Underwater Photography Books

I have read this book several times, and review it before any major photo expedition. Howard concentrates on the essential art of underwater photography in a concise, readable, meaningful way. He avoids extraneous technical information that so many other manuals use as filler, and focuses clearly on the essence of underwater photography. I gave my original copy away as a gift, and was overjoyed when I was able to pick up a used copy of this out of print paperback. I recommend this superb book to all underwater photographers, new and old.

This is, literally, one of the best books I've ever read. Beautifully written, full of adventure and information. Takes you back to the early days of the Calypso, and details the invention of underwater photography, archaeology, oil prospecting, bathyscaphe diving... the goodies just keep coming. A great world tour of the oceans both above and below, told through the words of oceanographers who are as much poets as scientists.

This isn't just another pretty coffee table book. The spectacular images of marine life in concert with the vivid and informative writting connect the reader to a fascinating underwater world. You will look at the pictures and re-read the text 1,000 times, discovering the authors' passion for complex sea life. I've given this book as a gift and, without exception, the recipents have been enthralled

For thousands of years ships have carried people around the world: now young people can enjoy their stories and history paired with Philip Plisson's gorgeous color photos of the world's most famous ships. From oil tankers to speedboats and sailboats, SHIPS receives a fine history text by Anne Jankeliowitch and not only Plisson's color photos but John Pendray's illustrations.

This is a handsomely designed and well-presented book, printed to very high photographic standards. It features 50 stunning black-and-white underwater images by this master photographer, prefaced by a dozen pages of introductory text and historical photos. The image collection is displayed in an ideal format - an uninterrupted sequence, one image to a double page, against an appropriate background shade and without text annotation (the technical data and comments are collected at the back). The quality of the printing is excellent, displaying a tremendous range of tones achieved in the photographs. Most of these images are simply jaw-dropping in their artistry and skill. Some of these photographs may make you cry; some will make you laugh; and many will set you thinking. An ideal gift for the underwater photographer who has everything, ... or thinks he knows everything. But I am not giving my copy away to anyone.

Life under the sea is beautiful. If you are not convinced, buy this book. I have been looking for it for years, now I am glad I finally found it. Enjoy it and share with the people you love.

I really enjoyed the author's life story. He did many interesting things in his career and as a civilian. The book is very well written.

From the brown water of Vietnam to the blue of the Caribbean and the cold water off New England, Waterman's adventures both entertain and educate us about the "other" Navy, the Navy of Special Warfare, salvage divers and the underwater photographer. This book is definitely a page turner.

There are some authors who seem to make themselves out as bigger than life heroes and embellish their memoirs in order to make a good tale. However, author Steven Waterman understates his experiences with humor, honesty, and an almost conversational style of writing in his autobiography "Just A Sailor." His story is about his experiences as a Navy underwater photographer. He also engages in underwater salvage, and even combat in Vietnam.

The way the book starts off with the young Waterman getting arrested for underage drinking and then almost dropping out of school, shows that the author was willing to share his personal experiences--blemishes and all! He does a great job of taking the reader though his boot camp training and all the way through the end of his enlistment. Having been in the Army, I found his story to be very interesting, as I had no idea what life in the Navy was like and certainly not the kind of stuff for what he was trained for.

This book is often very funny at times, as the author does not take his life or the Navy, all that serious. The reader will enjoy the story and find Waterman's personality endearing. You will get to like this guy as you follow him through his Navy career. The book itself is very readable. It is a good tale and it is told well. This book is now available in paperback by Ballantine Books

Waterman tells his autobiographical story in such a modest manner, it is easy to forget how brave he is. A member of the Underwater Demolition Teams that were a precursor to NAvy Seals, he did things few in the world can claim. This book is full of personal and factual info on his UDT experiances. But it is also a tale of his experoiances as an underwater cameraman, salvage operator, and commercial diver. Very intersting book, good photos even in the paperback. Highly reccommend for those interested in this subject!!

As a former Navy Photographer (PH2 before Watermans time) I throughly enjoyed his wondering through his Navy life. I remember the A and C schools being much the same as he described and got the "feel" of his underwater training and activities just if I had been there. Steve has grasp the real feeling of his Navy life and demonstrates it quite well to the reader. If you are offended by a few "blue" words this may not be your reading delight but if you want to see the world through a Navy Photographer/Divers eyes, this is one to read!

The book has beautiful illustrations and is easy reading. Underwater photography is covered in detail. Plenty of how to information. The book is worth reading twice and using for reference.

I have some experience with underwater photography, but am completely new to DSLR's. This is a fantastic book that provides not just the basics, but advanced techniques to improve your underwater photography. Step by step, broken down into manageable chapters, tips and settings to start out with, this inspiring book has it all. After reading this, I can't wait to get in the water!

The couple of poor reviews notwithstanding, this is the best focused reference on digital underwater photography I have seen so far. It is composed of bite-sized chunks of information that covers different aspects of the problem. I like the references to different techniques, lighting, burn-out, and all the other little tips that take a long time to figure out on your own. It also has great advice like how to set your camera if you are swimming around with nothing particular in mind to photograph. About the only thing I think is missing is better coverage of shooting with the ubiquitous compact cameras. That's the only reason I gave it a four. The compact photographer still has a lot to get from this book, but an awful lot is designed for the SLR shooter. Still, I recommend this book to my underwater photo students.

