More In Water

[Heath Bennett]

New years reolution is to get out more. Im sure everyone here is familiar with work taking too much of life!

Surfing/surf pics from the bigger stuff last week:

Standard barrel with a nice ripple:


Looking straight up at the lip coming over:


Johnnie really close (12mm decepting), scared of fin slashed forehead (holding camera high)


Crave the cave


I think the image post is limited to 4 - if 3, delete one as you wish mods.

These pics are first I've tried with a polariser in surf - I don't like the way most pics turned out - having less reflection takes too much out of the water. All a bit dark. Different effects worth remembering though.

[Oscar]

Great shots Heath. Love that first wave.

Pity the beach is on such an angle = sort of makes me feel off balance.

Second shot is interesting.

Third shot is a good close up capture. Bet Johnnie will think it's cool. The sky appears a bit two tone in this one (could be the polariser).

Last one is good too. Is that a fin inside the cave??

Cheers, Mick

[NJ]

they are all amazing shots! love them all especially the first two though. the first does make feel a little unbalanced but i see what u were trying to do and it works for me. that second one is really quite abstract and really stands out to me.

[ozimax]

1 & 3 are unbelievable Heath, I like the 1st just as it is, and the 3rd of the surfer, you can even see the billowy clouds in the background. Outstanding stuff. Wish I was taking some shots with you, but I don't think my D70 and Tamron lens would work well under water!

Keep 'em coming please.

Ozi.

[JordanP]

love it Heath! More ... more ....

[gstark]

Heath,

You might like to check the horizon in the first one - it's not quite level.

Seriously, great colour, great images.

[stubbsy]

Heath

Stellar work again. #1 is superb and #3 comes bloody close.

[Alpha_7]

Heath, lovely stuff #1 is just an absolute ripper. How are you finding the actually photo taking, lots of fun, or actually pretty tricking, since you have to watch the surf, surfers, and also worry about the camera, exposure, composition etc ?

[MATT]

No.1 is awesome ...


Thanks for sharing these.. Summer


MATT

[Heath Bennett]

Thanks everyone.

I am enjoying shooting in the water except for the water droplet issue. It is very hard to keep water off the front element. I plan to give different products a test but for me rain-x seems the best idea, to make the water bead off faster. I just need to contact the manufacturer to be certain it won't damage the glass-like material.

Most buttons are accessible via the controls, but focusing patterns, the power switch and the drive modes are not. It can be frustrating making sure that it is all set up and ready to go when mates are already in the water!

If only I could find a way of either getting all my horizons perfectly straight or killing all disbelievers.

[stetner]

Hi Heath,

Curious what kind of housing you are using. Someone up here in Brissie was interested in doing some surf shots, and I was saying that I didn't think that the ikelite housings like I have would be good for in the surf.

I would think that the way the ports mount is too fragile to take a bashing in the surf, much less if you got tossed against the sand....

Cheers,
Doug

[Heath Bennett]

Hi Doug - http://aquatech.com.au

[stetner]

Thanks Heath,

That housing port screws into place, and the housings are rated to 10 meters, good for surf, but not for scuba diving.

On the ikelite it seats and is held in place by two sliding retainers. I guess in my case the water pressure after a meter or so will provide all the stability needed. Good for scuba, rated to 60 metres, maybe not for surf!

Cheers
Doug

[Heath Bennett]

Hi agina Doug - I will probably use the housing up to 5 or so metres in shallow natural light scuba work. The housing is slightly positive buoyant meaning I will add an extra weight. I am not really interested in the deep down dark stuff, I've only been to 25 metres and the light loss was significant even with minimal suspended solids.

Yes, it is designed for surfing (or anything at water level) primarily, it has buttons insteads of levers like the dive housings. It is much lighter out of water than dive housings but still significantly weighty. Much cheaper too!

[gstark]

Heath

I've only been to 25 metres and the light loss was significant even with minimal suspended solids.

My understanding is that once you start to get into deeper water, external lighting, in the way of a flash unit or two, is essential. I've seen housings that take special external flash units, and I've also seen special flash heads specifically for underwater use.

An x-synch connection is essential, which of couse you have in your D2X.

Just FYI/FWIW.

