Ann, Steve and Nigel just returned from a Spring Break week in Utila, Honduras and they cannot stop talking about it. The group had such a good time that they all want to go back! While a norther blew in and tried to dampen their spirits, they did not miss a dive and spent days basking in the sunshine and enjoying the lush tropical island that Laguna Beach promises. There were a number of photographers along, including Ann, Karen, Steve and Nigel. They all tell me they got some incredible photographs.
Ann put together a quick video for the trip. You can watch it here or jump over to the OceanicVentures channel on You Tube.
The world keeps changing and Oceanic Ventures is not immune. After graduating from the University of Houston, Ashton, our Retail Manager, has decided to change things up a bit and move to Boston. He is a part of our family and a part of the Oceanic Ventures family. He is moving to Boston to be closer to Joyce, who moved up to Boston a year ago.
Ashton will still be involved with the Company as a consultant and would like to lead a few of the really cold water trips (there are not many of our staff who love ice diving); he has also agreed to help us with some other projects.
Before leaving, Ashton tried to perform a Vulcan Mind Meld with Alex and transfer much of his knowledge and experience to him. Alex is a long-time client who has come on-board to take over some of Ashton’s duties and to keep Ann and me on-track. Please wish him well in that task!
You will also find some other new staff working part-time in the store along with some other old friends. Please come by and meet Alex and check on Dive Mom. You can reach Alex by email or phone just as you can reach Ann or me via our personal email accounts and through the store’s main account at divesafe@oceanicventures.net.
Things are changing but one thing remains the same, our commitment to being your door to adventure!TM We have a lot of exciting things happening this year including some cool travel opportunities, Club Aquarius meetings, and our all new DiverXY group. You really have no excuse not to make scuba diving a lifetime pastime.
Penetration
© Eric V. Keibler
Here is a natural light photograph taken in a cargo hold in Truk Lagoon. While the shot may look completely natural, it was set-up prior to getting in the water. Todd Emons and I decided to go in the water together to take some photographs of one another in various locations on the ship.
Todd works on the Odyssey so he is very familiar with the wrecks and had some ideas of what shots might look good in this wreck. This type of local knowledge helps you to capture photographs that you might otherwise miss. Of course, you still have to do everything to take the image but setting up the shot can make things easier. You need to discuss the general sight and then make a plan with your dive buddy. It is easier to discuss what you want to do on the surface rather than underwater. Working with a model can be quite challenging underwater and having a plan before you go in makes it much simplier.
To take this shot, I swam to the lower portion of the cargo hold. While getting in position, it was important not to kick up the bottom or dislodge too much debris from the ceiling because the debris would ruin the shot. I set the camera on manual and set the camera to properly capture the blue light throwing everything else into shadows. After everything was set, I signaled Todd who was perched at the lip of the hold and he began to swim toward the camera being careful not to shine his light in the direction of the camera. You can see just a small beam coming from the light but because the hold was so large, and the backlight so strong, his light had little effect in the final image.
Also notice that while Todd is the subject of the shot, he is not in the center of the image but rather is in the top third of the picture. In general, it is more pleasing to the eye if the subject is not centered but rather offset into another quadrant. We call this division the rule of thirds which is a compositional tool. Look for a better discussion of this “Rule” in another post on composition.
Remember, when taking silhouette shots, it is important to make sure that you keep the meter reading set for the backlight and not let the camera adjust to the target swimming towards you.
Camera Specifications: Canon 5D, fitted with a 17mm-40mm lens at 20mm, f4.0 at 1/25 sec, ISO 640
One of the central tenants of Buddhism is to be here in the moment and to experience the moment fully. When you get behind the camera, it is important no to get too wrapped up in the technical side of photography but rather experience the beauty that is all around you at that moment.
Try and capture what you are seeing and experiencing. Digital photography makes it easy to experiment. Look at how the sun plays off the leaves, trees, bark, water droplets; see how it illuminates the spider web or causes the water to shimmer.
When the sun is hidden behind a flat white sky, look for textures and contrasts.
In his article about landscape photography (PhotoSecrets.com), Mark Fenwick encourages his readers to look for:
While you are exploring, move around your subject. Look for alternate vantage points and angles. If you can, try it at different times of the day. By mneung around and exploring a site at different times, the landscape will reveal more to you.
You can also try using different lens apertures. Ansell Adams is well known for shooting everything at f22 in order to capture all of the detail in his scenes. You can also use that depth of field to your advantage by blurring an unattractive or distracting foreground while keeping the remainder of the scene in sharp focus.
You can always start with the standard shot of an area but then start experimenting. Move around, lay on the ground, climb a tree, blur the foreground, or frame the image with a tree of bush. You can change the perspective by switching from a wide angle lens to a telephoto lens or have a little fin and try a fish eye lens.
Enjoy your photographic safaris or walks and learn to see what is happening at the moment you are there. Don’t settle for a standard shot, experiment and try something different.
