Diving alongside the wildlife and vastness of the ocean is an unbelievable experience as is. However, there is nothing like capturing those moments and memories created with the use of a DSLR camera and underwater housing.

Before one can capture any shot of their adventures underwater, one must become familiar with the equipment used. This article is meant to focus on the basic set-up of a DSLR (the example being a Nikon D200) camera and kit of the DX D200 underwater housing, which is utilized in the Ocean’s Campus Underwater Photography Internship in Mozambique. Below I will list 5 basic rules to follow before embarking on your voyage into the world of underwater photography.

1) KNOW YOUR GEAR.

Begin by familiarizing yourself with your equipment; get to know your DSLR camera and its settings well enough on land before using it with your housing. Know what ports to use along with which lenses, and plan beforehand what you intend to photograph (for example, you don’t want to make the mistake of setting up a 105mm macro lens port with a wide angle lens.) Have your settings ready and know how to adjust your settings and where the controls are for basic camera functions. The lenses you can expect to use are the 105mm macro, 60mm macro, 20mm wide angle, and 16mm fisheye.

2) UNDERSTAND YOUR HOUSING.

The housing discussed will be the DX D200 – constructed of corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy with a black finish. It is durable and designed to protect your camera, with easy access to the controls. The camera installation is fairly simple, with port locks on each side to secure your camera and has a shutter able to provide feedback when pressed halfway tripping the shutter. The viewfinder have a 0.66x magnification and there is a base plate, which contains a cog to control the M/S/C focus modes, which attaches to the camera tripod mount located within the housing. Know how your housing pieces together, keep the o-rings greased, and know where the latches controls and buttons are located – buttons such as the power switch, shutter, main command dial, ISO settings, the exposure compensation button, etc.

3) ACCESSORIZE APPROPRIATELY.

There are 2 types of ports you will be using for the DX D200—one of which is adjustable for use between a macro 60mm and a macro 105mm. The other port is for wide angle and fisheye lenses. Both are easily removable and fitted to the housing. Pay attention to which lenses you intend to use to match them up with the proper ports. For wide-angle surface shots, you will only need the camera, a wide angle lens and a wide angle port. However, when shooting macro deeper below the surface you will need strobes.

4) ILLUMINATE YOUR SUBJECTS.

You do this by using strobes. You will be using YS 90 Sea & Sea Strobes - these are important to illuminate your subject and bring back colors that are lost with depth in diving (such as the color red). Also, strobes help bring out clarity and make your subject sharp. Re-attachable diffusers also come with these strobes and they attach to the camera housing using strobe arm connectors. Strobe arm connectors are adjustable and reach out about a foot from the camera. Most underwater photographers use two strobes, although it is also possible to use just one. Sync cables are used to connect the strobes with the camera housing - without them your strobes will only be able to fire manually. These sync cables connect the auto trigger with the strobes you are using.

5) CLEAN, MAINTAIN, REPEAT.

Maintenance and cleaning is KEY. It is important to check and clean your equipment before and after every dive to avoid unnecessary corrosion resulting from the saltwater, as well as to keep your equipment in consistent working condition. When first setting up your camera and housing, you want to be in a dust and sand free zone, with your set up station as clean as possible (just a grain of sand can be the difference between having a flood or a leak into the camera housing.) Use a towel to avoid accidental scratching of your ports and lenses, and also as a cushion while setting up. 

Preparation and planning is the key to get that once in a lifetime cover shot. Make sure that you do not leave the ocean disappointed after an exciting SCUBA dive and photo session by always following these 5 rules before heading out into the deep.

*** Some equipment images used found via Google search.

Sea Urchins (sometimes referred to as Sea Hedgehogs) are small, spiked and globelike animals which live on the ocean floor and are part of the Echinoderm phylum-- the same as Sea Stars, Sea Cucumbers, Crinoids and Brittle Stars. Throughout our groups diving experience in the Indian Ocean during Fiona Ayerst's Underwater Photography Internship in Mozambique, we noticed these little critters were everywhere-- and I mean EVERYWHERE.

The thing about these urchins is-- their spines are super sharp at the tip and thin enough to even pierce through a wetsuit... So as a diver, you most likely want to avoid them. However, sometimes close encounters with the spiked kind is inevitable and once you become impaled-- you can never pull out their skewers. 

Why? Because under any amount of outside pressure placed on them, the sea urchins spikes are so brittle that they immediately crush up and fall apart into itty bitty pieces after they have already wedged themselves into your skin. Some prime examples of urchin insertion displayed below.

And humans aren’t the only ones getting impaled either…

This fella actually swam right up to us while on a Manta dive with Guinjata Dive Centre. Both Meg and I were surprised at the turtles curiosity and didn't even notice the urchin spike until afterwards while editing.

You’re probably wondering by now, ‘How DOES one get these painful urchin spikes to vanish from ones body?’

Well, you simply beat them out. You do this by...

That’s right, folks, to eliminate these tiny impalements one must beat the minute purple spears within your flesh into a powder (using a kitchen utensil such as a spoon) which will eventually disintegrate into your bloodstream and vanish. All that will be left is the temporary bruising (and sometimes a little blood) from said beatings. 

However, as I recently discovered, another method would be to take a towel soaked with vinegar and place it on the wound after letting it soak in hot water as well, as described in the How To Treat A Urchin Sting wikiHow link here: http://www.wikihow.com/Treat-a-Sea-Urchin-Sting

But that’s for sissies, and this is Africa.
…Also, none of us thought to research that method either.

And now you know!

Photo credit to: Meg Staudacher and Kendall Baker.
And thank you to all those 'urchined' for allowing me to document the outcome of their urchin encounters!