Goodbye underwater photography?
Yesterday I had an epiphany. No blinding lights or voices from above were involved, but I had a moment of clarity that helped me reach a decision I have been struggling with for some time. I was at the airport, browsing through some photo magazines whilst waiting for a flight to arrive, and chanced upon a portfolio from an underwater photographer. This in itself is unusual – u/w photographers rarely cross over to mainstream magazines and I was quite excited about what I might see. The photographer in question is quite well known and he has produced some really interesting images and features in the past, but this portfolio was terrible – generic images that you can find replicas of browsing any number of u/w photo sites or magazines. I don’t know whether the photographer chose to use these images or the magazine culled them from a wider portfolio but the selection confirmed to me what I have been feeling for some time – that the world of u/w photography, as portrayed by this magazine and the one in which I have included myself for some time, is not where I want to be anymore.
The last year or so has been a very introspective time for me and I have been having a long, hard look at what I want to be doing with my life, reassessing what I want to achieve. And yesterday, looking at those pages brought everything into focus. I realised that the u/w photographic industry is saturated with generic, clichéd stock images – as is my portfolio I regret to say. Take a look through a few u/w photography sites or magazines and you will see the same types of image, repeated again and again. Even the concept of u/w photography as an industry or niche is in itself probably a little misleading – I think it is more accurate to say that the majority of images that appear in magazines and on websites are taken by divers who happen to have cameras, rather than photographers who work underwater and it is the former that dominate u/w photography as a whole. What that portfolio really lacked, and what is missing from the u/w photography ‘industry’ as a whole, is real photographic journalism and often as not, any sense of individual style or aesthetics.
Simply put, photojournalism is about telling a story; using images to document the human experience. In a similar vein, natural history photography is about documenting the lives of the organisms we find around us. Both also have underlying considerations, ethical and otherwise – that images have context and help illustrate the broader framework of an event or location; are objective and portray the subject or event in a fair, accurate and honest manner; and in the case of a feature, that they have a sense of narrative. Photojournalists and natural history photographers work within this documentary framework then stamp their personal style on each and every image, both in terms of aesthetics and how they chose to portray the particular subject or event.
I think it is reasonably accurate to say that the majority of u/w photographs or features published today lack any semblance of journalistic content and that the industry is dominated by set styles and unwritten rules and regulations regarding aesthetics. Without a doubt, some of these ‘ways-of-taking-an-underwater-photograph’ have arisen purely as a result of the medium in which the images are taken – being underwater does place a few constraints on what you can and cannot do. But there is still an underlying sense that u/w photography is very generic.
At this point I would like to say that I am being incredibly sweeping and there are many photographers working today that I do admire and respect – and notice that I use the term ‘photographer’ rather than ‘u/w photographer’. To name but a few, people like Alex Mustard, Doug Perrine, Tony Wu, Paul Nicklen, David Doubilet and the guys at my old company, Scubazoo – and there are certainly many more out there.
So why is the world of u/w photography like this? The most obvious answer is that a huge majority of published images are shot from the perspective of a tourist, and this in itself reflects how most people experience the underwater world. Diving is an expensive occupation and a lot of u/w photographers do 2-3 trips a year perhaps, and shoot whatever they see when they get there. This is not journalism, it is holiday snapping. And if you think about it, most dive trips are in fact the underwater equivalent of a guided tour – you are dropped in at a location, shown a few subjects, then whisked back to the resort or boat after an hour or so. Rinse, and repeat.
Another factor may well be the demise of photographic reportage in general, a subject that has been much talked about recently. As an industry, photojournalism has pretty much collapsed over the last few years – staff photographers have been laid off, budgets have been slashed, and the amount of photojournalism features actually published has dropped dramatically. Magazine and newspaper publishers tell us they are responding to the demands of the public, who want instant gratification and sensationalism, not in-depth coverage of a subject. This is probably true to a certain extent however, like any other business, publishers are always looking to increase their profit margins and by getting rid of staff photographers and instead, using images shot by talented amateurs – for free or in exchange for a credit line – they can save on costs.
Anyway, where is this all going? This post isn’t meant to be a rant rather I just wanted to express what I feel about the u/w photography industry in general at the moment. As it stands, I now realise that I don’t want to be part of it any more. You might ask, ‘Then why aren’t you out there, shooting a new underwater feature right now?’ The answer is simply I cannot afford to. I cannot afford to travel with 50kg+ of gear, I cannot afford to charter boats, I cannot afford to book extended stays with dive operators. The bottom line for me is that I know I will not be able to cover my costs by selling the finished feature or through sales of individual images. That is the reality of the photographic industry as a whole at the moment.
And whilst this might sound like doom and gloom, in reality it is the opposite. For the first time in quite a few years, I have a very clear idea of what I want to do with my life. I always thought it was to be an underwater photographer, but my epiphany, my moment of clarity, means I am pretty certain that I have been wrong all along. I am determined to make some changes in my life and traveling light, shooting some stories I have in mind, sounds like a very positive step. Watch this space…
I’d also like to throw some questions out there. What do you think about the u/w photographic industry? Does photojournalism have a place underwater? Do you know of any photographers that you think are successful underwater photojournalists? Share some links if you know of any…
Could not agree with you more. Very well written Matt.
