Drift Diving + Photography

[Bazal]

Heya,

First of - if I'm in the wrong forum I apologize and hope someone will move it to the right location.

I'm going on a Cozumel diving trip - and from my understanding most of the dives are drift dives.

Now I've done 2 drift dives before but for the life of me I can't remember how "fast" the current was... eitherway hoping for some advice from anyone who's been there or just wants to give advice.


My setup: Canon Powershot G7 + Fantasea Housing + Fantasea Fisheye Lens + Sea and Sea Y03 Strobe (TTL) - the G7 has strobe compensation (-2 is the min I noticed) - since the strobe may overexpose - I might start shooting at -1 and go from there - thoughts?

I plan on shooting in both RAW + JPEG (since I don't know how to modify/play around with RAW images - but I'll still shoot in RAW since I plan on learning how to at some point).


In drift dives - forget macro photography - shoot wide - scenery, larger animals etc etc. I know you can turn around and swim against the current and try to shoot pictures - but I've only had 28 dives - so I'm not sure how "competent" I will be at this (since again I can't remember how strong the current is too). Now should I shoot in Shutter speed mode? On what 1/XX would you recommend I start? I typically like to shoot at 1/125 leaving my ISO speed at auto - anyway if anyone has any advice or good websites to direct me too I'd appreciate it. My trip is this Saturday so I'm on a short leash and I wasn't smart enough to remember that most Cozumel dives are drift dives <____<

 

[ColoDale]

A couple of sites I found useful. DPReviw has alot but is mostly used by photographers on land but has good info. Some UW photographers post there.

Wetpixel.com
Underwater photography guide - www.uwphotographyguide.com

A couple of recent threads on UW photography on SB:
Slow moving dive operator for photos - operators

Tips for photo-taking in current (drift dives)? - shooting in Cozumel current

I shoot macro in Cozumel. "Normal" and WA too. Ask the DM when you get there how the currents are at particular sites - this will be only general as the currents change and by site (and by day).

RAW + JPEG will have a lag time between shots as more data is written but I shoot this way so I can view the jpegs on a tablet after the dive. The RAW converter application I use when back home should have a jpeg preview so you "should" be able to only shoot RAW. YMMV - The Olympus RAW file converter allows for jpeg previews of all RAW photos.
I use half shutter press for focus so the shots can be even slower. Patience is a virtue but in a current it may leave you with less time to take the shot but better ones.

I shoot ISO 100 to 400 but generally around 100 to 200. I guess a holdover from film days.

I usually start at 1/60 shutter speed but 1/125 is not out of line. Faster if I have something fast to shoot and I can change settings in time. These will change depending on f-stop and my thoughts on strobe power. I bracket like crazy.

I manually change strobe power so no help for strobe compensation. I generally start at half strobe power on two Sea & SEa YS02's and go from there. Less for sand and shallow, more for deep and cloudy days or overhangs, etc.

Think about your shot before you get there, get low, get behind something and watch the hydroids on the bottom. You'll know it when you brush against them. Don't get too engrossed for the shot i.e. don't lose your group and watch your air. I use much more air using a camera than not.

Currents in Cozumel can be nothing at all or ~3+ knots. Lot's of threads in the Cozumel forum on currents - usual, backwards, up/down, none, etc. Don't get too wrapped up in the exceptions to the normal direction, just know they happen.

All the dives will be drift dives from boats. My very limited shore dives there were drift but there are sites maybe with less current. Others on SB with shore diving experience can let you know.

 

[JackConnick]

Don't set your ISO at auto. That's why your photos are over exposed. The camera thinks you are in a dark room and overcompensates. Use a low ISO for macro and higher like 4-800 for w/a.

 

[cicopo]

What triggers your strobe? If it fires because the built in flash fires the camera has no way to know there is a more powerful flash going off & this will result in overexposures a lot of the time & especially when the background is sand. As above don't use auto ISO but if it's easy to change quickly use it to raise or lower your exposure in Manual Mode. I usually work out a basic setting in manual & leave that alone unless I'm way off in a particular situation. By raising or lowering the ISO without changing the Tv or Av settings you can add or subtract a full stop or more depending on what ISO's your camera offers & just how noisy a high ISO shot gets.
As for RAW it's a great tool, and I highly recommend working with it. You can start with the free software Canon supplied (DPP) or better yet get Photoshop Elements & download the Camera Raw plug in from Adobe. Lots of adjustments available using slide controls. First step is setting the white balance which is usually a single mouse click worth of work. After that start fine tuning.

