Beginning photography class?

[H2ODoc]

I'm fairly new to diving (10 dives) and have a trip to Coz setup for mid May.

I just bought an underwater housing for our digital camber (Canon A510). Has anyone taken an u/w photo class here in Denver/Boulder/etc? I've never taken ANY photography class, and thought it might be a good idea to get the most out of our vacation pictures.

A1 scuba has a class ($150). I was thinking of that class as an option. I'd have to rent BC/Reg for that trip, so that adds to the cost.

Is the diving in Coz ALL drift diving? If so, I wonder if that makes photography in that area not ideal ? I also don't want to distract from safety aspects since we are newbies.

 

[nivla80]

I'm a newbie too.. 50 dives to date, and I've not taken any classes. Managed to come up with decent shots without a strobe. Probably wanna follow the 3 golden rules:

1) Try to shoot up
2) Get as close as possible
3) Stay shallow where its bright with ambient light (if not using strobe)

Got these tips from this board, and have been snappin like crazy. Also, it might help for you to really KNOW your camera well and practise on land, till you really feel v v comfortable with it.. Good luck and enjoy ur trip!

Just bought a strobe, and will be using it for the first time soon! Gonna be a new learning curve for me... Can't wait!

 

[alcina]

Great tips so far. Also have a look through the Pink Link in my signature - it even has some settings to get you started!

Yes, the vast majority of diving in Cozumel is drift diving. The drift can be quite leisurely or it can be speedy. My advice for shooting the first time is take the camera, but don't concentrate too much on photography for at least the first couple of dives if they are drifts. Also make sure to tell your dive guide that you are shooting so you need to go as slowly as possible - most of the time I've found they are quite accommodating where possible, but if you don't tell them they just GO.

Make sure you have somewhere to clip your camera off on your bcd so you can go hands free when/if you need to.

Depending on where you are staying I would definitely hit the shore diving with your camera as you can set the pace and there is a ton to see there as well as on the main sites.

 

[pir8]

I use a clip with a coil and male/female snaps so my camera is always attached but has some length to take pics.

 

[H2ODoc]

Thanks for the good ideas.

We are staying at the Caribe Blu, so there's unlimited shore diving there. Maybe the first day, I won't even bring the camera on the boat dives and try to get an afternoon shore dive in for some practice. After that, I'll bring the camera on the boat dives and just see how it goes. If the current is ripping, then I'll just forget it.

Now... if May would just hurry up and get here already!

 

[Ocean One]

You will enjoy Coz. Taking an Underwater Photo class will make you more comfortable with you camera and give you valuable tips to avoid loss or damage to your investment and how to get the best photos. Underwater not being comfortable with your cmaera setup can lead you to lots of wasted bits. But they can always be erased!!!! Shoot lots of pictures so take a high at leasta 1 gig card. The more you shoot the better you'll get. Check it each time in a sink before you dive for water tightness seal!!!

 

[ABQdiver]

Spending time underwater and having good buoyancy skills will help you 'immensely' with the underwater photography. It's good to have your UW skills down pretty well before you add to the task loading with a camera.

That said, just relax and have fun. The drift diving in Coz doesn't give you much additional time to frame, fiddle with the exposure, and try it again and again. Getting close is ALWAYS important, having a strobe will help your exposures. You got the right attitude about the process.

As always, HAVE FUN!!

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

Hi H2ODOC-

I have firsthand (and recent) experience for both questions. I took the A1 class (BEST SCUBA SHOP in DENVER by the way). My class was broken into two days but it's usually on a saturday and you have the classroom session first. Holly (instructor) tells you what to change your camera settings to, how to take better shots, etc... She is a very good UW photographer, her work is used for the mexico tourism brochures and magazines. I did the classroom session one night, got everything set on my camera and then all the blizzards hit in December so my pool session got canceled. We then went on our trip to Cozumel and I did a pretty decent job with my camera (I took over 300 UW digital shots). Last month I took the pool session. It was a little crowded for the pool but kind of fun. I look forward to putting on my gear anytime I can so....

A couple afiliated with the shop created a "artificial reef" that they drop into the pool. You swim around to each station and there's all kinds of interesting and never before seen creatures(aka stuffed animals). Some of the fish are shiny so you can work on no glare, trying to take photos of tall kelp,etc... Best part is you can get as close as you want cause they won't bite. Holly will come around periodically and look at how you are shooting, give you tips underwater for different shots. The best part was after everyone gets out of the pool she pops your memory card into the computer and everyone gets to see everyone else's shots displayed on the wall. Interesting to see different ways people took photos of the same things. Some were good and some were pretty bad but you learn.

This is my first digital UW camera (I got the SEA&SEA 8000G) and if you paid anything like what we paid for your camera and housing I think it's worth taking the class. We also bought a wide angle lense (used the entire trip) and a external strobe which I think is very valuable to have. You really need that external flash to get better lighting/color. Here's a link to my UW photos from Cozumel (we were there over New Years).

http://community.webshots.com/user/lenleigh

I love A1 Scuba by the way, we got our OW and AOW certification there in less than 6 months. We had the pleasure of traveling on a group trip to Cozumel with the owners (Scott and Lynne Taylor) and they are the best! Great family owned company.

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

I forgot you asked about the current. I didn't take my camera on the first dive. Give yourself a chance to check out your equipment to make sure everything's functioning and you are comfortable, check out the current. I did take it on all of our other dives including a night dive (you acutally get better color shots from the flash in the dark when you are closer to things). Make sure you always get in the water first and have the dive crew hand the camera to you. Holly recommends not leaving the camera in a dunk bucket (they had one just for cameras) but I did it most of the trip. Your lense could get dislodged and or your housing could flood from all the movement/vibration of the boat. Ocassionally I put mine inside the cabin.

Our Dec/Jan trip to CZ was our first drift diving and I was a little nervous about what to expect but I kind of liked it. It does make photography harder and sometimes impossible. Most of the dives we were on had very little current and it was really easy to take photos. Our last dive and a couple others, we actually drifted miles from the boat. Our dive guide spotted a shark under a coral formation and I had to kick like hell to his hand, then he pulled me towards him and I could only hold of for a few minutes. Then my camera battery ended up dying on that dive (thank god it was the last dive) and I just enjoyed the current. It was amazing, we were really flying by at a pretty decent speed. Most important thing: Make sure your buddy stays with you while you are dashing around to take photos especially with a current. You should lead and they should follow behind you. Also be really careful with your O-rings. I got away with having a full battery until our last dive so I didn't even bother to open my housing the whole time we were there. Get the insurance too, it's not very expensive and gives you a little peace of mind.

 

[robint]

1. practice with your camera now, put it in the housing and go out in your backyard and shoot 100 pictures. Get used to all the buttons - know them. Believe me, as soon as you see that really cool fish you always wanted to get a shot of you will look at your camera and forget which button does what. Practice, practice, practice.

2. if you don't have a strobe, don't take the camera on the first dive of the day - it is almost always 80' deep and with no strobe all you will get is dark blue and very frustrating.

3. if the current is blowing, don't try to stop and take a photo. By the time you do get it framed up and ready the current will be dragging you away. This was a very hard lesson for me to learn but sometimes you have to just enjoy the dive and not struggle with the camera. It will lead to frustration.

4. when you do get shallow dive with good color and no current - shoot shoot shoot. Don't take just one pic, take as many as you can. If the subject is cooperative - like a sponge or crab or coral or scorpionfish or seahorse or lobster - take a dozen. More is better. That is how you will learn and those will be your best photos.

hope this helps!

robint