Down Under

[Arlen]

No, I'm not referring to the southern latitudes, but rather to creatures of the deep. Or the not quite so deep.

Creatures of land and air often grace our pages, but not so many of an aqueous environment. Probably because photographing them in their own medium requires special equipment and approaches, and brings a set of unique challenges. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have an abundance of cold water fishes of various persuasions. These two were subsequently tagged and released as part of biological studies.



Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in spawning colors



Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), which is actually a char

[Andrew76]

Hey, those are pretty cool. I have actually just recently delved into something that I said I would NEVER do, and try giving UW photography a go.

It's a pretty big learning curve, but I'm really enjoying it. What kind of gear are you using?

[Mike Buckley]

Absolutely stunning images, Arlen.

[Arlen]

Thank you, Mike and Andrew.

Andrew, these shots were taken with a simple waterproof point-and-shoot, the Panasonic TS1. Easy to carry around in a big shirt pocket, and does a pretty good job for less demanding work. (I've even had a few pictures published that were taken with similar cameras.) However, it is definitely not the ideal camera for serious photography, either in the water or out of it. I'm planning to get a waterproof housing for my Sony RX100, which yields much higher quality images. But as I'm sure you know, for REALLY serious underwater photography, a much greater investment of time and specialized equipment is called for. I haven't gotten that serious yet.

[Brownbear]

Beautiful images Arlen... Especially the 2nd image... There is an entire new world underwater and I've often thought of purchasing P&S underwater camera...

Are those water proof houses truly safe for your camera?

[Andrew76]

Are those water proof houses truly safe for your camera?

They're as safe as the operator. The actual structure of the box, be it aluminum, or acrylic is virtually indestructible, but it's just a small rubber o-ring (gasket), that keeps the water away from your investment.

My friend just lost a Nikon D7000 with a fisheye lens about 2 weeks ago on a dive to about 60 meters (190'). Unfortunately, at that depth, a return to the surface immediately is not an option, and so the camera had to sit immersed for almost 90 minutes full of H2O. Nikon says it's not repairable.

But after the dive we examined it, and it was obviously user error.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Andrew... For the first time around I will buy a point an shoot.

[Arlen]

A P&S camera is probably a good start...just to get your feet wet .

But there's no free lunch. The "waterproof" cameras also have O-rings that seal the battery/memory card compartment. Mine has never leaked, but that can happen if a piece of grit gets on the gasket, or it's not closed properly, etc.

[Brownbear]

Thank you for sharing Arlen... I think they would also come in handy for taking photos of the beach and shoreline while swimming as the best views always seem to be seen from the water...