This is the age of the lost photograph. Why do I say that? Because everyone takes pictures now. Cameras have never been easier to use, thanks to digital technology.
Phones take pictures. My kids even take pictures using their (and my) laptops.
The world is awash with free images, and like anything that's free, they're apparently worth nothing. They might languish on hard drives until that particular computer is consigned to the rubbish tip. Then they are lost.
My wife loves taking pictures, but can't be bothered to learn what all those dials and settings are about. She has the option to shoot RAW files if she uses one of my posh cameras, but doesn't want to sit with her computer sorting out the pictures after the event, either. She just wants to press and forget. She prefers to use my Canon G-series compact camera.
Underwater photography is different. There's more to it than simply installing one of these technologically marvellous compacts in a watertight box and clicking away.
Maria Munn has ignored the high ideals and high entry costs of traditional underwater photography, and addressed the problems of those who simply want to take pictures under water with their digital compacts as easily as they do when using their cameras in air.
She's brought it down to the level that my wife might entertain. She runs courses that teach people how to get pictures to come out in a satisfactory way, even when they're wet. It's inevitable that she should have put the contents of what she teaches into a book.
Its 160 pages are crammed full of information and pictures that tell the would-be underwater compact-user all they need to know. Not only this, but Maria identifies specific camera models in the text. It's written to the level of someone who asks: "Just tell me what I need to do for my pictures to come out."
She doesn't delve into computer tricks.
All the techniques are done in camera, so that the result is captured in one go as a jpeg that takes up little computer space.
In fact, it's as if she has integrated some of the techniques needed by old-time underwater film photographers with those available with a modern digital compact.
I recommend this book to anyone who is about to go on a diving holiday and wants to record some memories with pictures that are less than disappointing. Maria Munn writes in an accessible way, avoids scaring the reader with techno-babble and refers to these compact cameras as "pocket-rockets".
If I take issue with any part of this book, it's the claim on the cover that it's a guide to taking "professional" photos with a compact camera.
If I thought that was possible, I wouldn't be lugging such heavy gear around the world and taking the enormous financial risk of jumping into the water with it. Remember, I've got a very good compact of my own!
John Bantin
OceanVisions
ISBN: 9780956641205
Softback, 176pp, £17.95
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