[iposiniditos]

Impressive shots. Great blue!

theodoros

[drifter]

They all look great .Really like the last one .

[Critter]

these shots are my favourites frmo all shots on this forum. Feels like I am in those waves...

Do you mind if I use them as my desktop on my home PC?

I am seriously thinkking about getting a housing too now...

[Heath Bennett]

these shots are my favourites frmo all shots on this forum. Feels like I am in those waves...

Do you mind if I use them as my desktop on my home PC?

I am seriously thinkking about getting a housing too now...

Thanks again everyone.

Thanks Critter - thats very nice of you. I constantly put down myself with photography so that means a lot!

If you like I can give it to you in your screen res, just let me know what size you want in a PM.

[Heath Bennett]

Heath

I've only been to 25 metres and the light loss was significant even with minimal suspended solids.

My understanding is that once you start to get into deeper water, external lighting, in the way of a flash unit or two, is essential. I've seen housings that take special external flash units, and I've also seen special flash heads specifically for underwater use.

An x-synch connection is essential, which of couse you have in your D2X.

Just FYI/FWIW.

Thanks Gary - new infomation to me.

Aquatech do sell housings for the SB-800 to work with my housing.

[gstark]

Heath,

Aquatech do sell housings for the SB-800 to work with my housing.

Cool.

Are these for hotshoe mounting, or off-camera? As with shooting on land, off-camera is generally regarded as better, but there are obvious issues that need to be overcome for that to happen.

[Heath Bennett]

Heath,

Aquatech do sell housings for the SB-800 to work with my housing.

Cool.

Are these for hotshoe mounting, or off-camera? As with shooting on land, off-camera is generally regarded as better, but there are obvious issues that need to be overcome for that to happen.

The website says - "detachable SB-800 housing" under > lens ports and accessories > sport housing accesories

It is definately off camera, I'm just not sure if you can do a Wendell and hand hold it off camera...

[gstark]

It is definately off camera, I'm just not sure if you can do a Wendell

Under water .... doing a Wendell .... Hmmmmm .... there's a worrisome concept.

My guess is that for off camera it'll be fixed, and either pc cord or SC29 connected, with the cables fully enclosed within a housing extension.

That would be good, and the best way to do this, I think.

So .... if you're looking for something new to spend your $$$$ on, Heath ...

[Geoff]

Great stuff Heath! You can now say you like doing it under water as well as on land

[Heath Bennett]

It is definately off camera, I'm just not sure if you can do a Wendell

Under water .... doing a Wendell .... Hmmmmm .... there's a worrisome concept.

My guess is that for off camera it'll be fixed, and either pc cord or SC29 connected, with the cables fully enclosed within a housing extension.

That would be good, and the best way to do this, I think.

So .... if you're looking for something new to spend your $$$$ on, Heath ...

How many Wendells are there?

Yes, would be nice to get the housing for the SB800 (and an SB800 as I only have the SB600!), plus a 10.5DX FE and matching port. Too many things I want.

[BBJ]

Bloody great heath as usual, i guess u got to take the good with the bad mate as long as you can salvage a few good shots like this i would be happy.

[Willy wombat]

Love them Heath - Makes me want to get out there.

[fozzie]

Heath - all shots are just incredible


fozzie

[stetner]

Hi Heath, Gary,

Definitely two different functions, surf or diving!

Here is what the ikelite looks like without a port on it and with an external strobe. This is the back of the housing and you can see there are buttons to access all functions of the 20D. As well, there is a small connector that attaches to the hot shoe on the camera, no need for xsync. This goes into some electronics from ikelite that handles the ETTL pre flash and allows you to set from +3 EV to -3 EV etc. so that the UW strobe works pretty much like a speedlite. The strobe can also be set to complete manual and you can set the strobe to full 1/2 1/4 intensity. The silver connector on the lower left of the housing is for the connector to the strobe (not shown)



This one shows the front of the unit, and the lens port just mates to the hole in the front with an O ring. You can see the two black retainers in this shot.




And here you can see that there is not a lot to these retainers. I would not 'leap' into the water with it. It is always passed in or clutched to my chest as I back roll in. I may be being a little paranoid, but that said, it hasn't leaked yet!



