Supermacro and the Nauticam SMC

Alex Mustard · Issue 76, Jan/Feb 2014 · pp. 61–65

Products mentioned: Nauticam SMC, Nauticam SMC Multiplier, Subal ND4 housing, Nikon D4, Nikon D7100, 105mm VR lens, Inon Z240 strobes, SubSee +5, SubSee +10, Dyron adaptor

The Wetpixel/Dive Photo Guide/Our World Underwater Photography Contest has arguably become the pinnacle of underwater photography competitions over the last decade. With a huge roster of prizes it attracts both the best amateur shooters and also many leading professionals, which allows it to stand out in a chock-a-block calendar of international UW photo contests. The competition receives many thousands of entries each year, but it was only a handful of years ago that it launched a new super macro category, which in the first year received so few high quality entries that we did not award all the prizes. How times change. I have just returned from Bali, where I was judging the inaugural Indonesia World Underwater Photography Contest, helping to dish out an incredible 200,000 USD of cash prizes, and the macro categories were dominated by super macro images. As Peter Rowlands recently said…