The Editor says: Underwater photography has always been the next step divers want to pursue after earning their Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) certification — but choosing the right camera, dialling in settings, positioning strobes, and handling post-processing are skills that can't be mastered overnight. We heard your wishes, and throughout 2018 BlueTrend will be inviting professional underwater photography masters to share years of hard-won experience. This time, we are honoured to welcome internationally acclaimed underwater photographer Ace Wu, who will reveal the secrets of blackwater photography. If you enjoy this series, don't forget to share the articles!
Underwater Photography Master — Ace Wu
Ace Wu was born in Taiwan and currently lives in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A passionate underwater photographer, he specialises in macro black-background techniques as well as wide-angle shooting.
- 2016/2017 World Shootout Best 5 Images — 2nd Place
- 2016 4th China Underwater Photography Competition (ADEX CHINA), Macro Category — 1st and 2nd Place
- Malaysia MIDE 2016 Lens Beyond Ocean, Series Category — 1st Place
- 2016 Philippines SNUPS Unretouched Competition, Macro Category — 1st Place
- Asia Pacific UW Photo Challenge 2017, Macro Category — 2nd Place
- 2017 Anilao Underwater Shootout, Macro/Supermacro, Blackwater and Bonfire — 1st Place
- 2017 ADEX Voice of the Ocean Photo of the Year
- Ocean Geographic 2018 — Animal Behaviour / Winner (1st Place), Portraits / Runner-Up (2nd Place), Seascapes / Runner-Up (2nd Place)
- 2018 DEEP Indonesia International Underwater Photo Competition — Best of Show / Animal Behavior (1st Place), Animal Portraits (3rd Place)
About me: I'm largely self-taught in underwater photography, so I explain it in the most straightforward way possible — no complex theory, just clear and accessible methods that help beginners produce great shots quickly and discover the true appeal of underwater imaging.
What Is Blackwater Photography (Definition)?
Modern blackwater photography evolved from the deep-sea specimen-collection methods used by marine scientists. There are roughly three approaches:
- Bonfire blackwater
- Deep blackwater (with a fish-aggregating light)
- Deep blackwater (without a fish-aggregating light)
All three methods exploit marine life's natural phototaxis at night, as well as behaviours such as ascending from the deep to obtain oxygen or to hunt in shallower water. The subjects are almost always larvae or juveniles, because the differences between juvenile and adult forms can be so dramatic that identification becomes a real challenge — which gives the whole experience a thrilling sense of treasure hunting!
The translucent creatures in these images are referred to as Larval or Juvenile specimens!
How Do You Shoot Blackwater?
If there's one thing that sets blackwater photography apart from ordinary macro photography, it's stability.
In regular macro photography you can choose your environment — lie flat on a sandy bottom, take your time focusing, and arrange your lighting. In blackwater photography, you have to rely entirely on solid neutral buoyancy, hovering in the water column and moving up or down to follow your subjects. You also need to master the frog kick!
Site selection depends on the local topography and is generally left to the dive shop, since local operators know the environment best.
When it comes to equipment, you'll need lighting powerful enough to aggregate marine life quickly — a minimum of 10,000 lumens is needed to be effective.
The entry-level strobe position is a clamp-light setup, using dual strobes in a bracketing arrangement. More advanced strobe positions become increasingly complex, with different configurations suited to different subjects.
Blackwater Photography Camera Settings Tips
Recommended camera settings are ISO 400, f/18–25 (varies by camera brand), and 1/200 s. That said, blackwater diving is entirely a game of chance — I've done 6 dives over 3 consecutive nights and found nothing, yet on other occasions a single dive has yielded more than ten species I'd never photographed before.
Conclusion
The single most important factor in blackwater photography is strobe positioning. Good positioning minimises suspended particles, pushing them into the background. In theory, a photo that's been painted completely black simply shouldn't exist. Last year I competed in a live blackwater competition at Anilao in the Philippines and took first place — and one of the rules was that retouching out backscatter was strictly prohibited!
Further Reading:
