HUPS and the Digital Revolution
Announcing a New Underwater Images Column by James Wiseman
by Dennis Deavenport
A new column dedicated to things digital and how they impact the underwater photographer will be created by one of our newest members, James Wiseman. James has jumped into digital underwater photography with both feet and has offered to write a monthly column on this fascinating and important topic. So what can we expect in the coming issues of Underwater Images?
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For some of us the light at the end of the tunnel is the way to enlightenment. To others, it could well be the proverbial freight train. This could very well be the best way to describe how digital technology will affect us all in the next 5-10 years. For the majority of the last century, "film" has been the king when capturing images. The art of manufacturing film has reach a high degree of sophistication and just about anyone can feel confident that they will see excellent color, contrast, and resolution when they get their pictures or slides back from the photo lab.
However, science has just about wrung all of the blood from this particular technology and improvements, at best, are incremental from one year to the next. We have to live with compromises and inconveniences at all turns. For highest resolution, we sacrifice film speed and depth of field and have to resort to "mini-nukes" underwater just to get enough light on the subject to let us use 50 and 60 ASA films like Velvia and Kodachrome. And, if like me, you are paranoid enough about technique and equipment to feel compelled to "see" your slides as soon as possible in order to correct any problems that may have materialized mysteriously on the way to the Timbuktu Islands in Wayfaraway Ocean. I’ve lost at least 18 rolls of pictures in the process of letting Joebob develop my precious rolls of slides onboard the boat or at the resort. It just makes you want to cry or kill something.
And can you say, "archival quality slides?" Maybe that’s possible if you confine your shooting to Kodachrome, that wonderful dinosaur from the 50’s. Hey, what about printing your favorite images and putting them on your wall for your friends to "Ooh and aah" about? No problem -- just go out and buy a thousand bucks or more of equipment, chemicals, and paper and dive right in. Or take it down to your favorite photo lab and keep your fingers crossed that they won’t screw it up and give you junk in return for a pile of $$’s. To make things even stranger, we UW photographers have evolved into walking/swimming techno-juggernaughts. Half of my baggage allowance is related to things such as camera, housings, strobes, 50-75 rolls of film, etc., etc., amen.
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Digital Revolution
"So what?" you say! I’ve spent the time and the big bucks and I’m perfectly happy living with all of these devils. I’ve gotten used to feeling like I’m on death row when I’m waiting for my slides to be developed. I’ve paid my dues and I’ll be darned if I’ll change now.
Well, all of us HUPSters are staring at the new digital paradigm and many of us find ourselves trying to figure out just what to do with it. Digital no longer means inferior resolution and quality. With the advent of 5 and 6 megapixel CCD chips and advanced software built into the camera, there just isn’t any real compromise in quality anymore. Images are sharp as a tack and the color is to die for. Even if the color is a bit washed out and the image slightly under or overexposed, all you have to do is pop the file in Photoshop and tweek it to your hearts content. You can even get rid of Sally’s fins that unexpectedly showed up in that otherwise fantastic shot by "cloning it out." Backscatter you say? No problem. . . edit it out in 5 minutes. This is like a whole new world!
Tired of being limited to 36 shots per dive (or even more tired of dragging down two cameras)? The size of digital memory for cameras is mind-boggling. 128 and 256 MB memory cards let you take just about as many shots as you could possibly need during one dive. OK, they’re expensive, but you only need one or two and you’re set for just about anything. After each dive, just download the images into your portable PC, view them, delete the born-dead shots and keep the winners. In fact, you get to do that while you’re underwater! Just do a preview of your previous shots and see if you’ve got everything set up properly and nicely composed. Don’t like what you see? Make the necessary adjustments and try again. No more waiting until you get back home to see if everything is working properly.
Just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past two years, getting a nice UW housing for a "full-goose-bozo" digital camera is relatively easy (and getting easier every day). Another bonus is size and simplicity. Because of the small dimensions of the detectors, the whole camera and lens can be a fraction of the size and weight of a top-of-the-line SLR. With some exceptions, one lens just about does it all from bonafide macro to wide angle.
This discussion could go on for another 5 pages without exhausting the topic. In fact, this is where I stop and where James’ column will continue. Stop in each month for new revelations about this important subject. I suspect that this is just the start for James. He has already volunteered to give a program in July on digital underwater photography. When you get a chance, say "Hi" to him and welcome him to the club. And as a final note, if we can work out the details, James will also be taking the lead on organizing a digital photo contest for HUPS.
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