Underwater Photography from 1996...

lextalionis

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Hey gang,

I've had a lot of positive feedback from my Green Sea Turtle shot I posted here in addition to a professor at the School of Veterinary Science from the University of Florida requesting to publish it, that I decided to dig up the negatives and do some hi-res color negative scanning.

I took a lot of UW photos with my Sea & Sea gear I purchased in Japan while stationed in Pearl Harbor, HI aboard the USS Columbus SSN 762 fast attack submarine. These shots were from ~1996.

Here's the only shot of the equipment I once had (sold it all on eBay after marrying and starting a family):

#1
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My two macro bayonet conversion lenses are in the foam to the right. I used a dual strobe system which worked well. Only thing about my photography days back then is that I had a fraction of the knowledge that I have today...I was single, with money to blow :D

Here's a shot of fellow shipmate diver "Michael DeCaprio" MM2(SS) holding a pillow star which was taken during a shallow dive off the west coast of Oahu (Electric Beach) around 1996:

#2
pillow_star_michael_resize.jpg


Here's the macro...if I recall correctly, ASA 100 speed Kodak Royal Gold, probably f/8 and 1/100 in TTL-Flash using a 2-T macro lens (color negative scan and cleaned up in Photoshop):

#3
pillow_star1_resize.jpg


Here are three more from the same time img...again C-41 color negative scans from ~1996. Shots taken with a Sea & Sea 35mm UW camera. The tomato clown was taken while we stopped in Guam for a quick 2-week up-keep. A locally stationed Master Chief was a veteran diver and took us to a shore dive near-by. We all were laughing under our breaths when we saw the location (shipping harbor, with oil tankers and material goods freighters). Once we submersed we were looking literally at that opening scene from Finding Nemo...incredible. Having dove mostly in Hawaii (some of the youngest island formations in the Pacific) where the coral was still just starting to grow, Guam was completely different, the coral was fully mature. It takes hundreds and hundreds of years for coral reefs to mature.

During this first day dive I discovered this Tomato Clown, but he was very reclusive, so I returned with some buddies later that evening for a night dive. He was very active at night which is when I captured this shot.

#4 Tomato Clown Fish in a sea anomie "So Nemo, where do you live?" "I live in a sea anomminomminomminommine." :D Shot with ASA 100 speed color print film and a 2T macro conversion lens.

Flickr location with access to 10mb full-resolution download

nemo_4_resize.jpg


#5 Morey Ell. This is Bowser...Bowser lived in a sunken ship's anchor assist in the bow of the ship. The ship sunk upright off the west coast of Oahu and rested at 100ft. It was my only boat dive while in Hawaii. The shallow dive just before this dive I captured a green sea turtle (Tripod). I found out after coming back to the dive shop sponsoring the boat dive to give this photo to them that someone had speared Bowser with a Hawaiian Sling spear...what a shame!
I used a 20mm wide-angle conversion lens for this shot at close focus.

Flickr location with access to 10mb full-resolution download

bowser_2_resize.jpg


#6 Might as well add Tripod. This shot was taken just about 1 hour before the shot of Bowser. Tripod is the whole reason I took this boat dive. After seeing a poster of a green sea turtle like this taken for an organization then called “Under Hanauma” a group dedicated to preserving Hanauma Bay and hearing about a very curious green sea turtle that approached divers, I had to take this dive. Again 20mm close-focus.

Flickr location with access to 10mb full-resolution download

tripod_12_resize.jpg


-Roy
 
Pardon me while I pick my jaw up off the floor! Wow! The shots of Bowser and Tripod are just wonderful!!!!! So crisp, it's difficult to remember they're underwater shots.

Thanks so much for sharing these
 
Absolutly fantastic shots there - like Anty said very crisp and clear results!
And its refreshing to see someone posting up links to fullsized versions of work - especially of such high quality results! :)
also - nominated!
 

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