diagonal lines are strong compositional elements for u/w imagery

This image of two nudibranchs preparing to mate has a diagonal line running through the center which serves a leading line that draws the eye into the subject. The dark background adds depth to the the image. I used two strobes. The one on the left side was 2 f-stops stronger than the strobe on the right creating a nice light ratio.

Composition, lighting, and buoyancy skills are three of the most important elements of u/w photography. If interested in taking a workshop that concentrates on the skills check out

http://www.douglasjhoffman.com/DH/workshops.htm

Lemon Shark

In 2007, I was in Tonga, on a humpback whale trip with underwater photographers Mark Strickland and Tim Rock. During the week we had dinner a few times with Mike Neumann, the owner of Beqa Adventure Divers in Pacific Harbor Fiji. Known as BAD divers, this operation offers one of the most famous shark dives in the world where divers can expect to see as many as 6 or 7 species of sharks on a single dive. http://www.fijisharkdive.com/

Up to this point in my diving career of 10,000 plus dives, I had not fed animals in order to get a photograph. I felt it changed their natural behavior. So during during dinner I listened to the conversation and asked a lot of questions.

I learned that the dive shop owners had a part in creating a 30 mile long marine reserve and that fishing was not allowed. The thinking being that in order to study and sustain all the shark species its a good idea to protect the entire ecosystem. Since the reserve limited the fishing rights of the local villagers, the dive shop pays the village for every diver coming in to the reserve.

I have written more about this experience and it will be published soon on the http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/

To join me on diving and photography adventures in Hawaii, Fiji, or Tonga please check out my site www.douglasjhoffman.co

Free Lunch

This shrimp is doing more than just getting a free ride. Its working its way around the eel feeding on debris and parasites.

This image was created in the Lembeh Strait located near Manado Indonesia.

Natural frames to draw viewers eye into an image

This compositional technique has dual purposes. First it can add a great deal of depth, especially if the frame selected is connected to the main subject. Second, it has the affect of making the scene more appealing.

Perhaps the most common way of framing an image on the reef is to look for areas where their is a ledge, overhand, or coral formation that extends around, under, or over the subject. This image of a Moray Eel has a natural frame of coral reef around it. The out of focus foreground serves to draw the viewer directly to the Eye of the eel.

The benefits of framing photographs include:

1. Gives context.

2. Gives images a sense of depth.

3. Leads the eye towards main focal point.

4. Intrigues viewer.

tridents trumpet feasting on Clown of Thorns Starfish

Sometimes when diving I get to see bizarre glimpses of nature at work. On this particular dive I got to see what appeared to be an alien creature eating a venomous Crown of Thorns Starfish. As it turns out it was a Tridents Trumpet Shell feasting away on the starfish. This species of starfish is eating coral reefs around the word and deserves in my opinion to be eaten alive. Thats what's happening in this image and I call it poetic justice.

To view more marine life images go to http://www.douglasjhoffman.com/DH/fineArtOpen-Marine.htm

Frog fish face

I went diving today at Molokini and the wreck of the St. Anthony. It was during the second dive I saw this frogfish. I had a 105 mm lens that was really about 150 mm when you factor in the size of my digital sensor. The frog fish was the size of a small pumpkin, so I decided to concentrate on just the fishes face.

Fast shutter speeds freeze the action when doing ambient light

Southern Hemisphere Humpback whales are migrating through Tonga this time of year. This is one of the few places in the world where it is permitted to snorkel with whales.

When photographing whales and other large animals in the blue try setting your camera to shutter priority and using a speed of 1/250th of a second. This will minimize camera shake and blurry images.

Check out this article on Tonga for more information. http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/diving-tonga-humpback-whales

To see a collection of whale portraits go to www.douglasjhoffman.com