Underwater Photography course in Ireland

Catmologen

Hi,
Has anyone here any experience of doing an underwater photography or video course (PADI or other) in Ireland? Any recomendations? I'm a fairly experienced diver but a novice to underwater photography.
Thanks,

J

PCPhoto

I did UW Photo course in Kerry (waterworld) ...literally just after I did the Open water last year.

Instructor was top notch - even though she only had a compact and I had a DSLR and housing.

its not as easy as I would have thought ...I work as a photographer (above water) .... so learning the photography side was simple, but adjusting settings to get the images right underwater.... completely different thing.

I would recommend waterworld in Kerry if you can go there - fantastic setup and great staff (I assume same people as last year will still be there), my main issue is buoyancy....something I've got to keep working on.

in saying all that - since then I've photographed in Ireland, Hawaii, Maui, Lanzarotte and plan on going to Thailand and a couple of other countries in the next year or so - each time I feel like I'm getting better....slowly - but I've some nice pics of Rays, Sharks, Lobsters, octopus and various other tropical and local fish......seen my first seahorse in Lanzarotte last month (camera battery had died but was fantastic to see - even if I didn't photograph it)

tof2006

If you're with CFT, they organize a photo course to, contact your DO for more details.

denismc

Any of the dive centres around the country will give you a basic underwater photography course. and if you haven't a clue about photography it may be worth doing.
If you think you are an ok photographer then you could just take a camera (in a housing;)) and go diving,

joeKel73

denismc wrote: »

Any of the dive centres around the country will give you a basic underwater photography course. and if you haven't a clue about photography it may be worth doing.

I don't think dive centres are the best place to be going for a photography course. If you're not up to speed with using manual settings on your camera, I'd recommend getting involved in your local photography club or keep an eye out for photo classes. Once you're comfortable with manual settings you can look into underwater photography courses, otherwise you'll not get much from them I'd imagine.

mozaik

I second the regular photography course before. I suggest becoming familiar enough with the camera and manual settings such that when diving , you will not have to think about anything other than your balance and the shot composition.
Manual settings are nessecary since the particles in the water , dim lighting and different shading of the water does not allow the camera to automatically adjust the shot correctly.

I suggest reading some tips before.

Like here:

Underwater Photography Tips 1
Underwater Photography Tips 2