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 Underwater
Photography. Just those two words open up a universe of possibility for
scuba divers. The idea that the image of a colorful coral reef can be
captured and then magically appear on display on the living room wall
sends many divers to the camera department looking for a way to
accomplish this feat. For many, underwater photography is a logical step
to avoid boredom that can come after diving for many years and leaving
them longing for something more. That’s how it was for professional
underwater photographer Steve May. After 15 years of diving everything
from the California coast to the Florida Keys, he just got bored and
decided to add a new dimension to his diving experience.
Steve grew up in Tarpon Springs where swimming and snorkeling was as
natural an activity to him as walking. He took his first scuba diving
course in 1970. After leaving the military life at Travis Air Force Base
in 1971, he stayed in California, exploring the rugged California
coastline, but it wasn’t until 1985 that he decided to pick up a camera
and begin a new career.
Underwater photography is not just an extension of the skills you may
already possess in regular photography. Photography is really a study of
light and composition. As soon as you dip your head below the surface,
the colors of the spectrum begin to disappear starting with red in the
shallowest depths. That’s the first but not the only challenge for
successful underwater photographers to overcome.
Steve decided early on that it’s much simpler to learn the right
techniques in the beginning than to do it wrong and have to unlearn
everything later on. He says that one of the best decisions he ever made
was to join Jim & Cathy Church for one of their Cayman underwater
photography courses. The results of that first decision were readily
apparent when Steve captivated an audience of divers with his stunning
photographs at a recent Caloosa Dive Club presentation.
Steve’s training didn’t stop with a single class nor did he confine
himself to a single path in his diving progression. He was certified as
a diving instructor through the National Association of Underwater
Instructors (NAUI) course taught by Jim Joseph at Fantasea Scuba in Port
Charlotte (www.fantaseascuba.com), (941) 627-3888. As his photography
progressed he became very interested in capturing images of some of the
ship wrecks that are scattered throughout the Gulf of Mexico, the
Florida Keys and the small islands of the Caribbean. Many of these
unfortunate ships rest in deep water and some of the challenge of
photographing them includes penetration into the passageways and
interior rooms of the wrecks. Steve kept with his philosophy of learning
the correct way to do things, and added more training in specialty
courses. He started with Tech Diving training in 1990-1991 at Hyperbaric
International. Shipwrecks are much like caves in terms of safety and
technique so he trained with Lloyd Bailey, National Association of Cave
Divers (NACD) in Ocala. He followed up with the Hal Watts 40 Fathom Tech
Diving training in Ocala. Steve isn’t necessarily into cave diving but
the same procedures and training work for wreck diving.
Steve and his wife, Ladona Lee, have a mixed marriage photographically
speaking. They offer two different perspectives that complement each
other. Ladona Lee, also Tech & Cavern certified, descends with a video
camera in a specialized underwater housing. She has produced a video on
the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson, available at the Ultimate Getaway
Ships Store in Fort Myers Beach.
Steve is constantly on the move. His photos appear in Southern Diving
Magazine, Deep Tech Magazine, Advanced Diver Magazine, and Florida Scuba
News and also on the Ultimate Getaway web site. (www.ultimategetaway.net).
He has done work with the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum on Sanibel and
has provided photos to many other organizations. In June he will be
teaching an underwater photography class for Deans Dive Center in South
Fort Myers, (www.deansdivecenter.com), (239) 489-0500. Steve runs photo
specialty trips with Captain Rick Pitts Ultimate Getaway, 18450 San
Carlos Blvd. Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931, Tel: (239) 466-0466. His next
trip, geared to underwater photographers, is scheduled for June 30-July
3, 2005 and is headed for the Dry Tortugas, a virtual underwater
wonderland.
Currently, his favorite underwater camera system includes a Nikon F4 in
an Aquatica aluminum housing, rated to 330 feet in depth. His favorite
lens is the Nikon Fisheye lens and he uses dual Nikon SB105 strobes. He
recently added his first underwater digital equipment into the mix with
the purchase of a Nikon D70 digital camera and a Nikon 12-24 zoom lens
to go into an Aquatica housing.
Steve‘s underwater photos will soon be available for purchase through
the Ultimate Getaway website. Visit their Photo Gallery to see some
examples of his work. You can contact Steve via email at photo001dive@peoplepc.com.
For the non-divers who wonder why we love the underwater world, Steve
offers some insight into the mystery and lure of the depths. For divers,
his photographs offer the ability to relive their own underwater
experiences. For aspiring underwater photographers, he motivates us to
get in the water and pay attention to the beautiful scenery that we are
privileged to explore and he encourages us to get the training we need
to improve.
If you are fortunate enough to live in Southwest Florida, you don’t have
to go far to locate a true underwater adventurer. Just look for Steve
May. |
