Book Review: The Essential Underwater Photography Manual

Pat Morrissey · Issue 23, Mar/Apr 2005 · pp. 57–58

Products mentioned: The Essential Underwater Photography Manual

Book reviews The Essential Underwater Photography Manual by Denise Nielsen Tackett and Larry Tackett. The problem with any book which sets out to call itself the ʻessentialʼ guide to any subject is that it must inevitably fail some readers in some aspects; what you or I may find absolutely crucial in the quest for underwater photographic perfection may well not rate so highly in anotherʼs eyes. Nonetheless, the Tacketts have come up with a tome which seems to satisfy most of the people most of the time, and they ought to be commended for that. This is a nicely laid-out book. Its ten chapters cover some basic questions such as ʻFilm or Digital?ʼ, ʻEquipment Considerationsʼ and ʻCreative Lighting Techniquesʼ, while there are others that purport to reveal the secrets of ʻCreative Compositionʼ, ʻTelling Storiesʼ and the (for me) more interesting approach, ʻThe Art of Photographing Behaviourʼ…