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Underwater photography is the technique of taking photographs under water. It is done with swimming or scuba diving. Underwater photography is a tough field of photography and it needs the use of specific equipment and certain techniques to master it. This category of photography offers the options of diverse and unusual photographic opportunities.
Other than the fishes and other marine mammals, underwater photographers also aim for unusual images such as shipwrecks pictures, sunken cave systems, underwater topography and many others. Nevertheless underwater photography is a challenging field in photography.
Underwater photography Drawbacks
The most difficult problems that the underwater photographers suffer from is the drastic loss of contrast and colour when the go beyond considerable depths. The longer wavelengths of light are absorbed faster by water and thus the water and everything around seems blue-green to the naked eye as well. This loss in the colour increases with distance and the object that are placed farther appear colourless and blur.
To solve this problem, the underwater photographers merge in two different techniques. The first thing they do is bring the camera to the photographic subject as near as possible which helps to reduce the horizontal loss of colour. So they use the wide-angle lenses which enable them to focus objects very closely. Any distance more than a meter is avoided by professional underwater photographers.
Importance of Scuba Diving in Underwater Photography
Underwater photography is heavily dependent on scuba diving. Most of the time, it is performed by scuba diving photographers. So the photographers train themselves with the sufficient skills that are necessary before carrying out the task. The photographers need to acquire certain techniques so that they do not drive or scare away the aquatic creatures. The photographers may also encounter bad conditions like tidal flow or heavy currents which should be avoided whenever it is possible.
Underwater Photography Equipment
There are two types of options that the underwater photographers have while choosing equipment. They can either use waterproof cameras such as the Nikon's from camera manufacturer Nikon or the Motor Marine III from Sea and Sea. Although Nikon halted on the manufacture of Nikons in 2001 since it used a 35mm film system, some underwater photographers still use it. The Motor Marine III camera uses an amphibious range finder and still uses the 35mm film. When the camera is submerged into water, it is put into a watertight underwater housing.
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