The Essential Underwater Photography Manual
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The Essential Underwater Photography Manual
Denise Nielson Tackett and Larry Tackett, Rotovision, 176 pages (2005).
Most underwater photography books I have come across tend to cover the basics very well but then seem to leave you to discover the rest by yourself. Of course there is nothing wrong with this but it can prove expensive, time consuming and some people become disillusioned and give up. Not so in this book, which for me fills that gap between beginner and starting to take reasonable quality pictures.
Three of the ten chapters are dedicated to the basics and equipment so it is an ideal book even if you are a beginner.
The book begins with a chapter on film verses digital, by the end of which you are well informed enough to make your own decision. The basics are then covered in chapter two followed by a chapter on equipment. The rest of the book is dedicated to various aspect of underwater photography: lighting, composition, macro photography, photographing behaviour and so on.
Each chapter covers its subject fully and includes some very useful same scene photographs shot with different settings to illustrate the point being made. (Why do most of my photographs fall into the poorly taken category?) Each chapter then ends with some exercises, these look great and are split into underwater and on topside, the topside exercises you can do at home and I am particularly looking forward to as I am sure they will also improve my general photography.
The book has ten chapters and runs to 175 pages and is as you would expect very well illustrated, it has a splash proof cover but I certainly would not leave it on deck.
To sum up I think this is a great book for a beginner as it should see you through to taking some decent photos. I think it is also a must for anyone who knows the basics and can take acceptable underwater images, but they just don't seem to have that..."Pizzazz" factor as this book describes it.
About the Authors
Denise and Larry Tackett are professional photographers specialising in underwater and terrestial natural history and travel subjects. Their images have appeared in major magazines like BBC Wildlife and National Geographic.
Reviewed by Andrew Reay-Robinson.
The Essential Underwater Photography Manual is available from Amazon.co.uk (30% off), Amazon.com (34% off) and the publishers, Rotovision.
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