Techniques for taking underwater photos

Written by John G. Reclos Thursday, 11 November 2004 02:00

PDF | Print | E-mail

Article Index
Techniques for taking underwater photos
Page 2: Underwater Camera
Page 3: Diving Equipment
All Pages

In this article I will try to explain all the ways used to approach fish (with apnea of course). Some of them may require keeping your breath for some time underwater, while others are very simple and easy to be performed. Note that success is not always guaranteed and that with I give you the basics, with your imagination try to make these techniques better and I would be glad to publish your additions in this article. Also note that at first none of these might have the expected results, but don't give up, as time passes and the more time you practice the better the results will get. Finally I would like to inform all of you that no photo or fish is more precious than our life, so do not try to hold your breath more than you feel comfortable enough. The fish will be there next time too.

In water light gets absorbed very quickly which means that your flash unit will not be able to light properly a subject sitting at a distance of even 5 meters away from you. Apart from that, the deeper you get - and definitely below 10 meters - the light spectrum changes dramatically since the short wavelengths are absorbed by the water (reds get lost first) and everything appears to be more bluish than it really is. The deeper you get, the more pronounced this effect becomes, while at great depths (not reachable without special equipment which are out of the scope of this simple article - scuba diving) there is nor even enough light to see. Thus, in all circumstances, unless you are taking photos during a sunny summer day at depths not exceeding 2 meters, the use of the flash is recommended. This will freeze motion but - most important - will show the true colours of the fish, coral or invertebrate which may initially seem "dull" to you. I am sure that most of you have seen this effect. A coral or fish seems colourless from a distance of 10 meters but when you get close to it, you can see the reds, greens and yellows which were invisible from a distance. Thus, there is a need to get close to your subject. The basic assumption is that you have a compact camera (preferably a digital one so you can see the results immediately and know if you need to take a second shot) and you want to take some nice photos without breaking your bank account. If money is not an issue, you can buy a special underwater camera (Nikonos for instance), strong underwater strobe lights (2 or even more of them) and of course all the equipment for scuba diving which will allow you to stay at any given depth for some time without holding your breath. However, this will cost you several thousands of Euro or dollars. The overall costs of the equipment described here is 300 - 2000 Euro depending on high tech equipment you want to buy.

It is evident that, although you want to get close to your subject and get a clear shot, the fish in their natural habitat are always alert for the danger of predators so they will not accept the presence of a "strange" 2 meter creature even if it carries a camera and not a spear gun. So, we have a more complicated issue. Not only must you get closer to the fish but you must also use a way which will not force it to swim away. You must keep in your mind that the fish will get away from you faster than you can take a picture of it. Therefore, it is a matter of technique.

Part I: Ambush Techniques 

I will start with the so called ambush techniques. Those are the techniques that require keeping your breath for more than 30 sec. underwater at a certain depth. The species I refer to are temperate water fish (found in the Mediterranean sea) but you can use the same techniques for their tropical counterparts. Those are:

Common ambush: First you search for a rock which is able to fully cover your body, so that the fish can't see you and cannot understand your true size. Than you dive (with the least sound possible) at the selected spot and stay there for as long as you can. Normally the fish will start feeling curious and approach you trying to understand what kind of organism you are.

Tips:

• It is generally advised that the fish don't see you while you go from the surface to the spot you have selected to ambush.
• If you are using a diving suit you should put as much weight on your belt as you need, so that it can hold you to the spot you have selected without you having to waste oxygen trying to hold from the rocks.
• While waiting for the fish to reach you try not to move at all. Even the slightest movement will scare them and drive them away from you.
• When the fish are near you try to take a picture of them try not to make sudden or very fast moves.
• Also when you are looking at the fish that are near you try not to focus on one single fish, because this fish will get scared and leave taking all others with it.
• If the fish are too suspicious and they do not approach you, try to lower your eyes like you are scared and push yourself gently backwards with one of your hands, like you accept the fact that they are more dominant than you and that you are scared.

Works with: It mostly works with fish that are near the rocks (not inside them) and are curious or dominant, it also works with open water fish such as tunas. With this technique I have taken pictures of Diplodus sargus, and have many times seen dicentrarhus labrax and dicentrarhus punctatus. All kinds of breams respond to this technique more or less.

Changing spots ambush: Generally the same with the common ambush but in this one you have to choose two spots for ambush because if the fish do not approach you with the common ambush then you move to the second selected spot by crawling on the rocks with the one hand there you stay a few more seconds. After that the fish will approach you very fast.

Tips:

• While you crawl from the first spot to the second make sure that the fish never see your whole body.
• While you crawl try to move with your hand and not with the flaps.
• If the fish are too suspicious and they do not approach you, try to lower your eyes like you are scared and push yourself gently backwards with one of your hands, like you accept the fact that they are more dominant than you and that you are scared.
• While you crawl try to keep your body near the rocks.

Works with: Well, it mostly works with the same fish as the common ambush but it is more effective on some very suspicious fish such as the dentex dentex.

