island in the Bahamas. I spent 5 days there with the sole purpose of photographing the critically endangered Oceanic Whitetip Sharks.Time
The photo was taken during the afternoon on the third day of the trip. Bahamas sun is overhead for most of the day so the lighting doesn't differ much throughout the day till dusk time when you can get some very interesting shots nears the surface with the orange glow of the sun.Lighting
Photographing underwater adds another issue to lighting considerations. I shot with dual Ikelite DS 161 strobes that fire automatically, however I can adjust the strength of the strobes manually. The balance of natural and artificial light underwater can take a while, especially for photographers that are well versed in shooting topside.Equipment
I shot with a Nikon D90 and an Ikelite underwater housing. I use two different lenses and ports depending on what I am photographing. My macro lens is a fixed 60mm with an ikelite port. This photograph was taken on my Tokina 10-17mm wideangle lens with a large domed port.Inspiration
I have loved and followed the work of many national geographic and underwater photographers for a while now. I particularly like the work of Amanda Cotton, who is a female diving and underwater photography legend.Editing
I try to do as little as possible. I believe good photographers should get good photos from the camera. However white balance is essential with underwater photographs, especially the wide angle shots, macro shots don't always need white balancing as the strobes fire much closer to the subject. I will use Lightroom to crop and remove spots (unfortunately perfect water conditions do not come around all that often!). I converted this picture to black and white because I preferred the dark look. I feel it makes the shark stand out more. I will use contrast and clarity controls a little in Lightroom as well.In my camera bag
I will carry spare batteries, o rings and a small tool kit with me. The addition of being underwater makes life easier in some ways and harder in others. I can only use 2 lenses underwater and I can change them underwater. So my bag really only consists of what I need for the day. I will know before hand what I am shooting - macro or wideangle - and will prepare the camera and housing the night before. Once I am on the dive boat the camera is already assembled and I just carry spares and tools in case I have an issue. I also always carry a towel specifically for my camera to protect it from the sun and in the event it floods to dry it as quick as possible.Feedback
I am fairly new to underwater photography and my advice would be to practice, practice, practice. When diving you need to have excellent buoyancy skills before you begin to add in a camera to the mix. I waiting until I was a scuba diving instructor before I really got into photography. Remember the creatures underwater are very wary of you so move slowly and don't forget the import rules of diving like breathing slowly and deeply, and checking your air. Underwater photography is totally different to shooting topside. You are limited in the time you can take to compose and get a shot because you are breathing from a tank that doesn't have unlimited air. I always try to shoot partially upwards to benefit from the natural light above.
