Underwater Photography Essay, Research Paper

Since the development of the Aqualung by Jacques Cousteau and Emil Gagnan in 1943, we have been able to remain submerged safely and comfortably for extended periods of clip. This astonishing technological discovery allows us to detect, research, and photograph the admirations of the submerged universe. It was one of the first challenges submerged innovators, such as Cousteau, faced was capturing the beauty and mystique of this foreign universe on movie in order to portion it with those unable to see it for themselves. This challenge has been answered over the past 50 old ages, in both still and gesture images. Today, telecasting and overseas telegram audiences can often happen a docudrama or particular about an facet of the submerged universe.

What makes the submerged universe so challenging and appealing to lensmans? First, it genuinely is another universe & # 8211 ; a universe of gesture and tranquility. Like outer infinite, it offers lensmans a sense of escapade, the bang of find, and the promise of exhilaration. The submerged universe besides entreaties to lensmans because its natural province seems so foreign to ours. In portion, this reflects enormous differences between tellurian and aquatic ecosystems. Land environments are dominated by works life, while the submerged environments are dominated by carnal species. When we describe land environments, we refer to grasslands, redwood woods, and oak tree Grovess. When we describe submerged environments, we refer to coral reefs, oyster flats, and mussel beds. In add-on, the animate beings lensmans encounter underwater frequently have unusual, if non eccentric, forms and colourss that provide a ceaseless supply of photographic topics.

Land objects, which take on an wholly different nature and sometimes increase in value when submerged, can be first-class & # 8220 ; foreign & # 8221 ; submerged picture taking objects. Objects such as doorhandle, old nails, and bottles are normally termed debris, but they are considered hoarded wealths after resting at the underside of a organic structure of H2O for a decennary or two. The broken hull of a exanimate ship 60 pess below the surface is another challenging exposure chance that lures many lensmans into the H2O.

Although the basicss of land picture taking & # 8211 ; like mensurating visible radiation, ciphering exposure, concentrating, framing, and composing & # 8211 ; are basically the same basicss applied in submerged picture taking, the challenge of capturing images on movie underwater lies in covering with the restraints of the submerged environment. First the lensman has to get the hang the accomplishment of scuba diving. Mastering this tickle pinking athletics is indispensable to get the hanging submerged picture taking. The aquatic kingdom imposes some unusual environmental restraints on both camera and frogman likewise. The comparatively hapless lucidity of H2O as a medium in which to snap, and the loss of and alteration in the quality of available light underwater are the most serious restraints.

Environmental restraints besides require lensmans to develop and sharpen their organisational and be aftering accomplishments, which make or interrupt any effort at submerged picture taking. The stairss it takes in order to merely acquire to the topic are frequently complex, affecting events beyond anyone & # 8217 ; s control. For illustration, when an electronic flash fails underwater, a lensman can non merely make into their equipment instance and draw out another 1. Replacing the flash unit requires them to alarm their diving comrade, acquire back on the boat, take off most of the cogwheel it originally took them a half an hr to set on, happen a dry topographic point to work on the equipment, and the get back in the H2O. Bing unable to alter movie underwater is the best illustration of a photographic environmental restraint that requires careful be aftering. On land, lensmans normally take this simple process for granted, but it is a important portion of readyings for an submerged shoot.

On the recreational degree, the handiness of submerged picture taking equipment at an low-cost monetary value allows athletics frogmans to capture submerged brushs on movie. More and more frogmans are seting down spearguns and picking up cameras. On the professional degree, the quality of submerged images continues to better as progressively advanced camera systems become available and as the market for such images broadens. The turning public consciousness of the status of the oceans & # 8211 ; through the attempts of such preservation groups as Greenpeace, the Cousteau Society, and the World Wildlife Fund & # 8211 ; continues to necessitate high-impact, high-quality images that reveal the delicate nature and the unstable balance of the submerged universe. At any degree, submerged picture taking is merely every bit tickle pinking to look at, as it is to snap it.

Equipment

The two words that characterize all submerged exposure equipment are & # 8220 ; waterproof & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; rugged. & # 8221 ; The primary consideration in planing any piece of submerged exposure cogwheel is maintaining the internal parts prohibitionist. This demand shapes the design procedure for developing submergible camera systems. It calls for the usage of strong, corrosion-resistant stuffs, every bit good as proving installations that allow makers to experiment with units under changing force per unit areas. Camera equipment for submerged picture taking must besides be able to defy drawn-out periods of exposure to quivers, the corrosion that seawater can do, violent knocks and bumps, and a assortment of other maltreatments that would destruct even the most lasting land camera instantly. As a consequence, most submerged camera equipment is heavy, bulky, outsize, and awkward to manage, at least on land.

Camera systems were developed along two major lines. The first consists of taking an bing land camera and planing a watertight vas called a lodging for it. Not merely must this system suit acquiring the camera in and out of the lodging in order for lensmans to lade the movie and alteration lenses, but it besides must hold through-vessel adjustments so that they can pull strings the camera controls from outside it. However, each adjustment is a point on the lodging where H2O can ooze in, and each requires a seal. Early lodgings were non excessively dependable. Today & # 8217 ; s theoretical accounts are made of both molded plastic and metal, and are highly dependable if maintained decently.

In the 2nd attack, the camera is the lodging: the camera organic structure represents the vas with the outside controls that are straight linked to the interior workings of the camera. These controls include the shutter-release button, the lens-aperture control, and the film- progress lupus erythematosus

ver. This attack is applied to viewfinder cameras merely, with which it works rather good. The grade of complexness in the workings of single-lens-reflex cameras has, for the clip being, prevented this attack from being used with these cameras.

