On Wednesday 13 th September, Dunchurch Photographic Society
welcomed Ian Johnston all the way from Droitwich for an entertaining,
engaging and in places, dramatic evening all about underwater
photography. The meeting was well attended by members, who were
understandably curious to learn more about this particular niche genre of
photographic technique.
During the first half of the presentation, Ian provided a detailed overview
of the requirements to undertake such photography i.e. diving
qualifications and not least, the extent of the photographic kit involved as
well. Ian was able to provide an overview of the expensive nature of a lot
of the kit available on the market to make such photographic adventures
possible – but also offered some lower cost solutions that he had been
able to assemble and make a more cost effective experience.
Ian spoke about the locations he performs underwater and ocean
photography and generally what depth he descends to. In general, his
dives are no more than about 30 to 40m.
Throughout the evening, members of the Society were treated to Ian’s
wonderful images, from fresh water, cave diving and salt water dives.
Naturally, this featured different techniques, different light and most
interestingly different water creatures. From seals to whales, anemones
to coral and from fish to sharks. Some of the shark images were very
striking and reminiscent of a certain Spielberg film!
All in all, it was quite a unique presentation in terms of the content and
the opportunity to learn more about this type of photography and its
challenges. The members seemed to enjoy the presentation and there
was plenty of interaction between the audience and Ian in terms of
questions.
Dunchurch Photographic Society would like to thank Ian Johnston for
coming to see us and provide a fantastically informative presentation.
We wish him well in the future for his waterborne adventures!
Report compiled by David J. Bray (Secretary).