Taking Pictures Underwater - How do you guys do it?

[captain nemo12]

Hello guys!

After browsing through the net searching for model sub pictures, I saw few one that were taken underwater. I have never done this with my subs but I did see those waterproof disposable cameras that cost around 10$ or so. I do have a didgital camera so I was wondering if you guys who have done this can help me out. I am thinking of building a sort of "WTC" so I can lower it and the camera inside into the water and operate the camera via wires of some sort. Sounds like fatasy but I'm sure about that idea either. The pond that I want to operate my subs in is not very deep, about 4-5 feet deep or so. Do I really need to get into my scuba suit and take the pictures by hand? Sounds a bit hard because I also need to waterproof my transmitter in this case .

Any suggestions?

[wayne frey]

I took some pretty good

I took some pretty good underwater pictures at the Sub Ron 5 with those throw away cameras. Most are rated deeper than you want to go anyway. You only need to be a couple of feet under water. Also, belive me, it is easier to take them without a mask on. I missed a few,but got many good ones.
Then I went down and had them spun up on cd's in an hour.
Cool! No problem. But buy 2-3 cameras for an event.

[novagator]

As a scuba diver myself,

As a scuba diver myself, and from personal knowledge, the disposable ones will you you find for you sub because you not going to go deeper than a couple of feet, however once you get down to about 10 feet plus the disposables are not going to last, the pressure will actually cause the camera to take a picture if the camera is wound. More than just a couple of feet, you will need a water tight housing, yeah you can make your own, but there is alot to it, if you want professional pictures at any type of real depth.

[captain nemo12]

Interesting........ I might as well

Interesting........ I might as well buy one of those cameras myself. You can really develop the pictures on cd? If I dive my sub in a pool, might as well go not deeper than the depth suggested.

[wayne frey]

I am a diver as

I am a diver as well. Using a Nikonos in the Caymens at 120 feet. Novigator is right,in deep shots you would need a full tilt rig. However, in a pool or down to 5-7 feet,the throw aways are hard to beat. I did notice I had better luck not trying to shoot through my dive mask. Did better holing the camera a foot away and aiming from there.
Look at Paul Crozier's homepage. I took the underwater shots there. Most of my pictures were just below the surface anyway. The colors don't shift and generally brighter.
One shot I took from underneath a sub's 6 o clock you could see fish around the Blue Back of Jeff Portious's boat, the sky above,the trees in the background,and Jeff holding the transmitter! The ones that came out best though,you could not be sure if it was not a submurged shot of the real thing! Jeff and Paul did fine jobs on their kits.
I took my camera down to the local HEB, a grocery store chain here in texas.Told them I did not want photographs,on the cd. One hour later, majic ! Not bad for 6 dollar processing.
It was great fun.
I will add a few to my home page for a while for you to compare to.

[wayne frey]

I should not try to

I should not try to write when I am so tired!
To clarify, I ment no photographs,ONLY the cd. It is easy to store and share that way. I have added a dvd burner to my computor,so I can look at them on a big TV.

[tmsmalley]

I've owned a Nikonos since

I've owned a Nikonos since the late 1970s for the photography business I ran back then but I recently got a housing from Canon for my little 2 meg digital camera. I really like it for the convenience of seeing the images right away and the ability to cull through my pictures without having to pay for bad prints or slides. I still like the "look" of film better -even the 5 meg cameras - but they are getting closer to film all the time.

Holding the camera underwater while lying on the pool deck and pointing it at the sub by guess or by golly makes it a little difficult to frame the boat perfectly, but it's still pretty fun. I try to compose the image "loosely" so I can crop later.

Same goes for shooting through a scuba mask. You can bend a coathanger as a rudimentary viewfinder and gaffer tape it to the top of the camera housing to use as a rough guide.

If you can use natural light with a little "fill-flash" it makes the photos more detailed and interesting as well. I shoot fill (or synchro) flash for my topside shots at the SubRegatta and other "events" and I think it makes for much better photos - that is, as long as you don't overdo it. I try to balance my flash to put out about one stop less light than whatever the ambient lighting conditions are. This gives a three to one shadow to highlight ratio that still looks natural, but opens up the detail-hiding shadows a wee bit.

The shot below was almost completely lit by flash due to an indoor environment with very little ambient light and it's still okay. You can also see the down-side of using flash underwater - the little floaties in the pool being lit up and out of focus makes it look like there are UFOs flying around. This "backscatter" can be minimized by moving the flash off the camera and to the side. Unfortunately this isn't an option with a cheapie camera. I can't wait to get outside to see what other shots I can get in good lighting conditions.

To get some good drama views of your boats, try an old trick that fishing lure photographers use - tie a couple of lengths of ten pound test monofilament fishing line to the holes in the bottom of your sub, weight it down with a couple of lead anchors or heavy bolts - just out of frame. Place your sub at an interesting angle and blast away! It helps having a stationary target to shoot at and the monofilament disappears in the water.





Edited By TMSmalley on 1081087403

[captain nemo12]

Thanks guys for the info.

Thanks guys for the info. I went to the Robbe website and went to see the U-47 video, I saw the sub diving from the surface to under. Interestingly, the camera was mounted on the deck, at the back of the conning tower. Anybody ever tried this method?

[Guest]

I have a color video

I have a color video camera mounted in the sail of my 1/72 L.A., which transmits to a T.V. monitor on shore. You can see what the sub sees, above and just under the water. The camera antenna has to be above water to transmit the picture, so I placed the antenna in a mast on the sail. You might be able to see the videos at Art Broder's Models
Also, you can see how we got an underwater video of my Alfa, without getting wet, by selecting, "Art's Alfa at Woods Hole test tank, WMV. It's the third item from the bottom, on the Documents page. If you have problems getting to the site, just Google Art Broder's Models.

[bcliffe]

Captured with the $10 throw

Captured with the $10 throw away ... I would start there.

For good results I think you need to think more about water clarity, light, and the lack of movement.



More shots can be found at]http://www.playground.net/~bcliffe/index.html[/url]

Cheers
BC