Photography and text go hand in hand when telling a story. While street photography is something we see often at Tongue In Chic, to commemorate World Oceans Day, we thought it would be fun to explore another area of photography. Underwater photography to be exact.
We took a virtual dive into the deep blue with Reef Check Ecodiver Trainer Shafinaz Suhaimi to learn more about responsible underwater photography.
With our personal Facebook timelines being inundated with an increasing number of underwater photos from dive trips, we wanted to know if taking pictures underwater was as easy as our friends made it seem. Oh, and if it that shot of someone shaking er… tentacles with an octopus was the done thing.
Where does one start?
Anyone who wants to start as an underwater photographer has to first be a certified diver and most importantly, be a good diver to minimize their impact on the reefs and the marine life before they embark on actual photography.
So I actually take [new divers] through a peak performance buoyancy test. To see if they can actually hover, be still and not rest themselves on corals or rest themselves and break things, especially corals because they take so long to grow and whenever you break them or harm them they could be so prone to diseases.
However, if you’ve got good divers who then want to embark on [underwater] photography then it is the equipment. We always try to teach our divers to be familiar with the equipment that they take without the flash.
Sometimes we’d like to get away with looking professional with our flash and strobes but what we try to encourage our divers to do is to learn and familiarize themselves with the camera and the settings to try and take pictures without artificial light.
So what [you] need to do is to learn about adjusting your white balance, how to approach a subject respectfully, how to bring the best out of the subject without actually moving them about and also bursting them with artificial light. A lot of underwater photography classes that are being conducted teach you to be familiar with your camera settings.
How popular is underwater photography?
I began diving 12 years ago and I have noticed that within the last 5-7 years, almost every dive trip that I’ve been on, someone’s got a camera. Whether it is a compact camera or large DSLRs.
It is popular simply because it is so fascinating. Marine life is fascinating and serene and beautiful and you want to capture it as a good memory and experience.
It is not uncommon to see a person with even two or three cameras dangling around their diving gear. So one compact for the macro, one for the wide angle and one for something else.
This form of tourism is great at creating awareness about marine life and the need to preserve it. How does this affect marine life?
It has a positive effect in the sense that underwater photography can capture how beautiful [the ocean is]. Because not everyone can dive to see what we have there. Our planet earth is actually two thirds ocean. If it isn’t for documentaries from The National Geographic or underwater photographers showing how beautiful things are in the water, we would not learn to appreciate the rainforest of the sea.
What is negative to the marine environment is how we do it. [In this region], operators, dive centers or the resorts that run this business of diving and underwater photography share a lot of that responsibility.
Resorts and dive centers always do the first dive as a “check-out” dive. They literally want to check you out and see how you dive. Really responsible operators will not allow bad divers to go on trips.
It is also the conduct of the photographer that make underwater photography irresponsible. Everyone has a role to play, whether it is the other divers, operators or even the media. They will also ban you from diving if you start landing flat on corals or start harassing creatures such as waving sea cucumbers around or yanking octopus out of their hiding place and throwing the up to get the “Spanish flare” shot.
The National Geographic have shown very good examples of how you can take fantastic pictures without harming and disrespecting marine life.
What are some of the most important things to consider in responsible underwater photography?
Know your subject, practice on non-living subjects first. The first few modules I have for some ecodivers when learning how to do responsible underwater photography we use dummy seahorses and fish. We have really bright colored ones and really dull ones, we ask them to practice on those. And if you want to learn about lighting as well, practice on those dummies first.
What’s a safe or responsible distance to keep when taking pics?
Photographers can be as far or as close to the subject. It all depends on the approach. If you understand the subject, like knowing how to approach a shark and not chasing them.
How safe is safe? As long as you don’t compromise your safety and don’t compromise the safety of the subject.
Top tips to amateur underwater photographers.
- Be good divers – have excellent buoyancy skills and be able to take pictures without resting on reefs
- Don’t harass marine creatures – don’t chase after them, don’t touch them, don’t move them.
- Be very familiar with your camera settings so you don’t need to take too many shots of the same thing.
- Be ethical – if the shot is not meant for you don’t take it, don’t edit pictures to create a shot because you are encouraging other photographers trying to recreate or even engineer that shot.
Final words on responsible underwater photography?
Personal safety first.
Shafinaz conducting underwater reef checks in Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu.
World Oceans Day.
Created in 1992 and made official by the United Nations in 2009, World Oceans Day takes place annually on June 8. It serves as a time to recognize the importance of the sea as a vital ecosystem and to take action to preserve its delicate habitats and wildlife. With more than 300,000 members in 150 countries, Oceana has greatly reduced over- fishing and protected threatened marine habitats with its science-based policies.
With this year’s World Oceans Day, La Mer and Oceana enters the seventh year of their partnership of jointly commemorating this day. Oceana, the world’s largest international ocean advocacy organization. La Mer will make a USD$200,000 donation to Oceana in support of their Habitat Protection Campaign, as well as other global initiatives for ocean conservation.
For more information about the campaign, visit La Mer World Oceans Day
Tags:
La Mer, National Geographic, responsible underwater photography, shafinaz suhaimi, World Oceans Day
