Driving down to Adelaide from Darwin for Christmas holiday was probably one of the most physically tiring adventure. With the distance of 3,000 KM one way and had to do it in 2 weeks, not too bad actually. We had a chance to stop at many places including Uluru – Kata Tjuta on the way up.
Flores was one of the most beautiful place I’ve visited in terms of the fauna or wildlife I encountered during the visit. Not only it’s is famous for the protected Komodo Dragon national park but in the water as well.
Not only because I myself enjoy scuba diving and snorkeling, I like to explore any photography styles related to what I enjoy doing. Split Level Underwater photography is one of them. It’s also known as ‘over-under’ or ‘split-shots’ an amazing technique to take an underwater photo but include what’s above the water as well. So its a half way split between water and the air.
They often are taken with wide angle or fisheye lenses with big dome port to capture both sides. To be able to capture both side clearly it’s better to use small aperture for the clear focus and best shot in a shallow and calm water. This technique could be tricky as the air and water has different index of refraction. To understand the science deeper, here’s the tutorial on how to do it by Jonathan Bird.
Here are some amazing samples of Split Level or Over-Under photography, David Doubilet is one of the most outsanding underwater photographers with this technique:
And here are some of the big buggers to shoot it with :
And I have to share this interview of David Doubilet going through one by one of his best shots at the The World We Explore- David Doubilet Zeitgeist Americas 2012. And yes, he mentioned Raja Ampat of West Papua is like a dream place and I wish I will be able to go there someday:
If you like to take adventure photography and think that GoPro or other action cameras can not do enough but don’t want to spend more than what your DSLR camera cost for underwater housing, Outex is the answer. It may sounds like a birth control product brand and works almost the same but it’s the coolest DSLR camera gear to protect the camera from water, mud, snow or dust in reasonably affordable price :)). It envelops any major DSLR and lenses brand like Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, Sigma, Tamron etc. To do a split level water photography will be very handy if you have the right lenses and Outex set for that as an alternative to expensive camera housing.
Although you can use Outex for underwater photography up to 10m deep, it is not designed for scuba diving as its not supporting the pressure. And to be able to use it underwater, it has to be installed properly. When you purchase from their website, it will be directed to which camera and lenses are you using so it will fit them properly. It’s an exciting new gear for adventure photography.
Here are some photos of this Outex from many sources:
