Over Under shots

[PatMyGreen]

I've recently started shooting with a dedicated wide angle domeport. I have found the over/under to be the hardest type of shot I've tried so far. Anyone have any tips they have found useful?

 

[Nemrod]

That is a good shot but it needs more divers or some other subject other than an empty dive ladder and a diver with his back to the camera. Not being critical, we cannot usually get cooperation from other divers much less wildlife, not sure which is more difficult. But, a diver or two striding in, a few hanging out about or some schooling fish like PC is famous for would give the shot more action, more depth.

This junk shot, using up unused electrons, an old Canon 570 point and shoot, taken near Destin, get these guys to come over and hang out under the boat while divers are striding in to get in on the action.



A full dome is exciting, cool, good luck! My largest dome is a 4.33 inch and I can get half and half shots but larger domes make them much easier, like an 8 inch or larger.

 

[Furnari]

It's a lot easier with a bigger dome; I recently got the AOI 8" dome for the Olympus fisheye, and it's amazing the difference from even the 170mm dome I used in the past. Now, it's just a problem of:
-finding interesting subjects above and below the water (but not too interesting; wouldn't want to get something that needs a high shutter speed)
-getting proper exposure (oh, you're bringing your own light? Have fun with strobe positioning)
-keeping droplets off the dome
-making sure your depth of field is enough, but not so much that you get into diffraction issues
...but other than all that, easy peasy. Here's a mediocre (at best) result from some experimentation from last weekend's camping trip in Eastern Oregon. The best advice I can give is to just practice.

 

[PatMyGreen]

That is a good shot but it needs more divers or some other subject other than an empty dive ladder and a diver with his back to the camera. Not being critical, we cannot usually get cooperation from other divers much less wildlife, not sure which is more difficult. But, a diver or two striding in, a few hanging out about or some schooling fish like PC is famous for would give the shot more action, more depth.

This junk shot, using up unused electrons, an old Canon 570 point and shoot, taken near Destin, get these guys to come over and hang out under the boat while divers are striding in to get in on the action.



A full dome is exciting, cool, good luck! My largest dome is a 4.33 inch and I can get half and half shots but larger domes make them much easier, like an 8 inch or larger.

I dint think it was critical at all, I was thrilled I finally just framed it and got it mostly in focus with the water splitting the shot about right. I must gave taken 100 attempts in Bonaire on Karpata and never got anything useable.

Those bait fish have been giving me fits down on the wrecks and spans too but the are great when they follow my instructions and form up in the background.

 

[grantmac]

Getting some shots through Snell's window seems like a nice way to gain familiarity without as many challenges.

 

[ColoDale]

My two cents (20 maybe) with some repetition from above.
The problems I have to overcome are:
-With a bigger camera, strobes and slightly negative most of the dome can be under water without holding it up. Holding a heavier rig partially out of the water is tiring.
-I need to move the strobe arms down low. Extended arms (10/2 or 9/3) don't balance right. Waves will get the strobes too.
-My large dome with wide angle is more positively buoyant than the rest of the camera so the balance can be off. The smaller fisheye dome is easier to handle. Both are glass.
-I almost always have water spots/streaks on the over part of the photo. Some say use defog. I don't.
-I generally don't shoot with the strobes since most shots are in high vis areas. But if I want to light up something at depth of background underwater, I have to not only move the strobes down vertically but also point them at what I want to get, with the right strobe power (manual), and and hope that what I am shooting at doesn't move.
-Since I shoot all manual, I try get the right exposure and framing before raising it up. Getting bounced around doesn't help.
-I find that many times the sky is overexposed so I will close down the aperture which can give me more depth of field or try to get the sun behind or above the camera. If shooting into the sun then all my shots are overexposed.
-All these things can make for some bad shots and so I generally shoot fast, as many times as I can and hope all the pieces come together. Composing shots is more work than UW shots.
-I read quite a bit about Snells window and Plimsoll interfaces which make sense but to me it's just over/under, so I suppose I am an amateur at it. Below are some links which found useful: https://dan.org/alert-diver/article/photography-in-the-plimsoll-interface/.
Wetpixel used to be a great resource and I thought Waterpixels tried to get the archives but I haven't looked hard enough I guess.
UW photography guide has some good info - Over-Under Photography.

The over/under for me is mostly about timing and trying to bracket the shots. I try to get the exposure set under water before going up. I find over/under tiring but I mostly shoot these at the end of the dive as the last thing I do. I usually get only a few shots as everyone is looking at me to get on the damn boat. Over/under is not my primary goal. If I balanced my camera for over/under instead of UW then it should be easier.
The photo below is wide angle and the sun is a bit too much in front and most have their backs to the camera. Photo is a bit curvy.


This one is a slightly over/under and shallow. This one would just have blue sky. Most good over/under shots have something in the background above the surface.

 

[PatMyGreen]

Getting some shots through Snell's window seems like a nice way to gain familiarity without as many challenges.

Well I just learned a new law. Thanks for that bit of knowledge!

 

[PatMyGreen]

My two cents (20 maybe) with some repetition from above.
The problems I have to overcome are:
-With a bigger camera, strobes and slightly negative most of the dome can be under water without holding it up. Holding a heavier rig partially out of the water is tiring.
-I need to move the strobe arms down low. Extended arms (10/2 or 9/3) don't balance right. Waves will get the strobes too.
-My large dome with wide angle is more positively buoyant than the rest of the camera so the balance can be off. The smaller fisheye dome is easier to handle. Both are glass.
-I almost always have water spots/streaks on the over part of the photo. Some say use defog. I don't.
-I generally don't shoot with the strobes since most shots are in high vis areas. But if I want to light up something at depth of background underwater, I have to not only move the strobes down vertically but also point them at what I want to get, with the right strobe power (manual), and and hope that what I am shooting at doesn't move.
-Since I shoot all manual, I try get the right exposure and framing before raising it up. Getting bounced around doesn't help.
-I find that many times the sky is overexposed so I will close down the aperture which can give me more depth of field or try to get the sun behind or above the camera. If shooting into the sun then all my shots are overexposed.
-All these things can make for some bad shots and so I generally shoot fast, as many times as I can and hope all the pieces come together. Composing shots is more work than UW shots.
-I read quite a bit about Snells window and Plimsoll interfaces which make sense but to me it's just over/under, so I suppose I am an amateur at it. Below are some links which found useful: https://dan.org/alert-diver/article/photography-in-the-plimsoll-interface/.
Wetpixel used to be a great resource and I thought Waterpixels tried to get the archives but I haven't looked hard enough I guess.
UW photography guide has some good info - Over-Under Photography.

The over/under for me is mostly about timing and trying to bracket the shots. I try to get the exposure set under water before going up. I find over/under tiring but I mostly shoot these at the end of the dive as the last thing I do. I usually get only a few shots as everyone is looking at me to get on the damn boat. Over/under is not my primary goal. If I balanced my camera for over/under instead of UW then it should be easier.
The photo below is wide angle and the sun is a bit too much in front and most have their backs to the camera. Photo is a bit curvy.
View attachment 915856

This one is a slightly over/under and shallow. This one would just have blue sky. Most good over/under shots have something in the background above the surface.
View attachment 915857

Thanks, that is all useful for me! I spent a pretty good amount of time getting my settings dialed in on my safety stop, and finally got my aperture and ISO where they needed to be. So pulling that off and actually framing the shot correctly felt like a victory after dozens (hundreds?) of shots that were just trash.

Next time I'll get the boat people at least to smile and wave and hopefully time that with someone closer on their safety stop.

Once I get that a few times I hope to get proficient at the giant stride in shot. Thanks for suggestions and help!