Yep, the strobes come in handy at any depth really, especially with macro. As you can see you can get them quite far away from the lens, and can easily mount a second on the second grip. This setup is slightly negative. Of course you can get longer arms for the strobes.

I have 3 ports, an 8" dome, for my 10-22mm, a small dome for my 17-85, and a flat macro port for the macro lens.

You always have the wrong lens on though!

You can see the whole kit here:
http://www.stetner.org/blog/?p=25

[blackD200]

brilliant pics !!!! am speachless...
cant do them with my Dslr....

[gstark]

Thanx Dug.

Great stuff, and those images do a lot to help explain exactly how the strobes mount on the housing.

My only concern is that - and I cannot really comment with any degree of authority and I'm simply asking based upon what I'm seeing in your images - the physical connections for the strobe - the way the arm is mounted and the way it will articulate - looks a tad light to me. The wheel looks to be good in terms of being able to use it underwater to tighten/loosen/adjust angles etc, but otherwise the arm looks to be of a slightly lower duty construction than what I might be expecting.

Of course, it may be entirely satisfactory for its purposes n- I fully expect that it is, given that Ikelite make very high quality gear - but when one is used to the HD construction and engineering that I see in, say, Manfrotto gear for use on land, this seems somewhat lighter than my expectations.

Are you able to offer your insight into this aspect of the housing elements for us?

TIA.

[Heath Bennett]

Yeah thanks Dug - certainly a nice bit of kit - but I echo Gary's sentiments about the stobe connection (then again, I'm thinking about being hit by a wave onto hard packed sand )

[robw25]

I plan to give different products a test but for me rain-x seems the best idea, to make the water bead off faster. I just need to contact the manufacturer to be certain it won't damage the glass-like material

great pics heath !!! thanks for the rain-x tip i was using a lens cleaner we had at work ! but the water didnt bead away and caused some out of focus shots because of shit on the glass, will keep an eye out for your reply from the manufacturer about rain-x

cheers rob

[Heath Bennett]

I plan to give different products a test but for me rain-x seems the best idea, to make the water bead off faster. I just need to contact the manufacturer to be certain it won't damage the glass-like material

great pics heath !!! thanks for the rain-x tip i was using a lens cleaner we had at work ! but the water didnt bead away and caused some out of focus shots because of shit on the glass, will keep an eye out for your reply from the manufacturer about rain-x

cheers rob

Hi Rob - I didn't have the manufacturers approval to use rain-x.

Instead he sent me a document of possible solutions. Believe it or not the most common one is spit - just like in scuba for anti-fog! Didn't think of that!

[Heath Bennett]

another one that missed the earlier cut:

[stetner]

My only concern is that ... - the physical connections for the strobe - the way the arm is mounted and the way it will articulate - looks a tad light to me. The wheel looks to be good in terms of being able to use it underwater to tighten/loosen/adjust angles etc, but otherwise the arm looks to be of a slightly lower duty construction than what I might be expecting.

You are correct, above water, the knobs can be tightened *just* enough to hold the strobe in place, but moving it around violently will make the joints slip. But, under water it is very sufficient as the water supports most of the weight.

Even at that, it really is only the joints that are weak above water, the arms are quite solid and strong.

When handling it above water I usually fold the strobe down so it is resting against the housing to support the strobe weight.

As I said, I don't think I would want to use this in the surf!

[stetner]

I just realised I may not have said:

Great pictures Heath!



As for coating the port, we don't have to worry too much about water beading underwater! Just wipe the air bubbles off!

That said, you can buy 'sea drops' to keep scuba masks defogged, and the water then clears off the lens nicely, so that would probably work on the port.

The cheap alternative is a watered down baby shampoo.

Now, that is for masks, but I don't think I would hesitate to use it on my ports if I was trying some above/below shots....

[Heath Bennett]

I just realised I may not have said:

Great pictures Heath!



As for coating the port, we don't have to worry too much about water beading underwater! Just wipe the air bubbles off!

That said, you can buy 'sea drops' to keep scuba masks defogged, and the water then clears off the lens nicely, so that would probably work on the port.

The cheap alternative is a watered down baby shampoo.

Now, that is for masks, but I don't think I would hesitate to use it on my ports if I was trying some above/below shots....

