Available Colour

David Colyn · Issue 76, Jan/Feb 2014 · pp. 66–68

Products mentioned: Inon Z240, Canon DPP, 60mm macro lens

The nutrient rich Benguela current that flows up the West coast of South Africa is a blessing to underwater photographers. It sustains invertebrate life with stunning colors and thus provides plenty of photo opportunities. However, these same cold nutrient rich waters can also be a curse to underwater photographers. When the wind and swell eventually dies down in this area which Portuguese explorers called the Cape of storms, you have a limited time of good 10 to 15 meter visibility before the sun produces an algae bloom which turns the clear blue water into green pea soup with visibility down to 2 meters or less. Even when the visibility is at the average 6 meters there are always enough particles in the water to absorb most of the ambient light, giving photos an emerald green tint and backscatter that resembles a sandstorm in a desert. This backscatter problem is so severe that it make…