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| Largemouth Bass (c)Engbretson Underwater Photography |
I'm often asked what
the biggest challenge is in taking underwater fish
pictures. There are quite a few obstacles and many things
that have to be right to be able to get a good picture.
First, the water has to be clear, which is actually a
greater challenge than you might think. Freshwater lakes
are typically pretty crummy so finding lakes that have the
necessary clarity is an ongoing process. I usually won't
even look at a lake if the clarity isn't at least 18
feet. Water clarity can change from week to week and
season to season too, so even though I have my favorite
lakes, they’re not always clear enough to work in.
Everything starts with water clarity and if you don’t have
that, nothing else matters. It’s always a challenge to
find clear water.
Once I find a clear lake, I have to find fish. Next, I
have to find fish of desirable size. This is easier said
than done too. It's always a problem especially these
days when it seems like there’s fewer and fewer really
nice fish available. If I do find a lake that’s clear and
it does have a few good fish, another challenge is getting
close enough to photograph them. I like to be 2 or 3 feet
away. Any further and I won’t take a picture at all.
Fish often times have a problem with a diver being that
close, so it requires patience to even get close enough to
think about composing a picture. But once I have clear
water, good fish, and get close enough to photograph them,
I still have to make the shot. So even if everything else
is right, sometimes I blow it all on the final step
because I was moving, or the composition is bad or I
forgot to turn on the strobe, etc.….
A lot goes wrong. Sometimes I feel like it’s truly a miracle to get any good pictures at all because so many things that I can’t control have to be right all at the same time. But as I always say, "If it were easy, everyone would be doing this".
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