Underwater Photography
Today I rented a digital underwater camera, an Olympus Camedia 3000 with an external strobe.
I had used disposable underwater cameras before but this was my first try with a “real” camera. The big difference is the strobe. Because sea water filters out reds, pictures taken without flash come out with a bluish tint. This time, though, with the help of the strobe, I got some interesting pictures.
Taking pictures underwater is more difficult than it sounds. For one thing my air consumption was worse than usual, because you tend to get all excited when you see a potential subject, and you swim around more, trying to stay still in a current while you frame your picture. More energy spent means more air consumed. Also, it’s really hard to take pictures of fish. Most of them are moving real fast and not staying still for the picture. So I took a lot of pictures of sponges and corals instead. I did manage to get a moray eel, a crab, some shrimp, an angelfish, some blue chromis, a squirelfish, a school of yellowtail snapper, some sergeant majors, and my prize: a splendid toadfish, a rare species that is only found in Cozumel and that spends most of its time hidden in small caves where it croaks loudly (hence its name).
I got all the pictures on CD and I´ll upload them when I get back.
Gabriel recommends the Olympus 5050 as an digital underwater camera. I’m now tempted to get more toys and spend some time getting better at underwater photography…
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This is a very nice photography.