Equipment for Black Water Macro Photography

 

SLR and mirrorless compact users will find better success with a shorter focal length macro lens (like the 55//60mm). I’ve found that the longer focal length and minimum focus distance of the 105/100mm makes you feel like you’re trying to fight a fly with a sword. Recently I’ve even modified an 18–55 kit lens to close focus so I have a range of focal lengths to play with.

 

A low powered focus light is also a must, as it gives better visibility at night—some subjects are invisible when not illuminated. It’s also instrumental in helping you or your camera achieve focus. I prefer a less bright focus light over a 2,000-lumen monstrosity as it seems to light up less backscatter and is, overall, less blinding. For lighting, try just using a single strobe: Having a smaller kit is very useful when maneuvering around in the water column. An electrical connection will eliminate the delay in your pop-up flash’s recycle time—a critical function when shooting in quick succession during manual focus.

 

 

While black water macro photography is possible with compact cameras, it be nearly impossible for cameras with no manual focus to lock in on the often-translucent subjects in low-light conditions. Although more challenging than with the superior low-light focusing ability of DSLRs, compact users shouldn’t shy away from giving the dive a try—just make sure you have a good focus light, a lot of patience, and some luck.

 

Other optional but helpful accessories include floatation devices for your camera. Your wrists will thank you for having a neutrally buoyant system after 60 minutes in open water. Also, having some sort of tether connecting your camera to your BCD is not a bad idea to prevent it from falling two miles to the ocean floor. Even if the water is warm, make sure to have a full wetsuit, and even gloves and hood, in case you don’t see a box jellyfish headed your way.

 

Lighting and Focusing on Black Water Dives

 

I don’t trust autofocus to lock in on the exact point of an ultra-rare pelagic seahorse in nearly dark conditions. Even if you trust your camera’s autofocus, you might find it less frustrating and more efficient to manually focus on the subject as it comes into view. Rather than trying to constantly change the focus as the subject drifts along in the current, I find it easier to lock the focus and move my camera slightly back and forth.

 

For focus bracketing to work, you need to be able to rattle off shots in quick succession. For this reason, use lower strobe output combined with a more open aperture to expose your subject (typically around f/11). For the most part, you can count on your exposure settings to remain the same during the dive, adjusting the strobe power as you encounter more and less reflective subjects.

 

Black Water Composition

 

Once you’ve gotten to the point where you can comfortably focus and light black water critters, then it’s appropriate to worry about creative composition. I usually try for two kinds of images: the first is one that I find artistic, filling the frame with techniques like rules of thirds, diagonal lines, and S-curves. After I’ve satisfied my artistic side, I’ll try and get a “boring” side shot to help with ID of the creature after the dive. The more you do these dives, the more you appreciate having multiple images of each animal to assist the scientists in telling you what the heck it is.

 

Final Thoughts

 

The images from your first black water dive might not be award-worthy—but do not get discouraged. Success on these dives really comes down to practice and familiarity with your equipment working in what seems like endless outer space.

 

But all the challenge and work and danger is worth it for the reward of witnessing these creatures.