One of the most rewarding, and frustrating, activities you can take part in as a diver is UW photography. I don't claim to be any expert here. I have been doing it for awhile, and I think some of my stuff is okay, but it's mostly just a hobby right now. I'll put up a Shot of the Month so you can all judge for yourself.
Right now I have a few shots that you can view to give you an idea of what Gary's Pics are like.
There are already some good technical pages on UW Photography, so instead of repeating what you can already get somewhere else, I'll just direct you to it.
If you want to see how the pros do it, we now have one of the top underwater photographers, Norbert Wu, living on the Monterey Peninsula, and he has a web page that's worth taking a look at.
UWP clubs are the best way to meet other people interested in UW photography in your local area. They are a fantastic resource for improving your craft by learning from others. If you belong to a club with a website that you'd like to have linked here, just drop me an e-mail.
- Monterey Peninsula Underwater Photographers - Local club in Monterey, California
- Northern California Underwater Photographic Society - Club of UW photographers from Northern California
- Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society
- South Bay Underwater Photographic Society - Another club in the LA area
- Orange County Underwater Photographic Society - Mickey Mouse meets Nikonos
- San Diego Underwater Photographic Society
Well, I don't have anything fancy. I've been a starving student so long that I've almost given up on buying new camera equipment. But, what I've got works well. Here is my equipment list:
| Camera | Nikonos IV-A (2nd hand) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenses | Just the 35mm | |||
| Strobes | Ikelite MS and MV (one each) | |||
| Accessories | 2:1 extension tube, Nikonos Close-up kit | |||
And that's it. I do almost exclusively macro/close-up stuff, so the strobes are enough for me most of the time. I use the MS in slave mode, and the camera in manual. It's not the sexiest rig in the world, but it does the job.