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The Underwater Photographer by Martin Edge
The Underwater Photographer by Martin Edge
A sentiment common among the acknowledged masters of photography is that the only rule is that there are no rules. Another piece of advice, one I frequently heard from my producer in the days when I directed TV commercials, is: 'Never mix with amateurs.' In the field of underwater photography that is impossible advice to follow - it is dominated by amateurs.
Such are the economics and value of the business that few can afford to be full-time professionals; David Doubilet is almost alone.
Yes, there are a few rules. The main one is to try to reduce the amount of water between you and your subject, and there are ways of achieving this objective. This and related issues will make a magazine article but are not enough to fill a book, which is why authors inevitably drift off into areas probably better left alone.
Photographs are formed in an instant and usually judged in the first instant of viewing. Look at the images on advertising posters or glimpsed in TV commercials - they do their job and you move on. They are produced by the most highly thought-of (and paid) photographers and cameramen in the world.
Once you start intellectualising photographs from the point of view of composition and content, you risk roaming off into the land of Pseud's Corner. Alas Martin Edge, among the most competent of amateur underwater photographers, does tend to do this.
The Underwater Photographer, now in its second edition, is a useful reference book with added sections that have made an improvement. It contains clear demonstrations of technique, illustrates the equipment and takes us through examples of how to achieve results similar to the author's.
As such, it is full of rules, and while a few simple rules are useful when you are starting out in anything, they also produce stereotypes and destroy the chance of experimentation and discovery.
No artist got anywhere painting by numbers, but anyone who has one of those prints of a green lady on their wall might not understand that. So read the useful parts that will help you get your photographs to come out in focus, nicely exposed and colourfully lit, and don't get taken in by the waffle.
You might think I am harsh. Martin Edge has won many underwater photography competitions, whereas I have won none. He is also a high-ranking police officer.
Don't you hate amateur policemen, Martin? John Bantin |
The Underwater Photographer by Martin Edge, Focal Press (01865 314571). Softback, 234pp, £22.99.
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