Usually when it comes to underwater macro photography, we like to focus on our subjects first before considering anything else. One other technique that can be used to add another dimension to diving with a camera, is searching for backgrounds and photogenic environments instead. In terms of “muck” diving, most Read more about Underwater Photography in Lembeh: Finding Colourful Backgrounds on Muck Dives
The use of negative space is very popular in photography, especially with landscape and occasionally land wildlife photography as well. For underwater photos we see it most often in Wide Angle shots to create a sense of scale and depth in the images. For Underwater Macro, we don’t see it Read more about Photo Discussion – Negative Space
Blackwater Diving can be challenging. Not only are you drifting a long in the dark looking for exciting things, but many of us like to bring our cameras to be able to capture the weirdness of the critters you can see on Blackwater Dives. Now if you don’t know what Read more about Back to Basics – Blackwater Photography, Tips & Tricks
When you first start diving, the most difficult but important thing is to maintain proper buoyancy. This is even more crucial when you dive with a (big) camera! Neither do you want to damage corals or any marine life, nor your expensive toys. Also, you want to save your wrist from heavy lifting underwater and dragging “dead weight” around which affects your air consumption. Luckily, float arms were invented to support you and your camera rig. In this blog, we want to give you a quick guide on which buoyancy arms to choose for your SLR or mirrorless setup.
One of the most common questions I get asked when it comes to underwater macro photography is how to achieve black backgrounds. The popping colors of the subject on black creates great contrasts in an image.
Generally speaking, a black or dark background is achieved by a small aperture. You would want to let as little light as possible through your camera lens. However, it’s not just that easy since a big F-stop/ small aperture automatically means greater depth of field!
Every underwater photographer has his „thing“ and a certain way they get comfortable with shooting subjects. For most photographers and when it comes to macro, it’s the black background. For me, it’s Bokeh and shooting with an open aperture. I never get bored of this technique and the creamy background but in order to add a bit more color to my pictures, I thought I’d try another more creative approach.
Today I headed out for 2 dives in the morning, armed with the Nauticam D500, 105mm lens, double flip holder and the SMC1 and SMC2.
I didn’t want to take too many diopters as it would have meant juggling them around underwater, and frankly they are too expensive to risk scratching.
These days it is pretty hard to choose from all the diopters available – you probably have at least one old school one in your kit bag. The Inon UCL 165 and 330 were the first mass produced diopters specifically for underwater use, before those we had to use slide on single element diopters (woodys diopter), or put a higher quality dual element diopter directly on your lens before you got in the water (Nikon 6T).
When you’re new to (manual) photography, you have a lot to juggle at the same time: starting with the positioning and settings of your camera, not to mention your one or two strobes!
Luckily, new underwater photography gadgets enter the market on a regular basis and the idea of using a ring light instead of a strobe or torch isn’t that new as such. However, the newly released Kraken Weefine Ring Light got us excited since it’s especially designed for macro photography. Let’s see what the results look like and how we rate the 1000 lumens strong, relatively inexpensive light.
In most of the cases you would probably hit the delete button straight away, when you check your pictures and see a blurry image. The main objective of photography is usually to have a clear and crisp subject in focus. However, when used right, a bit of a blur can be quite interesting and give your image a sense of motion.