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Serena Bowles | profile | all galleries >> Travel >> Underwater >> My Diving Day Off tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

My Diving Day Off | Life After Work at Opal Reef | Diving Albany | Beneath Busselton | Only Snorkelling Sabang | Diving Sabang | Diving Malapascua Island | Panagsama Beach | Sogod, Luzon | Diving Siquijor | Diving Balicasag | Diving Panglao | Return to Sabang | Diving the Red Sea, June 2007 | Providenciales, Turks & Caicos, British West Indies | Red Sea 08

My Diving Day Off

What does a diving instructor do on her day off? Go diving of course!

Keri Ghigo and I had a day off work together, so decided to go out diving with the company we work for.

They let us have a go of their fantastic new digital cameras, and these are the results. I'm afraid I hogged the cameras most of the time - no surprise there - but the other two were great spotters. 'Christmas Come Early' and 'Starfish on the Brain' were taken by Keri.

Apart from a couple of rolls on an old film camera, this is my first real attempt at underwater photography. I have to admit that I am pretty stoked with the results, but would really appreciate any feedback.

Oh, and feel free to vote for any of the images or the gallery should you see fit.

Some of my photos are now available to buy in a variety of sizes and finishes, or as digital files, at SerenityPhotography.co.uk. Search through my entire library of stock images here.

You can keep abreast of my travels by visiting my website underwater-girl.co.uk.


You can see all my diving stock images here - over 1500 to choose from.

bouldar coral close up
bouldar coral close up		 candy crab
candy crab		 cant get me
cant get me		 careful fire coral
careful fire coral
cats eye shell
cats eye shell		 christmas come early
christmas come early		 close up polyps
close up polyps		 cute nudie
cute nudie
yes they are looking
yes they are looking		 yes more coral
yes more coral		 delicate feeding coral
delicate feeding coral		 waiting to feed
waiting to feed
delicate shades
delicate shades		 tiny polyps
tiny polyps		 fire and butterflies
fire and butterflies		 fluffy whip
fluffy whip
fractals at work
fractals at work		 the closer you look
the closer you look		 from outer space
from outer space		 sweetlips
sweetlips
fuzzy
fuzzy		 starfish
starfish		 i can see you
i can see you		 starfish on the brain
starfish on the brain
inner glow
inner glow		 life of a sponge
life of a sponge		 life on the reef
life on the reef		 spongy bits
spongy bits
spiky staghorn
spiky staghorn		 like angel delight
like angel delight		 soft coral close up
soft coral close up		 little nudie branch
little nudie branch
soft coral and feather star
soft coral and feather star		 mostly soft coral
mostly soft coral		 so why is it called brain coral
so why is it called brain coral		 nice colour scheme
nice colour scheme
a step back
a step back		 pretty in pink
pretty in pink		 animals not plants
animals not plants		 pretty pretty
pretty pretty
sea squirt
sea squirt		 reminds me of cornflakes
reminds me of cornflakes		 school of fish
school of fish		 colony of coral
colony of coral

comment | share
Linda & Pär Johansson22-Sep-2012 07:58
What a fantastic day to be free from work! You have done a wonderful job! V
Guest 12-Jun-2008 01:09
Great shots!! V
Barry S Moore03-Nov-2007 10:46
Wonderful images. ~V~
Jan Wisniowski05-Oct-2006 18:06
Very nice gallery , miraculous under-water world :)
enrique pasuelo 24-Nov-2005 10:14
love ur pics,professionally done!!!!
Guest 28-Feb-2005 22:58
These are STUNNING!

Underwater photography has always grabbed me. The colors here are so pretty.
Serena Bowles18-Jun-2004 04:01
Hi Chet,

Thanks for your comments. The biggest advice I could give you is to go digital, and just snap away. The advantages of digital are not only that you can have the instant feedback of seeing your shots, which really helps you to improve, but also that you are not limited to 24/36 shots a dive like with film.

There are so many cameras out there, so choosing which one is right for you entails a lot of research - or if you already have a digital camera, see whether a underwater housing is avbailable for it.

I've got a Sea&Sea Aquapix camera (although it has actually been recalled right now, so I'm awaiting a replacement). It is fixed focus, which has pluses and minuses - you cannot be so selective with what you want to focus on, but if vis is not the best, then at least you are not waiting while the camera tries to focus.

Whatever camera you decide on, the main trick is to learn to work with it - some are better a certain things than others. Find out what its limitations are and work within them. Practice, and in no time you'll have some shots you are proud of.

The thing about pictures ending up too blue, that is down to the water filtering out colours the further down you go - red being the first to go. Another advantage of digital is that you can play with the pictures in photoshop - or similar - and correct the colours. I often do no more that that, and maybe crop slightly with mine.

Other ways to avoid having your pictures blued out are to shoot at shallow depths in sunlight, or do what the pros do and use a strobe. Strobe is what flash is called in underwater photography (don't ask me why). To get best results you need a seperate strobe from that on the camera, and then you are talking about spending probably the same ammount as you have already spent on the camera and underwater housing put together - they're not cheap. If you use the flash built in on the camera, you get what is known as backscatter - the strobe lights up all the little particles in the water.

keeping the camera steady is very important, as it's all a lot darker under there, so the slightest movement can blur your shots.

I hope this has helped you, and wich you luck with your diving and photography - maybe we'll get to see some of your pictures on here before long?

Take Care, Serena.X
chet 17-Jun-2004 02:14
I learned about this site from friends. I am a diver and trying to learn how to take pictures. Debating whether to upgrade or stay with point and shoot.Like to know about your photo equipment, divesite,depth and etc. Mostofmy pictures,taken about 50'+ end up being too blue Your pictures look great. would enjoy knowing more about your technique, photo equipment and etc.
Chet B.
Serena Bowles08-Feb-2004 05:38
Thanks, Tom, nice of you to say so. Thanks for visiting. X
tom 07-Feb-2004 18:58
Great underwater photography... you shoot like a pro.. Keep up the great work and keep on diving..
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