 

[maj2]

Bazal:
I suspect that we are on the same trip through our LDS! My daughter and I are leaving for Cozumel on Saturday morning as well from Windsor and flying out of Toronto ...

My suggestion would be to leave the camera on the shore for the first couple of dives. That way you can get used to the local conditions, etc. There will be plenty of photo opportunities through the rest of the week! On the first couple of dives, play around with positioning as you look at things with photography in mind. Also keep in mind having an eye on the other divers that you will be with. Basically, be used to the conditions, etc. before introducing something like a camera that may complicate things.

I am planning to keep things easy for our Sunday dives and probably introduce the camera on Monday.

You will also have at least a couple of other photographers in the group. Feel free to ask us questions along the way!

See you at the airport!

 

[Bazal]

@maj2 - we probably are. I'm with Benthic Scuba - but I'm leaving from Detroit. I definitely don't plan on using my camera on Sunday - need to get the feel for the location, the drifts and diving in general. But come Monday - I'm hoping to get some nice shot!!! Unless I screwed up on Sunday. *please let me see sharks*

Wow I didn't even think about changing the ISO setting - my flash is a TTL.. so forced flash - can't change the intensity... but the powershot G7 has flash compensation - plan on lowering that to -1 or lower - not sure if that will help at all or not.

Okay I think I'm gonna try to go in manual mode to start @ 1/125, f/8 and maybe an ISO of 200-400 - thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[Gdog]

I would take Maj2's advice strongly. The currents vary from site to site and from day to day. Id hate to see you focus so much on your camera and miss out on the awesome diving. There are plenty of WA and macro opportunities there, but with 28 dives, dive first shoot photos second. Also, not all the dives have so much current that you dont have time to play with settings. You will use your settings much more than you would with macro. Play with it, see what happens, thats how you learn. Also, you will be suprised to see how much more power you need out of your strobes in clear water with ambient light.

 

[cicopo]

I don't know if Flash Exposure Compensation will work but it is worth experimenting with. Try it at home with the full rig assembled & firing the strobe. I shoot with a G9 & 2 strobes that only fire at full power using fiber optic cables that mount in front of the built in flash. F 8 sounds a bit too slow so start in the middle of what's available so you can go in either direction as you get your basic setting.

 

[maj2]

@maj2 - we probably are. I'm with Benthic Scuba - but I'm leaving from Detroit. I definitely don't plan on using my camera on Sunday - need to get the feel for the location, the drifts and diving in general. But come Monday - I'm hoping to get some nice shot!!! Unless I screwed up on Sunday. *please let me see sharks*

We are definitely on the same trip... And seeing nurse sharks is a pretty safe bet.

I will also have my laptop with me with both Photoshop Elements (with Camera Raw as illustrated by cicopo), and Adobe Lightroom. You are more than welcome to play with both bits of software if you do not already have one or both.

The other bit of advice... Don't get discouraged! I will be happy to come home from the trip with only a few "keeper" photos.

If you are on a boat in Cozumel with Alexandra and myself, we can certainly keep an eye on you and help where we can. Pretty sure that we were on the same boat in Bonaire last March too! Lots of familiar faces from Bonaire on this trip! If you are on a different boat, the software offer is still open!

Since you are not flying out of Toronto, see you at dinner Saturday night!

 

[Bazal]

Heya

Just realized something,... I might sound stupid but keep in mind I'm relatively inexperienced

I plan on relying on a strobe to light my pictures. So I won't be using custom white balance. Problem is... that won't help if I plan on switching to videography. So if I want to switch from pictures to video I need to set up a custom white balance. Won't that mess things up if I have to switch back and forth? I'm trying to fiddle as little as possible underwater. Any advice on video taking?