35mm Nikonos / Black and White Underwater Photography: Project Overview
In November 2008, my partner Rebecca and I completed our PADI Open Water course at the Wraysbury Dive Centre, near Heathrow Airport. Though the water was bitterly cold and visibility was extremely poor (as you might expect), we enjoyed the experience so much that we immediately began saving for a diving holiday. In June 2009, we travelled to SE Asia where we spent two months diving in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Included in this slideshow are images of Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, Phi Phi and Koh Haa (Andaman Sea), and Chumphon Pinnacle, Southwest Pinnacle and Shark Island (Gulf of Thailand).
These images were created on black and white negative using an old 35mm Nikonos film camera. The Nikonos is a scale focus camera specifically designed for underwater photography. The cameras viewfinder is used purely to compose the shot, and to display exposure information. To focus this camera the photographer must estimate the distance he or she is away from the subject. Since refraction makes objects appear closer underwater than they actually are, estimating distances underwater can be difficult. As a result, making these pictures was a lot of fun. I chose to work in black and white because I wanted to create dreamlike images similar to those created by the early pioneers of underwater photography and filmmaking.
Position your cursor over each image to reveal its caption.