I am always interested in working with light, both above and below water. Think about those over/under shots shot with a fisheye where you can see both the fisherman’s feet on the bottom of the river, and him casting his line above the water. The challenge with these images is often the underwater part is a lot darker than the above water part. Bright sandy bottoms and high over head light help reduce this contrast problem. How to trigger a flash underwater?
There are some great housings that can trigger dedicated underwater strobes. I use an Ikelite housing for my under/over shots. But unfortunately I can’t jam a radio trigger in the housing, it fits to tight to the camera. And I don’t want to use underwater strobes, I’d like to use my SB900s. A flexible housing by Ewa-Marine would allow you to attach a radio trigger to your camera and shoot it underwater. So how to waterproof those SB900s?
One option would be to get a separate Ewa-Marine housing to put your flashes in. I chose a less expensive option. I put my SB900 in a rafting drybag that is clear and allows the light to come out. About $30 bucks.
Does a radio trigger shoot through water? Yes. The top kayaking shot has three SB900s triggered in the kayak, and one SB900 underwater under the kayak (weighted to the bottom with rocks in a bag, see pic). So far this set up has not leaked. You could always go for a more durable underwater case or housing.
This shot confirmed the Skyport wireless system will trigger flashes underwater. The next step is to add more strobes and get the light exposure right, a little hot in the above shot. But now that I know things work, it is just a matter of time before putting someone in the water with all those flashes!
I was just in the tetons recently photographing fall color on a Great American Photography Workshop. After we shot the classics we tried some more abstract ways of documenting color. One of my favorite techniques is twisting the camera while pointed upward to get some pinwheel effects. Shutter speeds from 1/30 and slower will get good results, it just depends on how fast you can twist. Also try zooming in and out on a zoom lens during a long exposure for more interesting effect.