Lenss choice for submerged picture taking is instead limited, chiefly because of the demand to hit at little camera-to-subject distances. Because there is no room for long distance picture taking underwater, telephoto lenses are non needed. Rapid climb lenses are besides seldom used underwater because they require an extra lodging. Most submerged picture taking is done with either close-up or fisheye lenses, both of which allows lensmans to acquire near to their topic.

Because of the general deficiency of ambient visible radiation below the H2O & # 8217 ; s surface, most submerged picture taking requires auxiliary visible radiation as either fill or, more frequently than non, cardinal lighting. Extra visible radiation is normally needed to demo the true colourss of all of the topics. These are normally lost because of H2O & # 8217 ; s differential soaking up of seeable visible radiation. There are three beginnings of unreal visible radiation for submerged usage: film visible radiations, photoflash, and electronic flash units. Movie Lights & # 8211 ; This beginning of unreal visible radiation allows lensmans to dip the visible radiation and see in progress precisely what the image will look like. However, film visible radiations designed for underwater picture taking are non appropriate for still picture taking, chiefly because they require big measures of power in order to bring forth adequate visible radiation to adequately cover most picture countries. Another job: the colour temperature of most film visible radiations does non fit the colour temperature evaluations of most still-format movies. Flashbulbs & # 8211 ; These artificial-light beginnings enable lensmans to utilize cameras that synchronize brassy fire with fast shutter velocities. Underwater picture taking topics seldom have to be photographed with a flash at shutter velocities greater than 1/90 of a 2nd because of the denseness of H2O: it significantly slows down about any object moving through it. The chief job with flashbulbs underwater is acquiring a reliable one to do contact with the flash socket in H2O. Electronic Flash Units & # 8211 ; Essentially, all unreal visible radiation for submerged picture taking is supplied by electronic brassy units. The advantages of utilizing them include reliable fire and synchronism, equal visible radiation end product and country coverage, colour temperatures that match bing movie types, and adaptability to automatic visible radiation sensing/output or manual manners. There are a assortment of makes and theoretical accounts to take from in this line of unreal visible radiation.

For the most portion, all submerged picture taking is done in the 35mm format. Using medium-format camera systems underwater is complicated because of the trouble in planing and building rainproof lodgings for them. Another ground for the laterality of the 35mm format in submerged picture taking was the development of the Nikon & # 8217 ; s 35mm format system. Its widespread popularity in both the consumer and professional markets has had a large influence on the technological research, design, and building of underwater camera equipment. While the size of the consumer market for submerged camera equipment is turning, it is still rather little in comparing to the market for cameras used on land. As a consequence, the research and development of submerged cogwheel are slow.

Within the 35mm format, both light sensitiveness and colour features determine movie choice for submerged picture taking. Although print movie gives lensmans more leeway in respect to exposure during the developing procedure & # 8211 ; which can be peculiarly helpful in underwater usage where mensurating ambient visible radiation is frequently hard & # 8211 ; slide movie seems to be preferred for two grounds. First, it is less expensive than print movie. Given the sum of movie lensmans go through underwater, monetary value can go an of import consideration from a budgetary point of position. Second, if the images will be used commercially, transparences are by and large preferred: they tend to reproduce better.

In add-on, black and white movie is used really small underwater ; acquiring good shadiness contrast is hard in most submerged state of affairss. Because of this, black and white images normally appear dull and highly monochromatic ; they lean toward a reasonably even grey tone, and everything in the image blends in with everything else.

With the limited degrees of ambient visible radiation underwater, & # 8220 ; fast & # 8221 ; colour movies are by and large more utile for images in which ambient visible radiation is cardinal. Some lensmans use movies with evaluations of ISO 100 and higher despite the built-in jobs of coarseness and loss of declaration with the faster movies. These include movies with ISO evaluations of 200 and 400, whose grain quality has been improved late. With ambient visible radiation, images will tilt to a great extent toward a monochromatic combination of bluish and green & # 8211 ; a consequence of H2O & # 8217 ; s color-absorption belongingss. With color-print movie, warm colourss can be enhanced to a certain grade during the printing procedure. This can besides be done with slide movie if an internegative is made and a print is produced from it.

Geting crisp, clear images underwater is hindered by several factors that vary with the type of camera system being used. With view finder cameras, the first concern is accurately gauging camera-to-subject distances. Refraction of light dramas a function here: it confuses the issue on a conceptual degree. As a consequence of refraction, the topic appears to be about 25 per centum closer than it really is. And, because there is another air/water interface between the camera lens and the encompassing H2O, the camera besides & # 8220 ; sees & # 8221 ; the topic as being 25 per centum closer than it is. So at whatever distance lensmans estimate the topic is from the camera, that is the right focal point puting for the lens.

Concentrating single-lens-reflex cameras underwater has its ain set of troubles. The chief jobs are being able to see through the view finder and acquiring a clear image on the focussing screen. Basically, lensmans are looking through five glass interfaces: the face mask, the sing window in the waterproof camera lodging, the view finder of the camera in the lodging, the lens, and eventually the window on the other side of the lodging through which the lens sees the topic. The by and large low degrees of light underwater farther complicate these jobs.

All information gathered from assorted Internet beginnings and Underwater Photography by Charles Seaborn published by Amphoto, New York, New York. 1988.