Getting into Underwater Photography

FEATURE & PHOTOGRAPHY NIKHIL MENON

First off, let me start off with a disclaimer. I by no means consider myself a professional underwater photographer. Nor do I currently have intentions of monetizing my images.

The agenda has purely been to share my experiences with the world, and primarily, the non-diving, land dwellers. I’ve never been an on-land pro photographer, let alone an underwater one. That being said, here’s a quick read through my journey on getting to all of the above “I’m nots”, and the immense support and guidance I’ve received from the UAE diving community.

I married my college sweetheart at the age of 26, and honeymooned in Bali, Indonesia. One of the resorts we stayed at had a PADI 5 star resort located within its premises. Taking this as a good excuse, I took my first underwater breath.This was the first time I saw marine life in its natural habitat and not in an aquarium or on my dinner plate, the first time I felt weightless, the first time I felt freedom like never before, and the first time PADI got a hold of my email address.

The thought of initially getting into the water was an absolute leap of faith, and I had to use every ounce of my willpower to get into it. To add some perspective to my fellow aquaholics, I’d been terrified of water ever since I was a child – after a set of traumatising coached swimming events.

How it started with a GoPro Hero 8 Black.

How it started with a GoPro Hero 8 Black.

How it started with a GoPro Hero 8 Black.

How it started with a GoPro Hero 8 Black.

The fear quite quickly turned into complex positive emotions in which I wish I had words to describe them. When we got back to the boat, I just stared into the horizon. I think I cried that day. Not from fear, not from regret, just an overwhelming set of positive emotions. I don’t remember much of the time after the dive.

A year or so after we got back from our honeymoon, I had my mind set to getting back into the ocean. This time, not as a tourist, but as a properly certified diver. Well, the rest is history. Within the short span of a year, I had racked up about 100 dives and 5 certifications.

My holidays now revolved around dive sites and my vacation dates relied on the diving seasons. Everything was about diving and marine life preservation. I would constantly speak to my friends and family about diving and the amazing things I see, and sadly, the destruction we unknowingly cause that is so clearly seen underwater. At this stage, my friends and family suggested I use social media to spread my experiences and information of my underwater world and the varied marine life I encounter on my expeditions.

Straying away from the topic for a sec; doesn’t going on a dive feel like the closest most of us would get to going into outer space and experiencing alien life?

How it progressed.

How it progressed.

How it progressed.

How it progressed.

How it progressed.

I’ve never been active on social media, and had very little I cared to share with the world. But now, there was a goal. An agenda if you will, to bring as many people into my underwater realm as I could. The most visible change I believe is that it’s a lot harder if not impossible for people to cause harm to marine life (knowingly or unknowingly) once they see and experience it for themselves. I think it makes people more conscious to their actions or inactions, especially when they see how easily coral is damaged, for example. My journey in underwater photography started with this.

At first, I would ask my dive buddies to share their videos and images with me that they would capture during our dives which I would then compile, edit, add my favourite music to, caption with information (usually fun information), and then post it on social media. The immediate reactions I received within my small group of friends was extremely encouraging. They would ask me about diving, about the marine life in my videos, how they could get into diving themselves, and so on. It looked as if I had landed on the right path.

It wasn’t long after, my wife gifted me with my first action/underwater camera; a GoPro Hero 8 Black, with a whole set of attachments. I doubt anyone could ever gift me something as important and life changing as this. To date, this has been the turning point not only in my dive time, but my life on a whole. I started diving more regularly and recorded every one of my dives. I would shoot random shots underwater and post more on social media. These posts quickly got the attention of photographers and videographers (the onland kinds) who would drop me suggestions and recommendations of how I could make my shots better. Here I was, someone who until very recently didn’t exist on social media, now having some extremely kind strangers take the time to write to me along the lines of, “That looks beautiful, try planning your shots maybe, it would look a lot better.” And, “Woah, that’s amazing. Have you tried using filters?” To be honest though, looking back at those videos and pictures, I can only come to the conclusion that they had been extremely kind in their messages considering the heavy green hues on all my videos and images at the time. Yes, it’s the same heavy greens that every diver has at some point come across in their video and image start-ups.

I took all the positive feedback and started planning my shots. The nights before the dive days, I would plan my shots in my head. The opening shot, the pre-dive shots, equipment, the roll back entry, the descent, the marine life, the safety stop, and so on. I would constantly think of the elements I wanted to share with the world. So much so that my wife had brought to my attention that I was speaking about seahorses in my sleep.

