I’m back from a great trip to Ambon, in the midst of going through images, which essentially means staring at a computer screen for hours on end while downing litres (or quarts, depending on your preference of measurement units) of caffeinated beverages. It’s amazing how glamorous underwater photography can be sometimes.
One of the issues I [...]

I’m off to Ambon in Indonesia, specifically to visit Maluku Divers/ Ambon Dive Center. This is my first trip to this destination. I sort of know what to expect, but then again, I know that there will be many unanticipated events and experiences along the way…which is part of the fun of travel and exploration.
I’ve [...]

The pursuit of photography underwater is often characterised by one over-riding emotion…frustration. Let me explain.
If you’re a photographer, or at least have played around with photo equipment, you’ve probably experienced some level of frustration with your camera gear. Sub-optimal optics, having the wrong equipment at the right time, having the right equipment at the wrong [...]

It seems like all I’ve been writing about recently is whales, which of course, is entirely understandable given that I just returned from six weeks of thinking about nothing but whales.
Before going to Tonga though, I was in Papua New Guinea for a month, cruising around New Ireland aboard MV Golden Dawn, spending a [...]

I’ve just started contributing a regular column called The Photographic Eye for Wetpixel Quarterly, which is the print magazine covering underwater photography and related issues produced by my friends from Wetpixel.
The idea behind this column is to pick a photograph and discuss some of the thoughts, preparation and any other relevant considerations that went into [...]

Craig Jones sent me a few questions about manual focus for macro ports. The airlines lost his gear (what a bummer!), so he’s building his underwater camera system up from scratch. He’s used both Canon and Nikon systems, but he really likes the Nikon 70-180mm zoom macro, which is why he’s leaning to Nikon (though [...]

During my past few trips, I’ve had an opportunity to use compact cameras underwater. Clearly, using compact digital cameras isn’t something I’d normally do (as anyone who’s seen my mountain of SLR-related equipment will attest to), but I get asked often about how to take nice photos underwater using compact cameras, so it’s not a [...]

If you’re trying to improve your underwater photography, one of the most useful things you can do is take photos on land. Doing so helps you get comfortable with your camera, with composition, technique, etc., and often leads to ideas for things to try underwater.
One thing I’ve been playing with recently is software to produce [...]

Going through my photo library for a project last week, I came across this image of a black grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci) from my trip last year aboard the M/V Shear Water in the Bahamas. Much to my dismay, I was never able to find time to write about the enjoyable and educational trip, as I [...]

I’m off to Papua New Guinea. It’s been a couple of years since I was last there, so I’m really looking forward to the trip. I’ll be staying at Loloata Island Resort, and I’ll also be aboard the MV Golden Dawn.
Having been dry for several weeks now, checking and packing gear was even more of [...]

I’ve stumbled upon a problem with the Inon MRS magnetic rotation system ports which is incredibly annoying. If you are using this system for underwater photography, or might want to use this system in the future, read on.
The port system facilitates manual focus by using a magnetic collar on the outside of the port and [...]

Going digital definitely has a lot of merits. Immediate feedback, being able to shoot more than 36 frames at a time, being able to make duplicate/ back-up copies immediately, and having the ability to edit work on-the-spot rank at the top of my list.
Nothing in life, however, comes for free.
If there’s been one major drawback [...]