This is a great book - highly recommended by many divers. I am more than happy to recommend this book to other divers who have a decent understanding of photography and are looking to expand their knowledge of u/w photography.

this book did nothing for me, because amazon have never given me the chance to read it as it has taken 5 weeks to deliver it, tip from me, dont ask for a review untill you have actually delivered the goods.sorry amazon, my new name for you is"amazed-its-gone" because you dont seemed to be able to deliver the service in the right order!!!
happy new year!! only because i live in hope that i might get my book by then.

This book is worth every penney. Amazing photo's a full of great information.

A Diver's Guide to Reef Life

Comment by Stephen Wong, Marine Wildlife Photojournalist

I used to believe that biologists (or people who knew much of science) did not make the prettiest images, while dedicated photographers were merely trying to paint aesthetic pictures but didn't know a lot about the scientific part of their subjects. I am sure the biologists could shoot extremely well but they just didn't have the time to create the pretty photos, as their time spent would be doing much research in lab and field. At the same time, wildlife photographers could be stellar ecologist but simply lack the proper background training to discuss seriously the scientific side, or the photographers could know in-depth biology on only a few subjects but not many. Gee, am I wrong! "A Diver's Guide to Reef Life" by Andrea & Antonella Ferrari has changed my steretypic perception.

This 480-page 16cm X 18cm book delivers a wealth of scientific knowledge plus a full load of exquisite images. There must be at least 828 species (I counted) of the more encountered and diver-interested marine creatures' discussed and over 1,200 species of animals deftly composed in the book. Not only the general distribution and sizing of the subjects are talked about, the animals' individual habitats and their intrigue life habits are discussed. The ID shots for the `science' section are more than adequate as the pictures clearly show the species' colors, shapes and unique features so that viewers can immediately locate and relate to. The life habits section and the galleries (many beautiful images) are my most favorite. I am learning a lot from these two areas, plus from the underwater photo-tips that the Ferraris stated in each family introduction.

Besides the more popular diver-quested subjects, such as sharks to the jeweled pygmy seahorses, the book also covers subjects that may be of less interest to most divers, like the corals, sponges and sea squirts. Though these are not talked in-depth, the authors have used ample images to let the readers compare to what they see in their dives - a criteria for a good guide book. The Ferraris also have dedicated a small section on the dangers that the ecosystem now faces and suggested a list of `Don'ts' for everyone to help to preserve the fragile reef.

"A Diver's Guide to Reef Life" is a book that makes nature lovers learn more about the denizens of the seas and the relationships with each other. With interesting marine science balances eye-savvy images, be the book placed on the shelf for educational purposes or bringing it on dive locations for reference, I highly recommend the book for everyone and all resorts.

This book is the most used book in the library at Raja Ampat's Sorido Bay. It seemed that whatever we were looking for, was in this book. Now I have to resolve the spelling quirk for Thysanozoon. Who is correct? The Ferrari's or the others? Also, a big plus for this book...it stays open wherever you put it, while you are researching all your finds. The construction is ingenious.

ANDREA AND ANTONELLA FERRARI have spent years amassing the photographs and information contained in A Diver's Guide to Reef Life, and it shows.
With 1200 tropical species, ranging from coral polyps, gorgonians, sea squirts, sponges, nudibranchs and all of the main fish groups, this is a truly comprehensive work, and probably the only reef guide most divers will need to take with them on a trip.
Covering the Red Sea, Indo-Pacific and many Caribbean species, the book comes in a handy, almost square format with just three species per page, allowing good-sized images of high quality.
The authors describe each species carefully, and where possible give information on behaviour to assist with identification. For example, the reader learns that the orangeband surgeonfish (Acanthurus olivaceus) "can switch its main body colour from dark olive to tan to dark blue in seconds" and that there are 40 different species of triggerfish. One section shows juvenile specimens of some of the commonest fish, demonstrating how unlike their adult forms they can be.
Photographically, Reef Life is excellent, with every shot a genuinely representative view of the animal or fish described. The book also contains a good general introduction to coral-reef ecology, and titbits of information are spread throughout the text: "94 million tonnes of fish are now taken globally each year, compared to 19 million tonnes in 1950."
The Ferraris also produced the Macrolife Guide to Underwater Malaysia, in my opinion the best of its kind. Now they have created an indispensable companion volume that will serve every diver well.
Tim Ecott, author Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World

As a marine biologist as well as an author and photographer of marine life books, I am very selective in my choice of those that end up on my shelf. I am particularly critical of books with a global scope as these invariably include only a small fraction of what lives in any particular area. These books usually include only what the photographer happens to have good photographs of rather than what is important. This book is an exception as the authors have included many excellent photographs taken by others. In doing so the authors have managed to pull together 1200 of the most important and interesting species, all with concise information on distribution, habitat and behavior. No book of this kind is immune from misidentification, but this one has fewer than most. It's a keeper. For those in the w. Pacific who want to dig deeper, please also check the following: Micronesian Reef Fishes: A Field Guide for Divers and Aquarists

good basic intro to digital underwater photos and equipment

I bought this for my scuba diving photographer husband as a present. He said it is an excellent book as he leafed through it. Then he sat down to read it immediately. That's quite a positive reaction for him.

Denise

Found this book very helpful. Have some experience with underwater digital photography but found the explainations and examples very helpful. Took it to Palau...and left it with the captain who kept picking it up to read. So am ordering my replacement!

Very disappointing. I was hoping for a more informative book. This was pretty basic photography. The previous reviews were misleading for me. This was a waste of money.

This book is fine for point and shoot, and non-D-SLR cameras. It does have some inaccurate information - at least, information that most underwater photo pros disagree with. It has very limited information for those who are using D-SLR cameras.