LIQUID IMAGE UNDERWATER CAMERA MASKS

NEW TO MARKET! Hands free underwater photography!

Underwater Photography Principles

Most Divers would like to share what they see underwater with their diving and non-diving friends.... if it can be done easily. Underwater photography typically involves specialized equipment, complicated housings, camera instructions, extra training, and extra gear to carry around while diving. In addition to this, underwater camera gear represents a substantial investment that is difficult to justify if a diver wants to "try" underwater photography.

The Liquid Image Camera Mask cures these problems. You simply wear your Camera Mask as you would your regular dive mask. No extra equipment to lug around. You can enjoy your dive and simply press the button when you see an interesting photo opportunity. The Camera-Video Mask allows divers to capture underwater photos and High Definition digital video "hands free". To take a photo or a video, the diver lines up the crosshair marks on the mask with the subject, and then presses the capture button. LED lights inside the viewing area indicate the mode the camera is in when activated. the digital images and video may be downloaded to a computer through the High Speed USB cable provided, or through a Micro SD/SDHC card.

Underwater imaging is considered an especially challenging area of photography, since it requires very specialized equipment and techniques to be successful. Despite these challenges, it offers the possibility of many exciting and rare photographic opportunities. Animals such as fish and marine mammals are the most common subjects, but photographers also pursue shipwrecks, submerged cave systems, underwater "landscapes", and portraits of fellow divers.

The primary obstacle faced by underwater photographers is the extreme loss of color and contrast when submerged to any significant depth. The longer wavelengths of sunlight (such as red or orange) are absorbed quickly by the surrounding water, so even to the naked eye everything appears blue-green in color. The loss of color not only increases vertically through the water column, but also horizontally, so subjects further away from the camera will also appear colorless and indistinct. This effect is true even in apparently clear water, such as that found around tropical coral reefs.

Underwater photographers solve this problem by combining two techniques. The first is to get the camera as close to the photographic subject as possible, minimizing the horizontal loss of color. This is best achieved by using wide-angle lenses, which allow very close focus, or macro lenses, where the subject is often only inches away from the camera. In practical terms, serious underwater photographers consider any more than about 3 ft/1 m of water between camera and subject to be unacceptable. The second technique is the use of a flash or lights to restore any color lost vertically through the water column. Lights or fill-flash, used effectively, will "paint" in any missing colors by providing full-spectrum visible light to the overall exposure.

Since underwater photography is often performed while scuba diving, it is important that the diver-photographer be sufficiently skilled so that it remains a reasonably safe activity. Good scuba technique also has an impact on the quality of images, since marine life is less likely to be scared away by a calm diver, and the environment is less likely to be damaged or disturbed. There is the possibility of encountering poor conditions, such as heavy currents, tidal flow, or poor visibility. Generally, underwater photographers try to avoid these situations whenever possible.

Underwater Camera Equipment:

There exists several usable alternatives for underwater photography, like digital point and shoot cameras, compact digital cameras with full exposure controls, and SLRs (single lens reflex cameras). Unlike the earlier amphibious or waterproof camera, the first was the Calypso, reintroduced as the Nikonos in 1963, which is designed specifically for use underwater, these cameras now require a housing for underwater use. Nikon discontinued the Nikonos series in 2001 and, as it is a 35mm film system, it is somewhat obsolete, but some photographers still choose this approach. Housings are specific to the camera and are made of several things from inexpensive plastic to high-priced aluminum cases. Housings allow many options, since the user can choose a housing specific to their everyday "land" camera, as well as utilize any lens in their collection. In practice, underwater photographers generally use either wide-angle lenses or macro lenses, both of which allow close focus, thereby eliminating the need to have excessive water between the camera and subject. Digital media can hold many more shots than standard photographic film (which rarely holds more than 36 frames). This is one of the primary advantages of using digital camera underwater, since it is impossible to change photographic film underwater. The instant feedback provides faster learning and improved creativity, which is why virtually all underwater photographers now use digital cameras.

All underwater housings are outfitted with controls knobs that access the camera inside, giving the photographer use of most of its normal functions. These housings may also have connectors to attach external lights or flash units. Some basic housings allow the use of the flash on the camera, but the on-board flash may not be sufficiently powerful and are improperly placed for underwater applications. More advanced housings either redirect the on-board strobe to fire a slave strobe via a fiber optic cable, or physically prevent the use of the on-board strobe. Housings are made waterproof through a system of silicone o-rings at all the crucial joints.

Underwater Photography Lighting

Natural light photography underwater can be beautiful when done properly with subjects such as upward silhouettes, light beams, and large subjects such as whales and dolphins.

The use of lights or flash strobe is often regarded as the most difficult aspect of underwater photography. Some common misconceptions exist about the proper use of flash underwater, especially as it relates to wide-angle photography. Generally, the flash should be used to supplement the overall exposure and restore lost color, not as the primary light source. In situations such as the interior of caves or shipwrecks, wide-angle images can be 100% strobe light, but such situations are fairly rare. Usually, the photographer tries to create an aesthetic balance between the available sunlight and the strobe. Deep, dark or low visibility environments can make this balance more difficult, but the concept remains the same. Many modern cameras have simplified this process through various automatic exposure modes and the use of through-the-lens (TTL) metering. The increasing use of digital cameras has reduced the learning curve of underwater flash significantly.

Color is absorbed as it travels through water, so that the deeper you are, the less reds, oranges and yellow colors remain. The lights or strobe replaces that color. It also helps to provide shadow and texture, and is a valuable tool for creativity.

An added complication is the phenomenon of backscatter, where a flash reflects off particles or plankton in the water. Even seemingly clear water contains enormous amounts of this particulate, even if it is not readily seen by the naked eye. The best technique for avoiding backscatter is positioning the lights or strobe away from the axis of the camera lens. Ideally, this means the flash will not light up the water directly in front of the lens, but will still strike the subject. Various systems of jointed arms and attachments are used to make off-camera lighting easier to manipulate. Although digital cameras have revolutionized many aspects of underwater imaging, it is unlikely that flash will ever be eliminated completely. From an aesthetic standpoint, the flash often adds "pop" and helps to highlight the subject. Ultimately the loss of color and contrast is a pervasive optical problem that cannot always be adjusted in software such as Photoshop.

In shallow water, the use of custom white-balance provides excellent color without the use of lights or a strobe. In theory one could use color filters to overcome the blue-green shift, but this can be problematic. The amount of shift would vary with depth and turbidity, and there would still be a significant loss of contrast. Many digital cameras have settings that will provide color balance, but this can cause other problems. For example, an image shifted toward the "warm" part of the spectrum can create background water which appears gray, purple or pink, and looks very unnatural. There have been some successful experiments using filters combined with the raw image format function on some high-end digital cameras, allowing much more detailed manipulation in the digital darkroom. This approach will probably always be restricted to shallow to moderate depths, where the loss of color is less extreme. In spite of that, it can be very effective for large subjects such as shipwrecks which could not be lit effectively with any strobe.

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