Photo Workshop Recommendations?

[ACHiPo]

I was unclear. I'm not suggesting that you take your whole u/w rig out and about, but that you look around with your macro lens for bugs, spiders, flowers, etc. to work on for photo composition, depth of field at different f/stops, effect of shutter speed, etc. It's all nature photography, and those skills are the same above or below the water.

Got it. Thanks for clarifying. That’s kinda what I’ve been doing, but with a silk plant and hula girl model. (These were taken with the whole rig resting on a footstool. I’ve also been experimenting with just the macro lens and ambient light.)

 

[ACHiPo]

14-42 EZ? It can't really do Macro, so you'd need a diopter of some kind.
The 60mm is a fine macro lens; I don't know if it will fit your port....I only know Nauticam, not AOI, port/lens combos. Nauticam has charts of what fits shat; probably AOI does too.
The 45mm is a nice macro length, but is more of a portrait lens than a macro lens on its own. It would need a diopter of some kind too. The f/1.8 is not very useful for macro...you need more depth-of-field than that.

I have a port for my 60 mm macro lens. Not sure if I’ll bother with the kit lens in the housing. The 45 mm is just for air portraits—I don’t think it will fit in my housing anyway.

 

[ACHiPo]

Well if I can pull it off logistically and physically, it looks like I can do Coco View for two weeks in March/April, then a quick couple days recovery and laundry before heading to Anilao with Bluewater for 10 days. I’m still trying to decide if it’s wise to cram that much in.

Need to decide soon as Coco View fills up fast.

 

[ACHiPo]

Hi Evan,

I can commend on the workshops of Alex Mustard, I have been on two of them. He is not just an outstanding UW photographer, but also a focused and patient teacher (no matter at what level he is teaching), who has the gift to explain complicated things in a simple way...

It is right that top photographers (even winners of great competitions) participated, but most participants were regular UW photographers. The experience was extremely positive, I (and also my wife) learned a lot and certainly will join Alex in the future again. In order to get a place in his workshops, you better be on Alex's mailing list (usually the workshops are booked out within few hours after announcement) and this concentrated expertise comes at a price.
Maybe it is more economical to first join a (more budget friendly) workshop at Backscatter/Bluewater and then attend one of Alex's workshops, in case one has zero UW photography experience. Lisi and me studied the books of Alex Mustard and Martin Edge, practiced approx. 2 years and then attended our first workshop...
(It is alike with the diving courses: when you make AOWD just after OWD the progress is small, but when you practice a lot after the first level entry course, you are really prepared for make maximum profit from the next level course)

@WS007 This is excellent feedback and advice. Thank you!

 

[ACHiPo]

Comments on your rig. It is a nice set up. The 21 mp is enough to blow up to any size enlargement you are likely to want. It is not enough for a taking a small crop and blowing it WAY UP but you can do it more than you think. It is way more than you need for social media. The 60 mm macro should work fine. It is a 120 mm full frame equivalent and I use a 105 on my full frame. You have a size advantage for macro over full frame. Your rig is small allowing you to get into tight spots. And your system should work fine for macro video if you have a strong flood light.

For macro, most macro lenses shoot macro (your subject is life size on your sensor) at the closest focus distance. Getting to the closest distance is not that practical. You will get to some fraction of that. Otherwise you need a wet lens to get some level of super macro. I have a wet lens that does about 1.5 super and it works fine in most situations. For really high level super macro, you will need some kind of stabilization like a tripod or just setting it on a small rock or what have you. And that works best on muck dives in low currents.

First off, I would advise just taking your camera out in the open air and learning basic photography. After that you want to just go out and full around under water taking shots and learning what works. Also you need a certain number of dives and training to do underwater photography. It is easy to get task loaded and get into trouble. I would suggest taking: open water (duh), advanced open water, peak performance buoyancy, and rescue if you can. Rescue is not so much to teach you to rescue people. It teaches you to recognize problems and to A) solve them or B) realize it is time to end the dive.

Something else to learn is fish behavior. I know how most Caribbean fish behave so I know how to approach to get a shot or if a shot is even feasible. I read Martin Edge’s book and it had a great piece of advice “sometimes the shot is not there”.

As others people have said, once you get a basic knowledge base, you can benefit the most from a course. Or you can go and take one right off the bat. You will still pick up quite a bit and shorten you learning curve.

@PatW Thank you! I definitely plan to keep practicing with and without the strobes and housing, both to “relearn” photography after years of point and shoot cell phones, and to develop muscle memory with the controls of the camera and strobes.

I am a comfortable relaxed diver underwater, but appreciate the point that I am adding a lot of bandwidth tasks that need to become second nature which means practice. I am rescue certified, and have good buoyancy skills. I definitely need more consistent diving practice as I’ve been doing 30 vacation dives or so every two years with private refresher training in between to prepare. I need to improve/practice finning techniques for muck diving as well as get even better at buoyancy.

Your comment about understanding fish behavior makes a lot of sense as well. As I’m reading books and watching videos I am thinking of amazing things I’ve seen underwater and realizing that none of them would make good photos as I was too far away. Attempts to get closer were unsuccessful meaning I need to take a lot more time and change my behavior. I definitely have a lot to learn in this regard.

Roatan is attractive to me both for the 1-1 instruction and for the easy access shallow water where I can just grab a tank and practice diving skills and photo skills in a relatively safe and controlled environment. Multiple times a day.

BHB could be similar.

Anilao may be too big of an initial leap for me at this time. Especially given the time zone differences and travel time and short turn around time.

 

[ACHiPo]

Booked two weeks in Roatan at Coco View next April. Have a few sessions tentatively booked with Mickey. Thanks for everyone’s help.

 

[ACHiPo]

I can highly recommend the Underwater Tribe. They are running a workshop in Lembeh in July 2026. Great guys, great resort (NAD). They are one of the few workshops where the pros (Mike and Luka) are in the water with you and they don't have cameras. Great people. The 60 macro is a great lens for Lembeh, you might also check out the 30 macro to do some easier shooting, there is the 45 Panasonic/Leica macro lens which is awesome but not terribly fast to focus. Here is a pelagic tunicate I shot with it last night on a black water dive. OM-1, AOI, AOI strobes, 45 macro lens.



BillView attachment 919907

Bill, this is a spectacular photograph of a critter I never knew existed (and still likely wouldn't recognize if I saw it in person).

 

[bvanant]

Bill, this is a spectacular photograph of a critter I never knew existed (and still likely wouldn't recognize if I saw it in person).

That's how it is in Black Water diving. I think it is a pyrosome and the orange bits are eggs.
Bill

 

[ACHiPo]

That's how it is in Black Water diving. I think it is a pyrosome and the orange bits are eggs.
Bill

Amazing. How big is it?

 

[bvanant]

about half inch across.
Bill