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Underwater Photography The fundamentals of photography remain the same wherever you are taking pictures. When the medium that light travels through is water and not air special techniques and equipment are needed to capture good images. Underwater photography is a specialized area that relatively few photographers attempt and the opportunities for new and different images are many. Limitations with underwater photography include communication, limited natural light and visibility, equipment selection, time, etc. The limited natural light cause subjects further away from the camera to appear colorless and indistinct. This effect is true even in apparently clear water, such as that found around tropical coral reefs. Underwater photographers solve this problem by getting the camera as close to the photographic subject as possible, minimizing the horizontal loss of color (best achieved by using wide-angle lenses), and by the use of flash to restore any color lost vertically through the water column. Some digital cameras do not have sufficiently wide lenses built into the camera. There are housings made with supplementary optics in addition to the dome port, making the apparent angle of view wider. Some housings also allow for the use of wet-coupled lenses, which thread on to the exterior of the lens port and increase the field of view. Housings are specific to the camera and are made of several materials including inexpensive plastic to high-priced aluminum cases. Underwater photographers generally use digital cameras with either wide-angle lenses or macro lenses, both of which allow close focus, thereby eliminating the need to have excessive water between the camera and subject. |
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