Brent Durand: Underwater Photographer Q&A

Today we’re talking to underwater photographer Brent Durand. Brent shares his journey from panorama images to capturing beautiful marine life, providing insights into his favorite dive areas, important digicam gear, and the challenges and magic moments that include life behind the lens underwater.

Who is Brent Durand?

Brent Durand is an avid diver, author, photographer and surfer. A longtime seaside diver, Brent is consistently exploring above and beneath California’s shoreline. His work is printed in print worldwide, in promoting and throughout the net in quite a lot of outside industries. He has a popularity for writing insightful but easy photograph tutorials and is at the moment publishing a whole video tutorial collection for underwater photographers, plus an internet site stuffed with educational articles.  Check out Brent’s website and observe him on Instagram.

How did you get began in underwater images?

I used to be getting very severe about panorama images, capturing ocean sunsets after which packing the digicam gear away for night time seaside dives throughout evenings after work. One day I borrowed a digicam to take underwater. Then I began scouring the web for used gear and put collectively a fundamental system. I used to be hooked!

What got here first: diving or images?

I used to be licensed in 1997, and years later was diving lots and capturing panorama images concurrently earlier than taking a digicam underwater. So technically diving got here first!

What’s in your underwater images kitbag?

Canon 5D Mk IV, Sea & Sea MDX- 5D Mk IV housing, one Sea & Sea YS-D1 and one YS-D2 strobe, iTorch v10 focus gentle, plus Light & Motion and Kraken Sports video lights. You can try my detailed digicam gear video on my Underwater Camera Gear web page.

Favourite location for diving and underwater images?

Easy! California’s Channel Islands. I dive the islands about as soon as per yr and it’s simply breathtaking.

Most difficult dive?

There are quite a lot of difficult dives, however one that stands proud is in Southern California. It was a brand new moon night time and I used to be kicking out to an offshore pinnacle in Malibu. The south wind made the floor uneven and a dense marine layer had settled in, making my compass and kick estimates the one body of reference. Upon descending, the surge was rocking and vis wasn’t that good, so I discovered probably the most sheltered space I may and labored on lighting some widespread macro topics.

What are your diving aspirations?

My diving aspirations are fairly easy – to have enjoyable diving and trying to find these magic moments underwater.

Which underwater areas or species are nonetheless in your images want checklist and why?

My dive journey has been 100 per cent primarily based on the place work takes me, so I don’t rank areas or animals – I’m simply stoked to go wherever and shoot something. I’ve had magic moments with sea lions, seals, noticed dolphins, and mantas that I dream of repeating, however signal me up for any location, any species, any temperature, any time!

What recommendation do you want you’d had as a novice underwater photographer?

I want I had had a extra detailed rationalization of the digicam settings as they differ from topside images. Underwater settings teams are totally different from what you may use topside, and an skilled photographer can rapidly create nice underwater photos from that start line since they already perceive the connection between publicity variables, depth-of-field and lighting. 

Hairiest second when capturing underwater?

As a more recent diver, I had fairly a couple of shallow shore dives below my belt and located myself on a dive boat out at Catalina Island. 80 toes deep was excess of the 35 I used to be used to, and this realisation set in at depth, main me to kick round fairly abruptly in search of the anchor line as soon as my tank strain was beneath half. Another diver had seen this and in a while requested if I used to be panicked. I took this severely and thought of it, realising I used to be doubtless skilled a contact of nitrogen narcosis, turning into nervous in regards to the depth after which appearing abruptly. I’ve made it some extent to be very calm, composed and calculated underwater since then, sustaining a cool head even throughout rescue conditions. We are all continuously studying.

What is your most memorable dive and why?

This is a tricky query since so many moments stand out, so I’ll go together with the newest. Seeing a number of thresher sharks whereas diving in Puerto Galera, Philippines. They’re such majestic fish. I lately posted a video on my Facebook page.

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