My Diving Day Off Photo Gallery by Serena Bowles at pbase.com

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.

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

post a comment

Chet King		12-Jun-2008 01:09
Great shots!! V

Barry Moore		03-Nov-2007 10:46
Wonderful images. ~V~

Jan Wisniowski		05-Oct-2006 18:06
Very nice gallery , miraculous under-water world :)

enrique pasuelo		24-Nov-2005 10:14
love ur pics,professionally done!!!!

Angela Johnson		28-Feb-2005 22:58
These are STUNNING! Underwater photography has always grabbed me. The colors here are so pretty.

Serena Bowles		18-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 Bowles		08-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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