lighting

I have always said that underwater photography is not something a rational person should consider.

It is expensive and at times very frustrating, but when you get some good results it rewards you with a great feeling of satisfaction.

As someone who has persevered with underwater photography for nearly 15 years, I have bought many books on the subject in an attempt to learn why I keep making the same mistakes. Until reading Martin Edge's book I felt that only Howard Hall's book came close to showing me the answer.

Martin has managed to produce a book that is not only interesting and easy to read but really gets the message over. He covers all the aspects you need to know about, without the commonly made mistake of getting tangled up in the technical & equipment issues.

Sure he talks about the equipment, but the clear message is that you take the photograph...the equipment is just what you use to do it with.

If you are serious about underwater photography, then you need this book!

I have read most of the popular books on the subject but I found this book compelling. The author does not waste time dronning on and on about all the different kinds of equipment. He concentrates on the mind and the eye....the heart and the sole (his words not mine) and he does just that. For once Martin Edge discusses all the tricksof the trade about how particular shots are obtained. He discloses the number of shots that he got wrong before the one that he was pleased with. There are chapters on Patience, Concentration, and Subject Selection. What I most enjoyed about the book was the section on the TC System, It means Think and Consider and it is a concept that he encourages all underwater photographers to do underwater before they press the shutter. The images are stunning and its a book I could read over and over again. I strongly recomend this book to any underwater photographer. It will, I am sure, improve their underwater photography.

I know I'm in the minority when it comes to reviews of this book, but I really didn't think this book was all that great. In fact, I thought it was about as close to useless as a book can get. The problem is that the book is light on technique and heavy on fluff. If you're a beginning photographer, you probably need lots of technique help, and this book doesn't deliver. It won't help new photographers increase their skills because it really doesn't offer much in the way of help on the critical areas like strobe positioning, exposure control, basic composition, etc.

It's not so hot for advanced photographers, either, because it doesn't offer much guidance in areas that might be useful to them, like special techniques, advanced composition, subject selection, exotic equipment, etc.

All in all, I'm not sure who the book was written to help...I'm just reasonably sure it won't help many people.

Pick another book.