Uw photography in the Amazon

Oliver Lucanus · Issue 60, May/Jun 2011 · pp. 64–67

Products mentioned: Aquatica Housing, Canon 1Ds III, Canon 7D

My fascination with fish eventually became curiosity to find out where the fish come from. Unlike marine fishes the information on freshwater fishes is limited to water analysis data, some information about the habitat, but precious little about the actual behaviour of the fish below the surface. Frequent trips to the Amazon made a new fascination possible: to photograph the fish in their natural environment. Before the age of digital camera this was a true hit and miss project, with Nikonos cameras in murky water with low visibility, lots of particulate matter in the water, and bad quality of light sensitive films. With the arrival of digital cameras many things became possible, because the 1200 ASA files from most cameras produce images good enough for the Amazon’s low light situations. Photographing with available light is most interesting, because it is the only way to show the actua…