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Adventures in underwater photography (part 1)
Posted on December 30th, 2006 14 comments
It’s pretty humbling when you have to throw away 80% of your photos, but that’s
what my experience with underwater digital photography have been thus far.
Yesterday the water wasn’t very clear, so I didn’t really have anything worth
keeping. Today I did some serious snorkeling and got better photos, but still,
it’s hard. Seeing things on the LCD isn’t easy, the fish don’t stay still,
plus you’re always drifting around… all that makes it a bit frustrating.Click the link to see a few shots I took today, with more to come before the
end of the trip. Again, these are from the Canon SD800 with its matching underwater
case.Oh, and fish experts are welcome to ID these guys for me, since I don’t know
many of them.
If I’m not mistaken, that fish on the left is the Humuhumunukunukuapuaa, the
Hawaii State Fish. The guy on the right is a puffer fish… those things
freak me out. Naturally there were many of them.
I have no idea what this thing is.
Nor this, but it’s cool.
Another Humuhumunukunukuapuaa (bottom).
I believe this is a trumpet fish
Yours truly taking a break at Kapalua Bay. This one’s for the people who say
that I’m never in any of the photos I post.14 responses to “Adventures in underwater photography (part 1)”
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There should definitely be more Jeff photos in the mix!
I’m impressed that you can spell Humuhumunukunukuapuaa. Or did you do what I did (copy and paste). That’s a big name for a little fish.
I enjoyed the photos. I think it is impressive that photos can be taken underwater at all, so I’m not too surprised at the 80% deletion rate.
And I have no idea why I’m up at 3 am so hopefully this didn’t ramble too badly. Enjoy the rest of your trip and Happy New Year! -
I can understand how the underwater issues could be tough. But, the are cool anyway. I bet the water was great!
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Hey Jeff,
great pics.
The guy in pic “0088″ is an elegant unicornfish (http://www.meerwasser-lexikon.de/eng/5/1138/Naso/elegans.htm).
I think that all are surgeonfishes (german: Doktorfische).
Enjoy your trip, I’m jealous: 8 °C here.
Bye
André -
Happy New Year!
I hope you have fun taking the underwater photos with SD800. Can’t wait to see your part 2!
here’s Salomon Bay (w/SD800):
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/115/313158429_6da24bb6d3.jpg?v=0
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandbeaver/sets/72157594329148428/?page=2 -
Hi Jeff,
Happy New Year! What camera housing are you using on the SD800?
Thanks.
JB -
I am using the Canon WP-DC9 case, which is specific to the SD800.
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RJ Bellanca January 4th, 2007 at 10:40
That fish you did not recognize in the first collection was a Naso Tang. Shooting underwater, digital or otherwise, will always result in color correction challenges not to mention the need for twice the adequate light you require above the water.
Great shots though and it was good to see your face above the water too. -
Jerry Gorsuch January 4th, 2007 at 18:50
Very beautiful pics. The underwater world is a beautiful place. I hope we have sense enough to preserve it. And isn’t that what digital photog is all about?? Take a ton of pics, save the best and delete the rest. Thanks, Jeff, for the great pics.
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I was in Hawaii visiting in-laws in ‘86. I think they were grilling Oliver North over Iran-Contra-gate. Anyway, I was told that Humuhumunukunukuapuaa means “fish that ruts like a pig.” Of course the in-laws played more than one trick on me. It looks like you had a great trip! Thanks for the pix!
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Nice pix. I am considering buying the Canon SD800IS and the corresponding underwater housing for recreational scuba diving (I am also considering the Sony DSC-T33). Is the camera fully functional with the case or are some functions not usable? Did you use Canon’s underwater filter setting? Did the Image Stabilizer help with camera shake while you were drifting? Thanks.
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Rene: Yes, the camera is fully functional, though you cannot use the optical viewfinder. I did use the underwater setting. I can’t say for sure if the image stabilizer helped, but I imagine so.
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I definitely like the prospects of underwater photography. I had a question though about your 80% throwout rate. Were the pictures you deleted completely terrible? Just not up to your professional standards? Dark? Blurry?
Thanks for taking the time to write up the review for your underwater experiences.
Thanks
Karl
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laanba December 31st, 2006 at 01:12