The Science Forum

in a few week's time i should be in Jordan, part of which is being done at the Red Sea, where i intend to do some snorkeling
nothing new or adventurous about that, but what's new is that i'll give underwater photography a shot

in order to do so i just bought myself a Fujifilm Finepix XP20 - relatively cheap at £80, so if it doesn't work out there's not too much lost
seeing as we have Hermit here as our expert adviser on the subject, are there any tips that you could share ? what's the dos and don'ts ? if the camera says its depth limit is 5 metres, should that make it safe for snorkeling - i do tend to dive, but i doubt whether i'll exceed a depth of 5 metres

I'd love to see how these turn out, regardless of what camera you use!

some of the results of a 1-day snorkling trip near Aqaba, Jordan
at least no disaster struck, like me losing the camera, or having water ingress in the delicate parts of the camera, but obviously i still have a lot to learn (and maybe now's the time to start reading the manual)

i left everything on automatic settings, and clicked away in the hope that things would work out (which they did at times, to some extent) - so now that i have a feel of the beastie, the aim should be to try for more consistency in getting decent shots

here's a selection of the better ones

Just noticed this thread, so sorry for not entering earlier.

When snorkel diving, there is a bit of a problem with photography. It sounds very basic, but the problem is holding the camera still. On automatic, the camera tends to have a slower shutter speed, while the snorkeller is in a kind of 'free fall' making it hard to be still. The result tends to be photos that appear to be out of focus.

On scuba it is easier, since you can wedge yourself in one place, and even hold the camera hard against a rock or coral head. I even have a friend who has a tripod attached to his underwater housing, so he can set it up on the tripod absolutely still. This guy takes awesome photos!

If photographing fish which are moving, you need to move the camera so the fish are apparently unmoving in the viewfinder. The background may then be blurred, but your subject should be good.

The other big problem is always light. If you are in clear, shallow water, with bright sunshine, it is OK. If it is overcast, you may find photos take on a kind of 'washed out' appearance due to lack of colour. I get around that one by also using a powerful video light alongside the camera.

thanks for the advice - presumably, unless i get some more practice in i won't know whether i've already reached the limitations of my current kit
i must say i was rather disappointed with the fauna in that part of the Red Sea (maybe not surprising since the coast near Aqaba is mostly harbours), i should really have had one for the Galapagos and Cuba !