Thanks Stetner

Another option in the document used by some photographers is to carry a chamois cloth in the water. I am cautious not to do anything to void my warantee at this stage so I'm doing everything by their book of rules.

[gstark]

Doug,

Even at that, it really is only the joints that are weak above water, the arms are quite solid and strong.

That is exactly the impression I took from the images.

As you note, the water helps support the weight, and given the intended usage, I wouldn't foresee any major issues.

Thank you.

[wendellt]

really beautiful images heath

now you have to take advantage of this under water housing and use it for commercial purposes, get your money back

there are a few innovators out there using under water housings and strobes to shoot dynamic contemporary dance sequences under water

[Heath Bennett]

really beautiful images heath

now you have to take advantage of this under water housing and use it for commercial purposes, get your money back

there are a few innovators out there using under water housings and strobes to shoot dynamic contemporary dance sequences under water

I hadn't heard of that.

I didn't really think that I would get my money back with the housing, more of something to keep photography fun. I have given pictures to fundraising calendars, but haven't chased dollars from this side of photography yet.

Perhaps when I take it too seriously I will stop enjoying it!

[Slider]

Awesome shots Heath

[mark]

Great series Heath.

Now my lust has widened to include water housings. After seeing these, it's the next thing on my hit list. The only issue for me will be, should I surf or take pictures.

I had a look at the site you pointed to regards the housing you have, would you mind telling me if you ordered it from them or did you get it locally?

[Heath Bennett]

Great series Heath.

Now my lust has widened to include water housings. After seeing these, it's the next thing on my hit list. The only issue for me will be, should I surf or take pictures.

I had a look at the site you pointed to regards the housing you have, would you mind telling me if you ordered it from them or did you get it locally?

Thanks mate.

Yeah I ordered from them direct - they are local - just south of Sydney!

[mark]

Thanks Heath.

I was getting confused by the Huntington Beach address and assumed United States, now I notice the .au and local address, thanks. It's a great looking unit and heaps of accessories too.

Just one more question if you don't mind.
How far if at all did you accessorise your housing? I notice they have a Pistol Shutter release and I see guys in the surf here using that method just wondered if you went that way.

[Heath Bennett]

Thanks Heath.

I was getting confused by the Huntington Beach address and assumed United States, now I notice the .au and local address, thanks. It's a great looking unit and heaps of accessories too.

Just one more question if you don't mind.
How far if at all did you accessorise your housing? I notice they have a Pistol Shutter release and I see guys in the surf here using that method just wondered if you went that way.

Pistol grip is essential. Too heavy and awkward otherwise. You will use it 90% of the time!

[mark]

Thanks Heath.

I was getting confused by the Huntington Beach address and assumed United States, now I notice the .au and local address, thanks. It's a great looking unit and heaps of accessories too.

Just one more question if you don't mind.
How far if at all did you accessorise your housing? I notice they have a Pistol Shutter release and I see guys in the surf here using that method just wondered if you went that way.

Pistol grip is essential. Too heavy and awkward otherwise. You will use it 90% of the time!

Cheers Heath, that's exactly what I was thinking.

[Heath Bennett]

Hi Mark - had a look at your Flickr page - the "Garrett Parkes - Floater Sequence" is high quality stuff. Loads of great pics up there mate.

[mark]

Hi Mark - had a look at your Flickr page - the "Garrett Parkes - Floater Sequence" is high quality stuff. Loads of great pics up there mate.

Thanks Heath, glad you liked them. Reminds me I need to get out and take some more, I also have a few of Danny Wills getting great barrels at Main Beach from a few months back that I should PP.

I gave AquaTech and ring this morning and now I have even more questions for you. I'll PM you with them later this evening if you don't mind.

[Heath Bennett]

No trouble PM away.

Hi Mark - had a look at your Flickr page - the "Garrett Parkes - Floater Sequence" is high quality stuff. Loads of great pics up there mate.

Thanks Heath, glad you liked them. Reminds me I need to get out and take some more, I also have a few of Danny Wills getting great barrels at Main Beach from a few months back that I should PP.

I gave AquaTech and ring this morning and now I have even more questions for you. I'll PM you with them later this evening if you don't mind.