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BONAIRE
Date: (3)
Author: Martin Edge
WHY A PHOTO-COURSE?My first love is to teach underwater photography! Its not always been that way though. In the early 80s all I wanted to achieve was the quality of underwater photography in the diving magazines of the day. Some of you may remember Underwater World and Sub Aqua Scene from the UK, together with Skin Diver from the USA.
In those days the articles on Underwater Photography were riveting and inspirational! Cathy Church (when she was still married to Jim) Stan Waterman, Gerry Greenberg and a young David Doubilet. Their words and wisdom were inspirational to me.
It took me five long, painstaking years to achieve even a competent standard of underwater photography. It was all trial and error. Problems and mistakes took ages to solve and correct. My first break was a colleague from work who took me through the concept of apertures, shutter speeds and film speeds. My second was discovering BSOUP (British Society of Underwater Photographers). There I had the opportunity to probe and question the best crop of Underwater Photographers in the UK at that time. I listened to everything they said, discarded anything which I did not feel was pertinent and moulded together an approach which I considered would achieve good underwater images.
This approach worked and my photography took off virtually overnight. I gained immediate recognition for these images in the form of a crop of competitive awards. I became confident that if this approach could unlock the door for me then it could do the same for hundreds of underwater photographers up and down the country who were struggling.
On reflection I realize that I wanted to spread the word and say, Hey, listen, It works for me and it can work for you and it has nothing to do with photo kit. Its about how you think underwater when youve got a camera in your hand.
I began to write and commit these ideas to paper. I battled with some editors who insisted that I kept my photo articles basic and equipment orientated. I was made to feel obligated to conform to the style of writing of other underwater photographers but I knew that it wasnt me. It wasnt my style.
Around this time Peter Rowlands of Ocean Optics conceived the magazine title of UP Underwater Photography. After a couple of years it became known as Sport Diver. Peter allowed me to be radical and adopt a style with my underwater photo articles which in my opinion was very different. The written word flowed into the spoken word and 1987-88 saw the beginning of my Weekend Photo Courses which developed into tropical photo expeditions and teaching workshops.
My own Studio Beneath the Sea was always Swanage Pier. With my photo buddy and close friend Bob Wrobel I took hundreds of rolls of film, on occasions as many as ten a day! I developed twin flash techniques, wide angle diver pictures, modelling skills and became obsessed with understanding, predicting and exploiting the effects of natural sunlight in Underwater Photography.
My course and expeditions have taken me all over the world but its fair to say that I stumbled on my first tropical classroom in 1990. I visited Eilat with Bob to shoot some ideas for my book The Underwater Photographer I instantly realized that this kind of environment was most conducive to teaching and learning the art in a tropical location. Shallow, repetitive shore based photo-diving, round-the- clock, unlimited tanks with an array of subjects on tap. The secret is subjects that can be revisited at any time of the day or night. For several years Eilat was my idea of perfection and many of my brightest students cut their teeth in those shallow sunlit waters.
Things move on and so do underwater photography instructors. With the help of Hilary Lee and a few of my students who know the type of location which I am continually searching for, I found the small island of Bonaire in the southern Caribbean. What I experienced, the quality of subjects which my students were able to photograph all day every day without fail, impressed me immensely!
Bonaire provides the most ideal environment for an underwater photographer to dive with like-minded people, take pictures and have a great holiday. Just off the beach at Captain Dons Habitat there is an underwater classroom that is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Students can expose a roll of film on a particular coral outcrop at any time of the day. After scrutinizing their developed film one can return to the very same coral branch, often to the same fish or creature with the sole intention of doing it better.
The structure and objectives of my photo-courses are set by the students themselves long before we leave the UK. Some may prefer to develop an enhanced competency in relation to close focus wide angle, wreck photography or natural light. For the more experienced photographer it may be a particular technique like fisheye lens lighting, dual lighting with close up or perhaps composition. Classroom time runs between 90 minutes and 2 hours per day depending on the students themselves.
During 1998 I used one site in particular to teach a host of techniques and topics. No more than a twenty minute boat ride away, Town Pier hosts an incredible amount of marine life. My Bonaire Photo Course in November 1999 is in order to exploit the potential of this one particular site in order for me to instruct my students and for them to capture underwater images of the highest quality. I am designing this particular course for those underwater photographers who demand far more than an underwater snapshot. I can state with certainty that a Martin Edge Photo-Course will save you at least three years in your quest to fulfil your potential. I will be diving by your side in order to guide you through various techniques so you may achieve the images which you strive for.
Remember, the most important thing is to have a standard of excellence , an idea of what a good underwater image should be and to keep trying until your work begins to match it.
Martin Edge conducts weekend underwater photography courses in the UK throughout the year. For further details contact Martin or Sylvia on 01202-887611. Current Holidays to BONAIRE:
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