A Glimpse of Underwater PhotographyA Glimpse of Underwater Photography

Are you a diver? Have you ever thought of showing what you see underwater to your friends? How does underwater photography work anyway?It was said that underwater photography started around 1800 when William Thompson took an underwater photograph with a camera mounted on a pole. But it was not until 1957 that underwater photography started to bloom when the first waterproof camera was invented.

As good as a waterproof camera may sound, underwater photographers nowadays generally use a casing to protect their camera so that they don't need to have two cameras for land and underwater. Furthermore, these casings are usually made of plastic so they are light in weight and your wallet.

And to make underwater photography more enjoyable, compact digital camera manufacturers nowadays are looking into the possibility of water resistant camera. Very soon, you will see cameras that have stronger water resistant capability and good for diving even without any casing.

The next underwater photography equipment you will need is an underwater flash unit.

This is because as you dive deeper, you will start to see the loss of color in your surrounding hence the blue green color you often see underwater. A lobster will look dull and dark brown because the red and orange colors are absorbed by the water. So, an external light source is important to restore your subject color so that it will look more alive and real. One of the reasons for underwater photography is to amaze the viewer of the marvelous underwater world and you can't do that with a boring picture.

Then, do you know that underwater photography is more than just about marine life? You can take pictures of the amazing cave system and some divers even become experts in underwater landscape photography. Who says landscape photography is only limited on land?

A very important tip about underwater photography is that you will want to learn to be good in diving before you take up this hobby. Not just that your diving skill will affect the quality of your pictures, your safety is also dependent on your diving technique. After all, you are the stranger in the sea and if you look at this from the marine eye, you are invading their territories and they have all the right to attack you.

The last underwater photography tip for you is that you will want to get as close to your subject as possible. This is again caused by the fact that water will absorb light and make your subject loss its true color. That is why you need to be a good diver so that you can stay calm when you are approaching your subjects without provoking them.

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