HPB Voices Reloaded
Jul - Aug 2008
In this issue, Debra Mok seeks out three passionate photographers among our midst. Shyam, Andy and Ben all prefer to be behind the lens rather than in front of it (What's new?).
Read more about their passion and pick up some tips from them as well. Have fun taking your next pictures!
8 Tips to being a SCUBA PRO
By Andy Tan
Taking underwater pictures is an excellent way to capture the wonderful memories of the marine world. All you need is a digital camera in an underwater casing and you’re on your way to creating stunning pictures.
Story-teller
Your picture should tell a story. I once took a picture of a tiny fish ensnared by a jellyfish, with another valiant friend trying to rescue it from outside the jellyfish!
Closer... closer... even closer…
It is crucial to be up close and personal to your subject. This helps in reducing the scatter from particles, ensures sufficient exposure, and captures a lot more details too.
Lionfish lying low –Hands off this fellow!
Unusual?
I find it much more fascinating to capture unusual scenes of families among our neighbours from the deep. Looking at one moray eel, interesting… Catching two dancing in the current, intriguing… And chancing on three huddled together for comfort, priceless!
3’s not a crowd – Baby moray eels
Be comfortable underwater
Be at ease when you’re in the water, know where all your gear are, maintain good buoyancy control, and breathe steadily so as to avoid alarming the marine life.
Adequate contrast for a blast
Dive sites with darker bottoms provide great contrast. If you go muck-diving, the black volcanic bottom brings out the wonderful colours of amazing sea creatures such as urchins, shrimps, and decorated crabs.
Sea urchin glittering like a jewel
Patience
Be patient especially if you intend to capture a creature in the midst of doing something. Keep still for a while for the marine life to get used to you. Observing the marine life for a couple of minutes also allows you to notice peculiar behaviours and motions.
Frogfish yawning
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
An important dive ethic for photographers is to avoid damaging the marine habitat. Respecting the marine life that you’re photographing also means not handling them into an ideal position for your picture.
Optimum exposure
You’ll need to experiment to get a consistent exposure with your camera. Picking the right time to dive is also key. My best shots are from night dives. With a good dive torch, you get to see the marine life in much more brilliant colours without the blue-light interference during the day.
Hermit crab ambling in the dark
All the pictures here were taken with my trusty Panasonic Lumix DMC-F1 in an underwater casing, with no other equipment. Unfortunately, it was recently flooded during one of my dives and has been put to rest…This article is dedicated to my camera, for having created so many beautiful memories from my underwater adventures ;>
Travel Photography
By Shyamala T
I could go on and on, travel and photography being two of my favourite things... but I shall keep the focus on these musings on three areas which I find most useful: ‘finding the picture’, ‘what gear to take’, and ‘what if it rains’.
Can you spot Shyam?
Finding the picture
The pictures are all there, waiting to be found. I like taking photos of familiar sights from a different viewpoint. So rather than a traditional postcard shot, there’s a photo which keeps people guessing… like this one which is part of the Sydney Opera House.
Then there are those which tell a story indirectly… like the picture below, which brings great memories of a lazy holiday at the E&O in Penang.
What gear to take?
General rule of thumb – the item you don’t take is the one you’ll need.
You could take a compact which slips into your pocket. But with an SLR, you might be carrying more. I use a Canon EOS350D. Most times, I use a Canon 18-55mm lens, but I usually have a longer lens (Canon 55-200mm or Sigma 200-400mm) with me… adds to the weight but these long lens come in useful for shots like this… the fence between the beady-eyed croc and me was also useful.
If I’m going to be using a long lens, I usually lug a tripod. Quick tip on hand-holding long lenses – if you’re using an x mm lens, your shutter speed should not be slower than 1/x seconds. If you need to shoot at slower speeds, a tripod or some other ‘steadying’ mechanism may be needed… this shot was taken with a 400mm lens using a tripod… no fences in this one.
Other must-haves include a polarising filter, extra memory cards, charger, lens cleaner and the camera instruction booklet (very important when dealing with “error” messages in the newer digital cameras).
What if it rains?
When travelling, we’re often in a place for a short time and don’t have the luxury of waiting for wonderful light to take good pictures. But there are always possibilities… This one was taken from a car in India, in the middle of the monsoon season.
And if you’ve exhausted all possibilities, the light is terrible and you’re snowed in, you could stay indoors and do some painting with light… after all, that’s what photography is really about!
Better photographs without having to change your gear
By Benjamin Tan
Having professional-grade camera gear doesn’t guarantee great photographs. Composition - how you arrange the different parts of the scene - is equally important.
Consider the following:
The Rule of Thirds
Also used in painting and other visual arts, the “rule” of thirds suggests that in order to make a compelling photograph, your subject should not be right in the middle of the frame, but at, or near, the intersections of 2 horizontal and 2 vertical lines that divide the frame into thirds (as show below). This “rule” should be considered more of a guideline, since compelling photographs can be taken with the subject dead in the centre.
Focus!
Does placing many interesting things as possible in a photograph make it good? A photograph with many points of interest can be uninteresting as the eye is not able to easily focus on one thing and be drawn into the photograph. Objects that are larger or of a different colour from subjects in the background will definitely draw the eye.
The Camera Sees All
Ever wondered why you didn’t see that lamp-post sticking out of your friend’s head? Apparently, people have the ability to only see what they want to see, but the camera will record every single thing that you point it at. Want to avoid giving your friends extra appendages? Take a deliberate look at what’s in the scene before releasing the shutter.
