419 Dive Log Australasia AUGUST 2026

Photographing your dive buddy Your buddy may not want to hang around like a shop mannequin waiting for you to photograph them. In fact, they will probably hate it. After all, they want to enjoy the dive too. So we just go for a dive until I find a suitable colourful highlight such as this Firebrick Sea Star and Fan Sponge from Sydney. Next. I set up the camera by myself as detailed above including the exposures, composition, flash position and so on. Once I have got it right, I signal to my buddy to come into position. I usually need their full concentration for only one or two minutes because I have organised the settings and I am ly prepared. The actual shoot is over in no time and we can both head off to continue the adventure. Happy buddy, happy dive. I think of it as a simple courtesy to my dive buddy. How do I find my style? Basically, the process of taking lots and lots of photos reveals your favorite light, your preferred subjects and settings, what kind of framing you like most naturally. It is about your individuality and creativity. Progress comes from repetition from doing the same types of things over and over until you get better and get a result. The biggest improvement comes from

repeating small things that work so you can repeat them at will and do them do over and over and over time. It is absolutely essential to commit your success to memory. After a few years, they become cemented into your brain. You have developed a good habit that works. Do not wait for inspiration, look for lots of repetition and practice on everyday mundane subjects. How can I get a better shot? How can I capture the light? Even if there is nothing good to take a photo of, it is better to practive how to capture the best of the light and make a fair photo of that sponge. This is NOT a waste of time; it is a way to progress. You are giving yourself more chances to train your brain and your eyes to see opportunity and to learn. In fact, when you dive with a really good, highly experienced photographer, you might be surprised that they can somehow get a really good photo out of a scene that you thought was not worth taking. They have that trained eye and they just keep on practising. I have this position that I like to brag about. I think that I am improving steadily each year, getting better and better. I boast that I will become a extremely accomplished photographer sometime approaching my four hundredth birthday. Yee Haa! I am getting there.

40

DIVE LOG Australasia #419 - August ‘26

www.divelog.net.au