Long exposure and wreck potography

[ido 18]

Hi all

I was wondering: When ships wracks are in deep water. Let's say: 30 meter and more - Is it wise to use long exposure with tripod in order to get more light ?

 

[TimG 62]

Hey Ido

Worth a try. Couple of thoughts strike me. Often you want to take pic of a wreck from above it to get as much in as poss. Not doable of course with a tripod. You can go for the dramatic shot up from the bow or stern; and then movement of crap in the water.

Worth a shot though.

[TmxDiver 47]

I think you are better off having a "model" use some video lights to highlight the wreck and then take the picture from a distance. My friend Drew and I have been doing this on a relatively deep submarine (57m / 190') here in Southern California and, IMO, the results are great.

You can view his pictures at :

https://www.drewwilsonphotography.com/Wrecks-and-Artificial-Reefs/UB88/

Regards,

- brett

[ido 18]

Thanks. Great pics of the submarine.

[Dann-Oh 40]

 

2 hours ago, TmxDiver said:

I think you are better off having a "model" use some video lights to highlight the wreck and then take the picture from a distance. My friend Drew and I have been doing this on a relatively deep submarine (57m / 190') here in Southern California and, IMO, the results are great.

You can view his pictures at :

https://www.drewwilsonphotography.com/Wrecks-and-Artificial-Reefs/UB88/

Regards,

- brett

Brett,

I follow Drew and Richard on socials I met those guys on the SDE when we went to Farnsworth (the trip with several scooter casualties) I was working on my Deep Diver specialty.  Watching those guys and following their socials makes me want to get into tech. Drew's Photos are awesome and I look forward to his diver reports.  Id love to join you guys to learn as much as possible from you guys when you do rec level dives. I'm looking to start learning sidemount and self reliant diver to try to be a better dive buddy.  If you guys are planning to hit any of the OC or LA beaches lets try to link up (if you want, i wont be offended if you dont ;-))

[TmxDiver 47]

3 hours ago, Dann-Oh said:

 

Brett,

I follow Drew and Richard on socials I met those guys on the SDE when we went to Farnsworth (the trip with several scooter casualties) I was working on my Deep Diver specialty.  Watching those guys and following their socials makes me want to get into tech. Drew's Photos are awesome and I look forward to his diver reports.  Id love to join you guys to learn as much as possible from you guys when you do rec level dives. I'm looking to start learning sidemount and self reliant diver to try to be a better dive buddy.  If you guys are planning to hit any of the OC or LA beaches lets try to link up (if you want, i wont be offended if you dont ;-))

Sounds good, nice to (sort of) meet you!

There are a lot of really cool wreck dives here in Southern California which are just at the edge of recreational limits so if you like wreck diving it would make sense to look into technical diving. 

My blog at http://wreckedinmyrevo.com has a section for "So Cal Dive Reports" and each of them has a depth listed. Most are below recreational, but if you look through them, some are right at the edge (e.e., P-38 in San Diego, Piper at Catalina, etc.)

Regards,

- brett

[Dann-Oh 40]

2 hours ago, TmxDiver said:

Sounds good, nice to (sort of) meet you!

There are a lot of really cool wreck dives here in Southern California which are just at the edge of recreational limits so if you like wreck diving it would make sense to look into technical diving. 

My blog at http://wreckedinmyrevo.com has a section for "So Cal Dive Reports" and each of them has a depth listed. Most are below recreational, but if you look through them, some are right at the edge (e.e., P-38 in San Diego, Piper at Catalina, etc.)

Regards,

- brett

Nice to meet you as well Brett.

Is there any chance you would be able to share the location of the Piper Warrior or the Blue Caverns?  I understand if you don't want to share the locations.  I would defiantly like to check out the caverns.  Maybe after a few more deep dives I'd like to check out the Piper.  I'm not too shrilled about diving deep just to dive deep but if we have an objective then that sounds like a good time.

[TmxDiver 47]

Hi,

The Blue Caverns are very well known. Pretty much any boat that goes to Catalina will know about that site. There are different caverns at different depths but they range from about 80 feet to about 40 feet (from memory).

I think the location of the Piper is also well known. It is in the same general area if I remember. Around Bird Rock / Ship Rock. 

- brett

[adamhanlon 0]

On 2/15/2021 at 8:16 PM, ido said:

I was wondering: When ships wracks are in deep water. Let's say: 30 meter and more - Is it wise to use long exposure with tripod in order to get more light

...is sort of like asking whether it is  a good idea to drive in 5th gear.

The short answer is that it depends.

Variable include: Light availability, lens choice,  wreck position, camera performance, desired creative effect, visibility, dome size and lots more that I haven't listed!

What is worth mentioning is that with good buoyancy (yours and the camera's) control, it is possible to shoot at much slower shutter speeds underwater than you can get away with at the surface, which may (see above!) mean you will not need to use a tripod. 

Adam

[ido 18]

״shoot at much slower shutter speeds underwater than you can get away with at the surface״

 

Thanks. I believe that IBIS technology of modern cameras enables this even more.

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by ido

[adamhanlon 0]

I find that for still underwater photography, getting your camera system neutrally buoyant and in good trim is much more effective than IBIS. 

The water acts like a tripod in itself and allow hand holding to much slower shutter speeds than would be possible on land without support. 

[ChrisRoss 150]

8 hours ago, adamhanlon said:

I find that for still underwater photography, getting your camera system neutrally buoyant and in good trim is much more effective than IBIS. 

The water acts like a tripod in itself and allow hand holding to much slower shutter speeds than would be possible on land without support. 

While I agree water helps a lot , the IBIS in Olympus cameras for example is nothing short of amazing.  I don't have an underwater example to show  as I never shoot that slow but here's a bird shot from a dimly lit rainforest.  Exposure was 1/13 @ f4 ISO800 with a 300mm lens - so a 600mm full frame equivalent:

http://www.aus-natural.com/Birds/Australia/Australian Robins/slides/Eastern Yellow Robin 10.html

 

 

[adamhanlon 0]

I agree that IBIS is amazing on land, but am not convinced it makes a huge difference when underwater.

Adam

[Tom_Kline 143]

I am curious if anyone is using bulb or other long exposure techniques. An example would be for swimming around a wreck and doing multiple flashes.

My long exposures have been limited to streams (some due to aperture priority auto-exposure setting so variable in length). Camera was always on a "tripod" of sorts and negatively buoyant to keep from drifting in the current. With and without flash.

[OwenF 4]

Here in UK waters (North Sea/Scotland lochs) with commonly low visibility, I’ve always been nervous of slow shutter accentuating particulate. I’m starting to wonder if I need to explorer going slower though.

Not mine, but I guy I follow for Norway has been posting some slow shutter/light painting stuff on his Insta: https://www.instagram.com/p/CLaGjoThBwn/?igshid=1kjg58v2x7u07


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[jofische 1]

It is worth a try. My favorite way to shoot wrecks wide angle is with no strobes. For manual settings bump up the ISO as high as you can while still retaining image quality and keep the aperture as high as you can to keep sharpness. When inside or when shooting s small part of the wreck I use strobes.