Underwaterworld

Pete Saloutos · Issue 23, Mar/Apr 2005 · pp. 33–36

Products mentioned: Nikonos 5, Nikkor 35mm 2.5 lens, Ikelite strobe, Norman 2000 water power pack, Nikon 105, Kodak E100VS, Nikon D2X

My love of water goes way back: swimming lessons as a kid, surfing as a teenager, swim team in high school. Thirty-five years ago I got certified for diving but never really got behind it. At that time, the equipment was primitive by todayʼs standards. Ten years later, well into my life as a photographer, my interest in diving was rekindled when I began to experiment with a Nikonos underwater camera and lights. For the next several years, I had great fun with colorful shots of swimmers using multiple lights and gels. In 1984, my world of underwater photography came to an unexpected and abrupt end when I began to suffer massive headaches after even a minimal swimming experience. If I couldnʼt swim, it was clear that diving was out of the question. For the next seventeen years I tried to figure out what was wrong: I visited neurologists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, massage therapists: y…