Not long after, I started shooting videos, showcasing my entire dive trip, from the drive to get there, to the boat ride back to the shore, and everything in between. Not long after this, I started using interchangeable filters for my GoPro. A set of 3 filters; red, magenta, and light orange that I ordered on Amazon for around AED20 that were my colour saviours in the next phase of my photography and videography.

How it looks today with an Olympus TG6 set-up.

At this stage, Amazon, AliExpress, and similar sites became a highlight on my credit card bills. I will be the first to admit that in the process of finding the correct setup for myself – influenced by a million different YouTube videos each preaching a different technique or product – I have made a lot of unnecessary purchases, and should anyone want to actually get into underwater photography, it is completely possible to do it within a decent budget. I have not yet found myself regretting an impulsive purchase, as it has taught me something in the process.

I started off with my GoPro on a small yellow float handle, I then got additional filters for it, then I shifted to an extendable handle, added on a hand held video light, and then in its final stage, my GoPro had a stabilizer tray, 2 video lights attached onto the tray, and macro lenses.

Through my experimental stage, I started noticing some of the more advanced photographers on the boat with large camera kits, enough lights to light up the void, camera trays, strobe lights, and what not. It always intrigued me. On one particular day, I happened to be on the same boat as one of the amazing underwater content creators, Khalid Alrazooqi. I approached him sheepishly with my ultra-compact GoPro kit against his very professional looking Olympus kit, and asked him about his set-up and his shots. I even mustered up the courage to show him some of my shots. Without a second’s thought, he was as excited as I was and started going through my pictures and videos. He was zooming in and analysing them. At this stage I felt like a 2nd grader showing my stick figure drawings to Pablo Picasso. Khalid was someone I looked up to and followed amongst a few other local underwater photographers. I’ve always appreciated his work and had not understood how he had got his shots. To my pleasant surprise, Khalid looked up and said something along the lines of, “Amazing, this is how I started out. With a simple GoPro and I got green videos and pictures as well.”

This was a turning point for me. That I too could do it. He encouraged me by starting off with techniques he uses, what he looks for, and what he focuses on in a shot. He also went through shot composition, lighting, and white balance.

A few dives later, I found myself on another dive with Khalid and I was this time equipped with an Olympus TG6, and a video light. I would shoot the images, show them to Khalid, and he would give me feedback and guide me through the shots. As well as Khalid, my instructor and friend, Ronald Montina, and my dive buddy, Shankar spent time with me over calls and messages, sometimes hours guiding me through techniques and compositions.

Another underwater content creator who has been a guiding force to me is Hadi El Osta. His shots have also been a source of inspiration and he has helped me out tremendously. He has guided me underwater, shown me how to spot macro species, where to find them and explained their behaviour. Hadi has shared his valuable feedback as well as his tips and techniques on how to better myself.

How it looks today with an Olympus TG6 set-up.

There have also been all the encouraging dive centres; Barracuda Diving Center and Neptune Diving Center who have always supported me by sharing my content, tagging me, and overall encouraging me to keep going to do better.

EDA’s Digital Online Underwater Photography and Film Competition 2020 was also something that helped me create a clearer goal for myself to aim to be one of the top participants. Honestly, I could fill an entire article with the names of those in the UAE’s diving community who helped guide, support and encourage me. These are just a few.

I’m still very much learning today, but I’ve come a long way since my green pictured clips and images. I now dive with an Olympus TG6, 2 18,000 lumen adjustable video lights, a camera tray, and floats, and I work with Adobe Lightroom for my edits. The UAE diving community is an extremely close-knit, caring and encouraging. They have knowingly and unknowingly guided and supported me, and they continue to do so. All I had to do was ask.

Every underwater photographer I meet and dive with has taught me something new. A technique, a style, a camera setting, or how to find something such as where to look for an almost invisible ghost shrimp.

This was a journey I thought I would be ridiculed and embarrassed by, and it turns out to have been the most fun learning experience, one of the greatest ways to make new friends, and so much more. The most important lesson I’ve learnt from everyone is that we are forever learning and with that, constantly improving. Looking back at my progression and journey into underwater photography, and knowing what I know now, I must continue to follow those examples and continue learning to self improve, and above all, always be humble.

How it looks today with an Olympus TG6 set-up.

NIKHIL’S INSTAGRAM PAGE:

@thebubblemaker2.0

NIKHIL FOLLOWS:

Khalid Alrazooqi: @khalidalrazooqi

Hadi El Osta: @hadielosta

Ronald Montina:@eliteinstructor_646863

Shankar: @shansdxb