Breathhold Subjects

Phillip Colla · Issue 20, Aug/Sep 2004 · pp. 27–34

Products mentioned: Nikonos 15mm lens, Nikonos 20mm lens

Until about 1994 the vast majority of my diving was done at San Clemente Island, either with a tank or without, searching the kelp forests for interesting animals and compositions. Since then, however, I’ve virtually given up conventional tank diving, preferring to spend my few free days roaming offshore in my little boat, looking for “stuff to shoot”. Historically, offshore waters have been the territory of fishermen and spearfishers more than divers since it was thought that there is not much for a diver to see out there. Indeed this is typically true. Just finding something offshore to observe is sometimes an exercise in frustration and dramamine. But the last few decades have seen photographers turning their attention to these waters with remarkable results, capturing marvelous images of tuna and billfish, gelatinous zooplankton, and whales and dolphins. My introduction to bluewater …