Did you see a shark? - underwater photography

PSA Journal, July, 1990 by Beverly Schultz

The photographer has two choices for underwater lighting; natural or artificial. Natural light produces a monochromatic bluegreen effect (enchanced by the use of Ektachrome films) because of the absorption of the warmer colors at depth. The result can be, and was, from my experience, quite stunning. The use of a strobe bringsout the true colors of the deep sea life which aren't visible to the naked eye. Strobe light also may be combined with natural light by placing a subject close to the camera to show the vibrant colors in the foreground, allowing the ambient light to render a blue background.

Jim and Cathy recommended Ektachrome film, ASA 64 for close ups and ASA 200 or 400 for distance shots. Of course, Ektachrome (E6 process) could be developed in their darkroom. After seeing the results, I quite agree with the selection of Ektachrome because of the intense blue background it affords.

To say my firsy real dive was an experience is an understatement. A year had elapsed since my certification, and although I had kept up by attending classes and retesting, I was still a novice and had not dived in open water other than during my open water test. The dive mistress looked upon me as somewhat of a novelty; as a result, I did receive a lot of help.

Splash! I found myself in the blue Caribbean, feeling heavy. "Good grief, I'm snking!" The dive mistress went down the anchor line with me until I regained my composure; then suddenly I was in a new world. It is almost impossible to describe this fluid, blue-green world with mere words.

Everything was in gentle motion, including sea fans waving slowly at me as I swam by. I discovered the rocks with whcih I sometimes supported myself were not rocks, but coral, living creatures, with many little mouths open ready to take in any food that happened by. I also learned that coral could cut and sting. Because I refused to wear gloves, I had sore, swollen fingers for several weeks after my dive vacation.

We learned to become acute observers so we could make close-ups of the very small marine life, and we poked our noses into more than one crevice. Inside might be any one of several creatures, such as the banded coral shrimp, the sea urchin with its barbed self-defense, a hermit crab nestled in its shell or an eel ensconced firmly in its lair.

During our very first lecture, before we did any diving at all, Cathy discussed how to control our buoyancy so we would not stir up the sand from the ocean floor. Once the sand and sediment are in suspension, one may as well abandon trying to take any pictures in that area. Jim and Cathy, much to our amusement and disbelief, graphically (with slides and body movements) showed us what we probably would and eventually did look like the first few times underwater.

I did have some difficulty establishing my buoyancy, and more than once sank to the sandy bottom only to take off again in a cloud of dust (sand). Dubbing me "the Lone Ranger," Cathy crossed her fingers at me as I bobbed away. On a serious note, I need to say the coral reefs are living creatures and very fragile. I learned very quickly we divers must be very careful not to harm the reef by hitting it or sitting on them.