Do we need depth?

Mark Webster · Issue 67, Jul/Aug 2012 · pp. 52–56

Products mentioned: Nikon D300, Subal ND2, Nikon F90X, Subal housing, 10-17mm fisheye lens, 15mm fisheye lens, 105mm micro lens, Inon Quad flash, Ektachrome 100ASA

The maximum depth of a dive is always an important consideration, normally due to decompression penalties that may be incurred. When we start diving the conversation is often related to how deep we have been and the urge is usually to make your first 100ft/30m dive and to even greater depths in order to join that elite group of ‘deep divers’. I was no different in this respect and spent many happy dives fumbling around in the dark cold water at 60m on wrecks. From this I moved into commercial diving where you rarely see much of what is around you due to poor visibility and darkness. I then discovered photography and of course my world was reversed and all I desired was more visibility and more light! Photography is all about capturing light and although we are often using artificial light to restore colours in our images the contribution of natural light to the exposure is always an impo…