Hey Matt,
Best of luck with the plan mate, only been around a short while but you struck me as a bloke who knows where he’s going, normally at 5.30pm to the pub for first orders!! I’m very much understanding of your situation and see the exact same aspect from the video side of things in underwater work. A few people crack that nut but very few actually get their hands on the nut cracker so to speak.
Wish you all the best with it mate. Let me know how much you’ll settle for the camera and housing at the Denpasar weekly farmers market and I’ll haggle it as best I can.
Be well.
Cheers,
Mark.
Unfortunately everything you have said is true. Selling pictures is probably not the end-game & a viable business in the years ahead. Taking 12 people to a place that they could have gone on their own will not push the art of exploratory photojournalism. Best of luck.
What you are saying is not only true for u/w photography, but the industry as a whole across all genres. I think you should take your own advice with a twist. Untether yourself from caring about what others think and from conforming to some preset expectation or industry standard. Find yourself and what it is that attracted you to photography in the first place—which was probably the experience and to be a master storyteller. Don’t take anything for granted. Be in it for nobody else but yourself….and if you’re going to tell a story, tell your own story and on your own terms.
I always remember Galen Rowell’s quote about letting your experience validate your images rather than vice versa. While I have not personally had the opportunity to conduct u/w photography but have always wanted to, I can only imagine the sheer joy I would experience seeing all those wondrous creatures in the amazing underwater world. Maybe one of these days, you’ll have a desire to return back to u/w photographer with a refreshed perspective and the eyes of a child, and find the joy you first experienced when you first started out. But sometimes you have to walk away first.
~Daniel Stainer
Hi Matt,
I was impressed by reading your post. I felt the bitterness of becoming aware that your passion is something that will never totally become true. Too many obstacles…
I love diving, and I enjoy looking at u/w photos. I’m underlining “looking” because I believe that I am one of the few divers left that has deliberately chosen NOT to practice u/w photography. I just want to fully enjoy my dive. When other divers ask me why I do not happen to have an u/w camera, I simply answer: “what’s the point of taking normal pictures, when I can find hundreds beautiful on the internet”?
The truth is… at the end of the day those people are neither divers nor photographers. I’ve thought about that, clearly from a diver’s perspective. You might be maybe interested in a post I wrote some time ago, regarding the incredible negative impact of more or less improvised u/w photographers on the environment (http://exxxplorer.wordpress.com/2009/07/26/lets-stop-the-reef-ravages-caused-by-underwater-photographers/). In my view, that the worst thing. How many damages… for what?
What a very well written and constructed piece… it is truly sad that the main players in the media world are effectively causing the demise of the truest and artiest of photographers who they should be protecting and promoting.
I find half the problem now is that a non-diving editor is thrilled by these simplest of generic pictures that you mentioned in the first paragraph… and they’re happy and thrilled to use them in their publication…
Anyway – now it’s only going to get worse: http://pointofviewcameras.com/all-cameras/by-brand/liquid-image/liquid-image-video-scuba-mask-hd320.html
Thanks for the comments guys. I hope I will be able to carry on shooting underwater, but it is stories I want to be shooting and that is going to be difficult. We shall see…
Jon – I think photogs are going to have to reinvent themselves over the next few years. I have been looking at going back to shooting video, as well as recording audio/interviews, and producing multi-media pieces to sell, rather than individual images. Something I need to work on I think…
Mark – Not going to sell the gear just yet! Hopefully will be back out there sooner rather than later.
Daniel – That is exactly what I need to be doing – I think walking away for awhile makes a great deal of sense. Half the problem is that I have no experience other than shooting underwater, so feel I have a very long way to go. But I am going to throw myself in and start working on some ideas, hopefully in the not-too-distant-future.
waitinginthedark – thanks for the link, it can be a very real problem. I used to work as a dive master in Sabah and used to get very angry with idiot divers acting as models and grabbing turtles, or photogs lying across delicate corals – very frustrating. But I don’t think certification will do much – who will enforce it?
Chris – bizarre camera! And it will of course mean divers have 2 hands to grab corals etc etc, not good…
A link for you all – par of Michael Muller’s portfolio http://www.krop.com/muller/portfolio/13565/. In my opinion, more images like these should grace the pages of u/w photography and diving magazines. Fine, they are from a very dramatic location, but the photographer has managed to put HIS stamp all over the images, interpreting the expedition in his own particular way.
Matt.. The pictures you have taken have given me a look at what is under the ocean that I love so much. I cannot dive because of an ear problem so in my view if there are 1 miilion people taking pictures of the beautiful underwater world, it is NOT enough. Your seahorse pictures? Priceless. I do understand what you are saying I just wanted to thank you for the awe you brought to my eyes. Someday if we continue as we have these wonderful animals may no longer live on this planet. EVERY photo is a priceless piece of what may be in the future history. Good luck and again Thank you.
Wow, when I think of u/w photography this is what comes to mind. Please check out the full gallery as it is very inspirational (a girl I went to elementary school w/ is an underwater model and the photographer’s work/creativity blows my mind). Very well done.
http://chriscrumley.com/Portfolio_WetUnderwater/0
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