Aqquato: This technique is about making the fish to believe that you are one of their own. It usually takes place in shallow waters (up to 5 meters). You firstly relax on the surface over a rocky bottom and when you feel relaxed, you take a deep breath and you dive. When you reach the bottom, you grab with your left hand (for the right handed) from the rocks and you start moving by pulling the rocks, while taking advantage of their size that covers parts of your body and gives fish the wrong impression about your size. With your right hand you hold the camera ready to take photos. When you see the fish you want, you stop moving, or move towards a big rock that covers a big part of your body and wait a little bit behind it. The fish should be curious of your identity and should approach you very fast.

Tips:

• Try to dive away from the fish that you want to take a photo of, and make sure it doesn't see you diving.
• While you crawl try to move with your hand and not with the flaps.
• While you crawl try to keep your body near the rocks.
• If you have a diving suit, arrange your weights on your belt, so that it holds you down to the depth you want, so that you won't have to waste oxygen to hold yourself down.
• If the fish are too suspicious and they do not approach you, try to lower your eyes like you are scared and push yourself gently backwards with one of your hands, like you accept the fact that they are more dominant than you and that you are scared.
• Try to show your true size the least possible.

Works with: Everything I mentioned in the previous techniques but it is more efficient than the others with dicentrarhus labrax and dicentrarhus punctatus.

Mid-water ambush: This is the same technique as the ambush but it is only used to approach very large and open water fish such as tunas. You just dive in the middle of the water and ambush there. It is much easier than the common ambush, because in this one you do not need to find any rock to hide behind it. You just have to arrange the weight at your belt so that you have neutral buoyancy at the depth you want to do the ambush. For example if the sea has a depth of 50 meters, I will have my weights set so that I have neutral buoyancy at a depth of about 15-18 meters. In this technique you just dive to the depth you have neutral buoyancy and you stay there for as long as you can without moving. This technique is suggested only to experienced divers because doing an ambush at a place where you see no bottom and no shore is kind of scary.

Tips:

• You will know where the tunas are by looking at the schools of small fish that are in that area. If the small fish are near the surface, that means that the open water fish are in the area hunting the small ones.
• To approach them better and to make them more curious about what you are try to sew metal buttons and other shining stuff on your diving suit in order to look like a school of small fish.
• Although it might seem exciting to see big tunas always be careful, because we are talking about fish that weigh more than 300 kg.
• As I have stated already you can always use your imagination to change the basic techniques that I have written here according to the habits of the fish that live in your area. For example:
• For big fish and suspicious fish that live hidden inside caves (such as groupers) you can dive in front of the cave (two to three meters from it), hide behind a rock and wait. About twenty-thirty seconds later the grouper will take its head out of the cave trying to locate you.

Diving directly on the fish: Although this technique might sound simple it is not. In this technique you dive directly on the fish trying to make the least possible sound while leaving the surface. This is achieved by using the diving technique that I described at the beginning of the article. You must try to equalize pressure with the least sound possible (Valsava is strictly out of question). You should also use enough weight on your weight belt so that about 6 meters from the fish you have negative buoyancy. After that point the flaps are only used to make corrections on your direction. Try so that your eyes do not focus on one fish and always try to have the sun behind you, so that the fish cannot understand correctly your size. NOTE: this technique does not work at depths smaller than 13 meters.

Works with: It works with some of the breams and it works with big groupers who stand in front of their caves starring at you. It also works with open water fish such as seriola dumerili or tunas.

Searching inside rocks: This is the most commonly used technique and it is the easiest one to be performed. You dive (trying always not to make too much noise) on a rock and then using your underwater torch you search inside holes and caves for fish that might be hiding there. If there is enough light to see inside the rocks try not to use the torch which might make certain species run away. Also make sure that no part of your equipment hits the rocks producing noises. While searching the cave or hole try not to make any noises (hits on rocks etc.) and when you leave the hole to go back to the surface try not to move the sand with your flaps and blur the place.

Tips:

• Never insert more than one third of your body inside caves or holes because you might get stack in there.
• Always check so that no part of your equipment can get hooked or get stacked on the rock.
• If by any chance you get stacked do not panic. Calm down and with your knife try to cut off the thing that holds you down. Or try to or try to release it with your hand.
• REMEMBER: No part of your equipment or fish is as precious as your life. It is better to lose a camera, a knife, a snorkel etc. than to lose our life.

Works with: Groupers, scorpion fishes and generally with all the fish who live or seek shelter under rocks. It also works with all kinds of invertebrates.

Methods of equalizing the pressure

If you are planning an underwater photo session it is important to become familiar with techniques for equalizing the pressure. Before every equalization you must blow air out of your nose inside the mask to equalize the pressure on your eyes and on the cavities around the eyes and the nose.

Valsava: You grab your nose firmly and you blow air very hard out of it. Normally all the pain from the pressure must have stopped. This equalization must be done at every two meters of depth. If it doesn't work return to the surface and try another method of equalization.

Lowry: You grab your nose firmly and you gently blow air inside it while swallowing. It should be done at every two meters of depth. If it doesn't work return to the surface and try another method of equalization.

Frenzel: You just swallow. It should be done at every two meters of depth. If it doesn't work return to the surface and try another method of equalization.

Cousteau: You move your jaw front and back. It must be done through the entire dive. If it doesn't work return to the surface and try another method of equalization.

Note: While going for the surface you do not need to equalize pressure. 

 

 

< Prev