MRXRAY
Contributor
All right, Let me start with a quick lesson in Underwater Fluorescence: Basically some forms of Cnidarians which include Anemones, as well as some corals produce a Protein based chemical which they use to possibly protect them from the Suns UV radiation, in effect a sort of SunScreen. We can't see this with our naked eye but when you shine a light on the subject with the proper excitation filter attached and then block any unwanted reflective light with a barrier filter you get to see some amazing things.
I first saw this at DEMA (Diving trade show) this year and Immediately knew that I must possess this technolgy for myself
ervEvil grinning and hand rubbing taking place). So over the course of a month or so I started collecting the pieces I needed to not only see the underwater Fluorescence, but to also capture it with my Underwasser Digital camera (Note the slight play on German, gives it a more evil villian appeal).
So last night with Camera in hand my buddy and I headed to Ft. Pickens for a night dive and to finally try my new gear. I was a bit disappointed with my ability and skill at both finding and capturing images, but not in the end results.
First I was not prepared mentally for the fact that I had to swim around at night in the dark with only a modest Blue Light to lead my way. My buddy and I were quickly seperated as he was instructed not to shine his light in my direction and also becuase he could not see me, I mean I'm swimming around in the dark. So it was with great trepidation that I found myself alone, in the dark, at night, , in 60* water, in "Shark Infested Waters" (Only when you are alone at night), while I humm the theme to Jaws..... Needless to say my ass was puckered to a factor of 7! :shocked2:
Not 4 minutes into the dive all that changed when I saw my first Fluorescence! My heart skipped a beat! Oh was it beautiful, my first 20 photos were a mess as I tried tirelessly to tune my camera settings and find a way to focus my camera on the light Fluorescence in front of my lens. Finally after a few ill fated attempts I finally had success, and for my friends who know me, that meant a little underwater dance!!!
From then on it was back to business, I ended up with about 85 shots in a 1 hour dive as I tuned my abilitiy and my camera at my new found passion. I'm attaching a few shots here for your to see. I took a couple of "White light" shots with the Fluorescence shots to compare and I think those shots really tell the tale and why I was so excited and still am to get this gear into the water.
With White Light (Standard Underwater Photography)
With Nightsea:
Before:
After:
A Few More shots:
I first saw this at DEMA (Diving trade show) this year and Immediately knew that I must possess this technolgy for myself
ervEvil grinning and hand rubbing taking place). So over the course of a month or so I started collecting the pieces I needed to not only see the underwater Fluorescence, but to also capture it with my Underwasser Digital camera (Note the slight play on German, gives it a more evil villian appeal).So last night with Camera in hand my buddy and I headed to Ft. Pickens for a night dive and to finally try my new gear. I was a bit disappointed with my ability and skill at both finding and capturing images, but not in the end results.
First I was not prepared mentally for the fact that I had to swim around at night in the dark with only a modest Blue Light to lead my way. My buddy and I were quickly seperated as he was instructed not to shine his light in my direction and also becuase he could not see me, I mean I'm swimming around in the dark. So it was with great trepidation that I found myself alone, in the dark, at night, , in 60* water, in "Shark Infested Waters" (Only when you are alone at night), while I humm the theme to Jaws..... Needless to say my ass was puckered to a factor of 7! :shocked2:
Not 4 minutes into the dive all that changed when I saw my first Fluorescence! My heart skipped a beat! Oh was it beautiful, my first 20 photos were a mess as I tried tirelessly to tune my camera settings and find a way to focus my camera on the light Fluorescence in front of my lens. Finally after a few ill fated attempts I finally had success, and for my friends who know me, that meant a little underwater dance!!!
From then on it was back to business, I ended up with about 85 shots in a 1 hour dive as I tuned my abilitiy and my camera at my new found passion. I'm attaching a few shots here for your to see. I took a couple of "White light" shots with the Fluorescence shots to compare and I think those shots really tell the tale and why I was so excited and still am to get this gear into the water.
With White Light (Standard Underwater Photography)
With Nightsea:
Before:
After:
A Few More shots:
