Wrecks to Reefs

Mark Webster · Issue 41, Mar/Apr 2008 · pp. 56–61

Products mentioned: Nikon D100, Nikon D200, Light and Motion Titan housing, Subal ND20 housing, 10.5mm fish eye lens, Magic Filter, Subtronic Mini flash guns, Inon Quad flash, 105mm macro lens

Most divers enjoy wreck diving and we underwater photographers are no different in this respect. Wrecks by themselves can produce some stunning and very graphic images but what also attracts me to them is the manner in which they are slowly engulfed by the sea. Any piece of wreckage whether placed deliberately or through tragedy under the sea will attract marine life very quickly and over a longer period will resemble a well populated reef giving us the best of both worlds – wreck and reef. This transformation occurs in both temperate and tropical waters, but undoubtedly for underwater photographers the best opportunities are going to be found in warmer clearer waters of the tropical seas or perhaps the Mediterranean. To capture large sections of a shipwreck we need not only the correct equipment choice in terms of lenses and flash guns or filters, but more importantly plenty of light an…