looking for some tips/advice for new underwater photographer

[diver 85]

For WA single strobe, straight over the top(about 16 to 18 inches over the housing) or straight out to the side(again as far as you can get)...In the below link, you can see pretty much how much coverage my S&S 110a strobe gives, click link.....
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/GEAUXtiger/UW%20PS%20CB%202011%20pics/kissimmeeDPP.jpg

Also, do some reading @ this site, good info on strobes, camera settings etc etc---just do some digging...good luck...
Video Tutorials | Underwater Photography Guide

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

I wouldn't open up a camera unless it is time to replace the battery, and when I do have to open the camera in a cold dry environment like inside the hotel room, which would result i a dry interior, and when it warms up from the camera's internal heat or external water temperature, the humidity level would decrease even more.

The external strobe's TTL will result in the camera battery lasting much longer since it only has to fire a fraction of its power compared to if it was just the internal flash firing.

Plus, if you want to be safe, stuff all the extra space inside the camera with tampons so that if it does leak, the feminine stuff will suck the water up instead of it going into the camera.

 

[-hh]

Thanks for all the help guys, what about positioning of my strobe? I just have a single Ys-01 or should I just play around with it?

Generally, the strobe position is out at the side (and above) to be angled in to the subject. The reason for this position is partly aesthetic (perceptually more 'natural' light angle) but it is mostly to get the strobe away from the lens so as to minimize the amount of water that's being illuminated by the "outbound" light of the strobe (going to the subject) that is within the field of view of the lens. The reason you want to minimize this is because that light will also illuminate any gunk/particles in the water column, which is the source of backscatter.

If you've seen UW photos that look like they were taken in a snowstorm, that's the backscatter getting lit up. One can't always eliminate the particulate matter in the water, but keeping it dark does help hide its presence.

And a picture is worth a 1000 words here:

-hh

 

[-hh]

For WA single strobe, straight over the top(about 16 to 18 inches over the housing) or straight out to the side(again as far as you can get)...In the below link, you can see pretty much how much coverage my S&S 110a strobe gives, click link.....
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/GEAUXtiger/UW%20PS%20CB%202011%20pics/kissimmeeDPP.jpg

Hey, I know that wreck!

Actually, since the S&S YS-110A is a pretty wide strobe I suspect that what your photo (and mine too) is doing a better job of showing is how quickly a strobe's illumination will get absorbed by an increase in distance-to-subject, although there's probably also some "center-to-corner" output performance dropoff, particularly if a diffuser was being used.


-hh

 

[divengolf]

Buy Martin Edge's book, The Underwater Photographer, 4th Edition, and study it.

 

[diver 85]

Hey, I know that wreck!

Actually, since the S&S YS-110A is a pretty wide strobe I suspect that what your photo (and mine too) is doing a better job of showing is how quickly a strobe's illumination will get absorbed by an increase in distance-to-subject, although there's probably also some "center-to-corner" output performance dropoff, particularly if a diffuser was being used.


-hh

Yep---here's my ass end shot of it......Wish I would have taken the time to shoot it with(in pic) diffuser vs without, but needed to move on....BTW, here @ the 'new SB', how do you get a pic to show up in a post???....I don't see the 'mountain' icon anymore & have yet to figure this 'new ' place out...TIA.........Joe..

EDIT: Here's pic(figured something out)......

 

[diver 85]

Yep---here's my ass end shot of it......Wish I would have taken the time to shoot it with(in pic) diffuser vs without, but needed to move on....BTW, here @ the 'new SB', how do you get a pic to show up in a post???....I don't see the 'mountain' icon anymore & have yet to figure this 'new ' place out...TIA.........Joe..

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/GEAUXtiger/UW PS CB 2011 pics/KissemeesternDPP.jpg

trying something here-----OK, figured something out(on posting a pic to the 'new' SB......carry on, lol.....

 

[Seanluge]

Thanks guys all of this helped a lot! especially the strobe diagram. And hh should I be doing the same O-ring cleaning process with my strobe ring and the O-rings on my fiber optics cable?

And one more thing, I'm worried about scratching the lens of my housing is there a DIY way of attaching a homemade cover to protect it while I'm on the boat?

 

[beautybelow]

Regarding cleaning O-rings...if you think it is dirty enough to use a lint free cloth then fine, but something is wrong to get the o-ring that dirty.

I may go a year (400 or so dives) without doing anything but running my fingers around the o-ring dry first, then with a little grease as described in detail above.

The thing about only using cloth is you don't get the most important part of 0-ring inspection...and that is the sense of touch.

 

[-hh]

Thanks guys all of this helped a lot! especially the strobe diagram. And hh should I be doing the same O-ring cleaning process with my strobe ring and the O-rings on my fiber optics cable?

"Absolutely, Unquestionably Yes". If it uses an O-ring, it needs to be periodically inspected/cleaned/lubed/replaced.

In ye old days of the Nikonos UW cameras, there were a bunch of non-user-servicable O-rings inside the body that were vulnerable. The basic rule of thumb was to periodically mail your UW camera out for service to have someone disassemble your camera and replace them. An industry grew up to service the UW Nikons, with guys like Fred Dion at UW Photo Tech (now Backscatter East) and Bob Warkentin at Southern Nikonos to just name but two (the ones I happened to have used ... both are really great guys, BTW ...).


The maintenance service interval advice was to do it 1x/year (some very frequent divers (ie, Pros) would service every 6 months) but since this typically cost a bit over $100, there was a lot of temptation to try to stretch out the service interval, and one way to do that was by being a lot more anal-retentive in the freshwater rinsing of cameras after your dive, to reduce the salt crystal accumulation down in those nookis & crannies. This is where you hear advice of "keep your camera wet, until..." and so forth. Given that the housings for our modern digital cameras have all of those pushbutton controls ... and yeah, there's an O-ring hidden inside of each of them ... it is a very good idea to keep doing freshwater rinses - - AND - - make it a point to exercise all of those buttons when you're holding the housing underwater in a freshwater rinse tank to try to flush out the saltwater trapped therein.

And one more thing, I'm worried about scratching the lens of my housing is there a DIY way of attaching a homemade cover to protect it while I'm on the boat?

I'm kind of surprised that the UW system didn't come with one.

Best advice here is to call one of the small businesses that specialize in UW photo gear, tell them exactly what you have, and they'll give you the best solution ... then place your order.

Speaking of which, I want a better 'protective piece' myself...backside of the Ike 8" dome port for use during transport...so its time for me to follow my own advice and give Fred a call.


-hh