Underwater Remote / Off Camera / Slave Strobes - the journey

[Nick Ambrose]

WOW!

Lee, Ben, Nick - neat shots. Thanks SO much. Great ideas here. Hadn't thought of having the diver hold the strobe and getting shots from behind. All my composition has featured the divers face.

I'm not a cave diver - so I've often wondered this: why do cave diving photographers leave the line in the shots? It would take moment of PS to take that line (and often the shadow it casts) out of the shot.

Is this a cave thing? Can't be seen far from a line? Or is the line such a part of cave diving its no thing to leave it in there?

As a viewer and photographer, my very first impulse is to remove the line.

Just wonderin'


Thanks!


-Ken

Interesting Ken,

I had never really thought about removing the line honestly. I know in my videos as soon as I don't show the line for a while a bunch of people respond "I hope you aren't diving without a line"

Given how hard it was to remove some of the odd scratches from the dome on some shots, I am not sure my PS skills are up to removing it without it looking bad.

I do deliberately get a little off the line sometimes to get shots with no line but that doesn't always work.

Maybe I will play with it and see. What tools would you use ? I usually now use Lightroom and dont have to go into PS for anything (I only have Elements)

[newmanl]

Hi Ken,

Much of my thought process shooting in caves centers around giving the veiwer some sense of what it might be like diving inside a cave, rather than just showing the environment - so I like to have a diver in the image. Given that I have a diver in the frame, I still try not to let the veiwer see the slave - trying to preserve the magic of the lighting techniques used (no matter how simple!). I guess I'm trying to transport the veiwer into a cave dive (or wall dive) and allow them to see some of what it takes to be there, so the line doesn't bother me. In fact, I've had people frightfully comment on how small and hard to see the line is! I think as a cave diver, it would be weird to see a cave shot that didn't show the line. I'd agree with Nick, some people might question it if the line was not visible in the shot. Anyway, that's part of what I'm aiming for in my cave photography.

Thanks also for the kind words!

Hey Nick, thanks for the generous comment on my images. Also, thanks for linking the FB photos. They are nothing short of inspirational! The fisherman image is awesome.

Lee

[Mo2vation]

From my standpoint - I prefer to take the viewer to a place in the image so it appears they (and the person in the shot) are the first person to ever see this passage, cavern or room. As a non-caver, I find the line distracting, intrusive and adding nothing to the beauty of most cave shots. Quite the opposite.

That said, the line can be used for composition purposes, of course. Lighting the line to draw the viewer into the center or the vortex of your composition is a great tool. However, most of the time, its just a very straight line that isn't aligned with the frame and its like looking at a picture of the ocean where the photographer didn't bother to level the horizon. My eye is drawn to it, but its often just a distraction.

I totally understand the 'better not be off the line' stuff - especially from internet people. I've become so immune to the comments of others that stuff like that is more amusing than impactful to me at this point. Its about the shot, about the art - and not about the brand. I'm not in a club situation or an instant buddy situation so I could give two shakes of what people think of how I dive. But I get it.

Chica and I have a dive buddy who has told us he can't be videotaped diving with us if we're going to be diving a Stage and a Deco bottle. My point is this: I know its out there, and I respect it - I just don't get it.

That said, bring the shot up to about 250% on your screen, grab the clone stamp and in about 2 to 5 minutes its gone.

That's how I got Lynne out of her Bifocal mask in the bubble shot - a lot tougher to do than a line in clear water on a dark background!


Great shots guys. Seriously. I can't wait to get to Catalina tomorrow night and get these four remotes rocking and rolling.

You're totally inspiring me.

-Ken

[jahjahwarrior]

Saw the last few posts here a while back but kept forgetting to comment on them.

Sometimes, it's hard for a viewer to see the depth or intricacies of a cave system without something else in the shot. I've had lots of people go 'eh, not interesting' and walk away when I showed them photos of tunnels. However, when there is something interested in the shot that draws their attention, such as a nifty fossil, breathtaking view created by nature or creative lighting, or a dive, they are much more easily interested. So, having a diver in front with a remote strobe is a very simple way to do this.

As far as editing out the line...it's part of the system. I wouldn't remove line as a regular thing. Perhaps if a shot really was perfect except for an ill placed line, I'd consider it. However, I've never had anyone suggest to me that the line ruined the shot and many find it interesting to see what we navigate with.

I am only now adding strobes to my camera rig, but I've been out several times with this guy: http://www.bluehorizonphotography.com/

He's got a similar tool, but he uses the Ikelite EV controller on one end of an arm, strobe on the other. What I've generally done is try to keep the strobe facing away from the camera. He's a lighting whiz and sometimes adjusts the controller but I think the model also has to think about the lighting and where they are pointing the strobe.

Using one arm and one strobe allows the model to hold it so the arm virtually disappears along your arm, the strobe appears to be held in your hand or disappears by your elbow and the controller is in your hand, depending on which way you are facing.

It's very important to have a model who can see what you are trying to do with the camera. If your buddy is intent on pushing the cave as far as possible, you'll get lots of fin tips and butts. Your model has to pay attention to the flashes, to the flash rate, control breathing and think about their positioning, their swimming speed, and where to point the strobe.

Anyways, those are a few of the thoughts I have after taking a lot of photos with no strobe, and modeling several times for someone who in my opinion is an incredible photographer, who has developed some nifty ways to make photos pop. Now I'm waiting to take my recently acquired used slave strobe out for a cave dive

[b1gcountry]

I like the line. I don't know. I see it, but I don't notice it. It isn't distracting. Sometimes I like it because it tells me where they are going.

[Mo2vation]

These from a recent trip to Catalina.

These are the first shots inside a 'wreck'.

We'll be in San Diego soon - I want to shoot a bit inside the Yook, and light up the Ruby.

Learning lots!


-Ken

[_Atom_]

These from a recent trip to Catalina.

These are the first shots inside a 'wreck'.

Very nice! Love the ambiance the backlighting gives...