Few of us get to see first hand the beauty of nature in our oceans and seas. For many our introduction to the beauty of the underwater world can be credited to Jacques Cousteau. Thanks to his pioneering work generations of new underwater naturalists have taken to the water and a select few, cameras in hand, are able to do so with a great deal of artistry. One such photographer is Jim Patterson who is today’s guest on “3 Minutes with…”
1. Describe your photography in 100 words or less.
I approach nature photography with a love and passion for the subject and an artful eye. When out in
the field, I strive for compelling compositions as I feel composition is the foundation for a great image.
Color and light don’t mean much if the composition does not engage the viewer. That being said, I do love strong color and contrast and try to incorporate that into my imagery.
2. What gear/software do you use?
Over the years, my underwater kit has included Nikon camera bodies and lenses, Aquatica housings and ports, and Sea & Sea and Ikelite strobes. My go-to lenses are the Tokina 10-17mm fisheye for wide angle and the Nikkor 105mm f2.8G for macro. My current digital workflow includes organization with Lightroom 3 and Photoshop as my main editing software. The cloning tools in Photoshop are drastically better for fine control over backscatter, the arch nemesis of underwater photographers worldwide.
3. What’s one quick tip that you’d give people interested in underwater photography?
If you want to get into underwater photography, I highly recommend becoming a competent and safe
diver first. And be prepared to spend a LOT of money.
4. What 3 Photography Sites or Photo blogs do you recommend?
For all thing underwater photography, I go to wetpixel.com.
For thoughts on photography with
an artistic approach, I highly recommend Guy Tal’s blog at guytal.com.
And finally, for image editing tutorials I personally use in my digital workflow, I recommend Tony Kuyper’s site http://goodlight.us/.
To view more of Jim’s photography visit his web site at jimpattersonphotography.com
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