PHOTO ALBUM - Introduction

A Photographer's Creed

All the photos shown in this photo album were taken by your webmaster and follow my philosophy of underwater photography. That philosophy is that all these shots were taken under totally natural conditions, no animals were touched or harassed in order to "get the shot." Some people might ask how it is possible to take an extreme close-up of a seahorse and not harass it. The answer is simple -- know your subject.

Having monitored seahorses over the years, I have witnessed some seahorses remain in one location for a considerable period of time, showing little reaction when divers approach, and yet others will do anything to avoid being seen and will hide at the first opportunity. I have seen seahorses that were bothered by over-enthusiastic photographers disappear the next day, moving a considerable distance away from the original location; these seahorses were obviously over stressed. I believe that by carefully observing the creature, you can tell the amount of stress you are putting it under. Notice there are no shots of "puffed up" puffer fishes as this shot is impossible to get without severely over-stressing and possibly killing the fish. I have seen thousands of them underwater and yet I have never seen one puffed up without provocation.

It is our responsibility as divers and photographers to preserve these fragile reefs and their inhabitants. Photographers have a justifiably bad reputation for destroying the reef in their determination to get the shot, no matter what. Let's stop this behaviour and set an example to others.

Technical Tidbits

As most underwater photographers can attest, one collects an amazing assortment of photography gear over the years. I started with the Sea and Sea MM2ll which I found to be an excellent system. The fact that one can buy an assortment of lenses, for a reasonable price and that can be changed underwatere made this a great way to start. One could be shooting wideangle one minute and a seahorse the next.

After a couple of years I picked up a Nikonos V system with macro and 28mm lenses. I used this sytem for many years and found it to be excellent. However I did find the restriction of shooting either wide angle or macro a little frustrating. Not being able to change lenses underwater limited my enjoyment.

Ultimately the factor that continually frustrated me with both of the Rangefinder camers, was the inability to get in close to really small creatures, the framer simply scared the creatures too much. With a lot of patience and practice I got some good results but when the chance came to purchase a used housed system I jumped at it. So with a Nikon 8008s in an Ikelite housing with dual SB105 strobes and an 105mm macro lens I was finally able to get in close without disturbing my subjects. This is currently my system of choice.

Digital Photography

Now of course digital photography has reared its head and is threatning the supremacy of film. At this point, for serious photography underwater, I still think the housed film camera sysytem will provide the results. Notice I did not say the BEST results! At this point in time if one wanted to end up with the rich detail possible with film I believe one has to go with the Housed digital SLR and the investment necessary is a huge hurdle.

However....I truly believe that the instant feedback, the low price, and the sheer enjoyment of a standard digital camera is the way to go for the casual or semi pro photographer. If one goes with a Olympus or Canon the housing are a couple of hundred dollars, and the cameras are not much more. Also one has an excellent topside camera for day to day use, meaning that you can get into u nderwater photography for just a few hundred dollars. I frequently shoot with a housed Olympus and have seldom had more fun in photography!! It has bought back the enjoyment. I highly recommend digital photography to all new photographers.

Whichever camera system you start off, there is noting that will give you a better return on your investment than an underwater photography course. I have seen divers with $10,000 camera systems who did not have the diving skills necessary to getting goog results. The important skills in underwater photography are, perfect bouyancy, patience, understanding of fish/ creatures and the reef around you, more patience, the ability to find the creatures, and the understanding of the basic rules of composition. This is a tall order for any diver, but with a few lessons and a lot of practice one can end up with some fantastic 8 x 10s on your wall.

Although I have the technical know how to alter the photos in Photoshop all of these photos are unedited and appear as the original work. The only altering was cropping the slides to better fit the confines of web page design. I have explained some of the photos either from a photographer's point of view or simply from one who loves the reefs. For those of you who have dived here, I have also included the locations of some shots. I hope you enjoy this labour of love and I welcome your feedback.

Copyright Info

All images on this website are the property of Simon Walsh. These images are not in the public domain and therefore may not be reproduced, copied or changed in any way without the written authorization of Simon Walsh. ANY use of these images is in direct violation of International Copyright Law. Please contact me at walshs@cwdom.dm for more information or for the fee stucture for the use of these photos.