by Christos Kardana, Big Blue Tech

The underwater world is a challenging one: both physiologically and psychologically. As a complex organism, all of our body’s vital biochemical processes have evolved over millions of years to a narrow set of pressures and temperatures that exist on the surface of the earth: where the human body has been designed to exist. As a technical diver, the moment you leave the surface and descend to depth, you are exposing your body to an environment so alien that the dramatic changes in ambient oxygen pressure and temperature can have a delirious effect on the body. The main centre of your focus suddenly becomes the application and execution of the pre-set methodology and techniques that have been drilled into you as part of your training, in order to conduct safely and efficiently the purpose of your dive – whether mission based or simply for fun.

This extreme type of diving is characterised by more equipment, more planning, more task loading, more methods and more risks. Many technical divers choose to include the addition of a camera rig to this extensive list. This may be a video or photography unit, in many cases encompassing a complex lightning system and battery pack. Underwater camerawork is difficult and frustrating as it is, even in perfect conditions within the recreational diving range (above 40m). So why add this burden to a complex technical dive? For the same reasons any individual takes photos or video: for documentation, surveying, scientific purposes or simply satisfying the artistic vein. The fact remains; for the segment of divers that crave deeper and darker environments; there are camera opportunities with deep coral reefs, beautiful wrecks, inspiring caves and sea creatures simply not present within the shallower depth ranges of diving.

Using a camera on a deep technical or cave dive can be challenging and difficult, but of course not impossible. Renowned technical diving photographer Leigh Bishop and videographer Evan Kovacs have proven this on many occasion. In a physically demanding environment, the key to successful deep diving camerawork is equipment, psychology and the correct handling and execution of the camera itself. At these depths, standard recreational housings are of no use, with most allowing a maximum depth rating of 40m. The drastic reduction of light means you have to pay even more consideration to shutter speeds, focus, filters and lighting than at shallower depths, were the sunny crystal clear water and auto function work hand-in-hand to produce a ‘more than decent’ shot.

At this level of diving, with regards to equipment, the planned dive in question will require extra cylinders (travel gas or decompression tanks) usually attached via a dog clip system to the divers harness. As a self-sufficient diver you will also have the availability of redundancy equipment, checked for function and efficiency ready to be used in any emergency or back up situation. Adding to this a deep camera system with lights, one has to consider its presence on the rig as a whole. Will it be clipped onto a D-ring to allow for a quick ‘ditch’?. Will the camera interfere with gauge reading, gas switching, team gas sharing (if the necessity arises) and the general function of the personal dive rig itself? The housings utilised on deep dives are designed with excessive pressure in mind and are big and bulky allowing for a full set of manual controls to be accessed and in many cases have to be operated using both hands. If the use of a reel, either for a back up buoyancy or surface marker purpose becomes necessary, it is imperative that the presence of the camera doesn’t pose an entanglement risk or even divert the divers attention away from the correct use of the reel itself. The most dramatic example being whilst in a cave diving situation, where the quick shot of a stalagtite formation diverts your focus so wholly that the line you were sure was but a few inches away from you has now suddenly disappeared from torch view and you have no access whatsoever to the cave exit!

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