I belong to an Underwater Photography Yahoo group, who’s owner is Zaid Fadul. Zaid frequently posts photos that he’s taken while Scuba Diving and also posts a description or something interesting about the marine animal in the photo. His photos are magnificent and I’ve obtained permission to post them on my website, provided I plug Zaid’s Yahoo group. See the subscribe box below. Zaid says this about his yahoo group…

“I am interested in building this list to encompass as many people as possible. I think it important for people to learn about the oceans and see what is out there. There are so few people who dive it is really a shame the vast majoprity of the world is missing out.”

Here’s a photography tip written by Zaid, and a magnificent shot of the Ocean White tip shark.

“An obligatory Sorry Mom for starters. I was very fortunate to have another photographer (Flann Horgan) along on my last trip. He swooped in and got these shots of me with the Ocean White Tip, not a very friendly shark. I never quite realized how close I get when taking photos. Any photographer or videographer will tell you, you become a bit consumed in the viewfinder and almost removed from the scene of action. These pics remind me to not get so lost in the future. For anyone who has dived with me, they usually get a good laugh when they see me swimming with the camera and both strobes flared out like I am trying to give everything a hug. The good thing of this set up is two fold, it provides even lighting and it looks so weird that fish are more often then not inclined to swim in for a closer look =) At least I tell myself that to justify the retarded appearance. A more detailed explanation of the two strobes is below for anyone who is interested. Also, the third photograph is of the photographer who was shooting me while I shot him….

Zaid

Using no strobes under water limits you to a few options, natural light photographs in shallow water, silhouettes, and using a flashlight up close to light up the photo. All of these can usually be acceptable depending on the specific conditions. Using a single strobe is a must if you would like to get in good color and some shadows to add depth. Getting good with it is important before you move on to two if you are so inclined. The main drawback of single strobe use is the real precision in aiming for every shot, otherwise the lighting will be uneven. One side may seem green, while the other half of the photograph looks great. Using two strobes allows you the ability to move them around to add a creative touch to your photographs. I usually flare them to each side to provide even lighting, and raise them slightly looking downward. The main reason is we are used to seeing shadows fall a certain way since the sun lights us from above and not below. How weird does a person look when he holds a flashlight under his chin to tell a weird campfire ghost story. The shadows are all in the wrong places on the face and it provides a dramatic effect. Same principle. In any event, I will try and provide more technical feedback and thoughts from time to time with the photographs. In the future (as much as med school will allow) I will start putting together detailed how-to sections up on the site…

Zaid
www.Zphotos.org

Scroll right down and across for a photo of Zaid demonstrating how he uses the 2 Strobes to photograph a shark. The photo is large..