Unsplash Untold #9 — The Turtle
How One Underwater Photographer Captured a Work of Art Through His GoPro
If you’ve ever picked up a GoPro, you know the struggle of trying to capture a beautiful photo from its wide-angle lens. The device is meant to take in all of the environment around you no matter the weather, time, or environment. It’s not necessarily made to render that image beautifully.
So when I saw Jeremy Bishop’s photo of a sea turtle coming up for air in evening sun, I was in shock at the beauty of the image. The composition, the color — the rays of light!! — all of it makes for a stunning underwater image.
We asked Bishop to share the story behind the photo, and got to hear why he takes these photos, and how you might be able to yourself.
The photo was taken in Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu, and Bishop said it was a new location for him entirely. Though he was unfamiliar with the area, he thought the rocky and slightly hidden area would give him the space to take the shot. He took a half day’s swim, and this was his result.
I solely swam out in search for new underwater caves, but I came across a couple of these turtles. I saw this one deep down feeding off of the rock. I followed it for a solid 20 minutes, learning how to get in the right position and figure out when they come up for air. I had to catch the shoot at the right distance in order to not scare it back down.
So how do you take a camera like the GoPro and harness it to take an image like this one? Bishop says that whether you use a GoPro or any other camera, the trick is to understand your limitations and make it work with the world you want others to see:
The best tip I have is to understand how your camera works and reacts to light. It takes practice because you can’t see what you shoot with the GoPro, but knowing the position, composition, and lighting will get you far with a wide-angle lens such as the GoPro. Lighting is one of the biggest things in water and surf photography that separates good shots from great shots. This was one hour before sunset!
I was using the GoPro Hero 4 Silver with one of my favorite mounts. If you find a great mount for your GoPro, it will take you far. I’m a big fan of the company and the high-quality action camera they’ve produced. It fills some big gaps in my photography game.
So what draws Bishop? Easy:
The turtles are what draw me! There are only a few locations in the world with beautiful sea turtles. The special thing about this location what that this was the biggest turtle I’ve seen out on the North Shore, so I was freaking out in the water.
There were many photos cut from this day. Bishop recommends shooting in burst mode, and I understand why. So if you’re itching to go out and take some underwater shots of your own, here’s a piece of advice from Bishop:
Find time to go out as often as you can. It takes time and effort to plan out the right moments to take photos.
Words to live by.
