You don’t need a $10,000 housing to get underwater images like this one, says Toronto adventure photographer Goh Iromoto. For paddling photography, lighter is better. He uses a waterproof camera dry bag made by EWA-Marine to protect his Canon 5D Mark III. “It weighs just 400 grams compared to the 30-pound camera system I use for commercial underwater photography,” he says. “It’s so handy, I often leave it on when I’m kayaking. I’ve even jumped off a cliff with it, shooting as I fell into the water.”
Split images trick the camera’s autofocus into focusing on the waterline, rather than the scene beyond, warns Iromoto. Before dunking the camera, focus on your subject, set the camera to aperture-priority mode and use a wide aperture like F/2.8 or F/3.5. Then it’s just a matter of making sure the lens is half in, half out of the water. “Use your intuition and watch the subject,” rather than keeping your eye glued to the viewfinder, suggests Iromoto. Shooting with an ultra-wide angle lens and getting to know how it “sees” also help. “Knowing my lens means I know instinctively what will be in the frame,” he adds, “then I can just enjoy the scene.”
Click here for tons more paddling photography tips in the Early Summer 2014 issue of Adventure Kayak, or download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App.
