17th-18th September 2011 - Underwater Photography Part III

I've always been a bit sceptical about putting diving and photography together, possibly as a result of buddying keen photographers who seem to forget everything but the picture they are taking, maybe just because I like to take in the dive with my own two eyes or it could just be down to an expectation that my lack of photographic ability above the surface would be mirrored below the water.

Having said all that when it comes to nautical archeology I can see the obvious benefits of having an record of the survey sites and artifacts for examination on the surface so last weekend saw me headed down to Fort Cumberland in Portsmouth for an introduction to the dark art of underwater photography.

Run by Kester Keighley and Matt Cass, both experienced and dedicated photographers with assistance from Rachel Quirk the course had eleven trainees eager to learn about and practice the principles of applying photographic skills in the wet.

My fellow attendees were a mixed group from those with little theoretical knowledge or practical experience like myself to others with huge amounts of knowledge and far more understanding of the subject than I ever expect to have.

We started with the basics; exposure and depth of field and what adjustments were needed to aperture, shutter speed and ISO level to compensate for the hostile underwater environment.

All this was new to me and started to explain why dedicated photographers need to carry so much paraphernalia in their search for the desired image.


Equipment selection was covered next which gave us a chance to see what we were all using and for our tutors give us some history and their views on the subject.

This was closely followed by a session on lighting, a vital, but often overlooked factor underwater.

After a quick lunch break it was time to put some of the learning into practice and it was off to the pool to see if we could get it to work for real.


With several planned sequences from scaled artifact photos, archaeological skills, macro shots and diver images there was a lot to cover.

Despite some less than perfect efforts we all managed to take some credible efforts ready for examination the next day.


The Sunday morning gave the tutors a chance to review our pictures, identify areas for improvement and and suggest possible techniques for combating our biggest issues - focus and lighting for me.

The next session moved us on to some of the more archaeologically specific areas of photography such as photomosaics, artifacts and correct logging procedure.

Dryside practice in some of the new skills and equipment followed giving me a chance to use a tripod for the first time as well as learn just how useful an inverted wastepaper basket can be for a photographer!



The afternoon was dedicated to post photo editing and enhancement to get the most from our raw product and make sure that we could get the most data possible from our digital files. I certainly never realised just how powerful a tool photoshop can be.

Although I'm not completely converted to the use of cameras underwater I can now certainly appreciate just what goes into a well composed and technically difficult photo and I now have the basic knowledge and skills to allow myself to experiment and practice and obtain the pictures I want for the future.