cdiver2
Contributor
Let your eyes travel to exotic tropical locales this summer, even if your hectic schedule or sensible budget keep your feet firmly planted in Gainesville. Want to revel in majestic reefs from around the globe? All it takes is a trip to Santa Fe Community College, courtesy of a new photography exhibition, ?Reflections.?
The exhibit showcases 31 color photographs of reef life from the Caribbean to the Indio-Pacific by Gainesville resident Carl Feldherr. The photographs were taken with a housed Nikon 8008s camera fitted with an Ikelite strobe, using Fujichrome Velvia or Provia film. The images were scanned and printed with an Epson Photo 2000P printer.
Feldherr, a professor in the Anatomy Department at the University of Florida, has been diving and photographing reefs for 31 years.
?The reefs have always interested me, not only because of their beauty, but as a biologist, the abundance of animal life makes it relatively easy to observe behavioral patterns and interactions among different organisms,? he says. ?Photography, which has been an interest of mine since high school, makes it possible to bring a little of the reef back to the surface without doing any serious damage.?
Feldherr has visited reefs throughout the world, and while he has difficulty naming a favorite, he holds a special interest in the reefs of the Indio-Pacific, which he says have many more species, and more colorful species, than the Caribbean.
?All reefs are unique and exotic in their own way,? he says, ?and I haven?t found one yet that I didn?t like.?
If these gorgeous photographs inspire you to visit these magical places with a camera, Feldherr has some advice about underwater photography.
?It requires a good bit of patience, and, even under the best of conditions, the ratio of good images to the total number taken is usually very low. Therefore, I find it essential to be highly critical and selective. In this regard, I always follow the advice of Chris Newbert, one of the world?s top underwater photographers: Get a large trash can and use it frequently.?
?Reflections? runs in SFCC's President's Lobby, Robertson Administration Building, on the northwest campus through Sept. 14. The gallery is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
The exhibit showcases 31 color photographs of reef life from the Caribbean to the Indio-Pacific by Gainesville resident Carl Feldherr. The photographs were taken with a housed Nikon 8008s camera fitted with an Ikelite strobe, using Fujichrome Velvia or Provia film. The images were scanned and printed with an Epson Photo 2000P printer.
Feldherr, a professor in the Anatomy Department at the University of Florida, has been diving and photographing reefs for 31 years.
?The reefs have always interested me, not only because of their beauty, but as a biologist, the abundance of animal life makes it relatively easy to observe behavioral patterns and interactions among different organisms,? he says. ?Photography, which has been an interest of mine since high school, makes it possible to bring a little of the reef back to the surface without doing any serious damage.?
Feldherr has visited reefs throughout the world, and while he has difficulty naming a favorite, he holds a special interest in the reefs of the Indio-Pacific, which he says have many more species, and more colorful species, than the Caribbean.
?All reefs are unique and exotic in their own way,? he says, ?and I haven?t found one yet that I didn?t like.?
If these gorgeous photographs inspire you to visit these magical places with a camera, Feldherr has some advice about underwater photography.
?It requires a good bit of patience, and, even under the best of conditions, the ratio of good images to the total number taken is usually very low. Therefore, I find it essential to be highly critical and selective. In this regard, I always follow the advice of Chris Newbert, one of the world?s top underwater photographers: Get a large trash can and use it frequently.?
?Reflections? runs in SFCC's President's Lobby, Robertson Administration Building, on the northwest campus through Sept. 14. The gallery is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
