Australia’s Tristan McCaffrey drives through a Tahitian tube while surfing in Tahiti. “Photographing out there was more difficult than I had presumed,” photographer Colin Brown said. “My first day shooting at Teahupoo was only my second time using my camera housing. Also, I was adding to the challenge by riding waves on my board while shooting to try to get unique angles.”
P H OTO G R A P H Y
H O W TO D I S CO V E R T H E U N S E E N W O R L D Elaine Whiteford, a diver as well as a photographer/writer, is quick to point out conventional underwater photography challenges, such as color absorption and backscatter. However, she adds, there are other challenges that come from being in the aquatic realm. “Composing and taking an image while hovering motionless (or, ‘maintaining neutral buoyancy’ in diver-speak) requires skill,” she said. “Controlling the camera via the knobs of an external housing, often while wearing thick gloves, does not lend itself to dynamic responses to photographic opportunities. Add
to that swells, currents, low light, poor visibility and, of course, the need to keep breathing and you will begin to understand why successful underwater photographers have to be successful divers too.” Whiteford added, “While diving has to be second nature so that you can concentrate on photography, you still have to be completely aware of your circumstances in the water, particularly how much air you have, how deep you are and how long you have been below the surface.”
BY BRADLEY WILSON FALL 2007
COMMUNICATION: JOURNALISM EDUCATION TODAY • 23