Mustard’s Masterclass

First in a brand-new column by underwater photography guru Alex Mustard. This issue, Alex outlines who he is, and what he aims to achieve in the coming months

Photographs courtesy of Alex Mustard / www.amustard.com

Hello! I’m Alex. I’m new to the magazine

My passion for the sea has been lifelong. I took my first underwater photos when I was nine years old and gained my first dive qualifications a few years later. Since then, my life has always been connected to water. I have a Ph.D. in marine ecology, and after a further four years working as a marine biologist, I turned my underwater photography hobby into my job. I have logged 4,870 dives with a camera - I have kept logging my photo dives, so I can trace all my photos back to exactly where they were taken. it. This is my motivation to help others take better pictures underwater. I’ve been sharing my ideas and techniques through workshops, talks, articles and books for more than 25 years.

Many of my photos have enjoyed a life of their own, becoming well known in prominent books and magazines, in the mainstream media or in highprofile photography awards. They have won multiple categories in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year and British Wildlife Photography Awards. I was named European Wildlife Photographer of the Year in 2013, and remain the only underwater winner of that title. My coffee-table book on coral and climate change, Reefs Revealed, was named the best book of underwater pictures for 2007. The obvious gap in my contest

CV is not having any awards from the prestigious Underwater Photographer of the Year contest. My excuse is that I am a founder and chair of the judges for that one, which prohibits me from entering.

I’m proud to have been awarded the ADEX Award for ‘Extraordinary Contribution to Underwater Photography’ and to have received the rare Golden Trident award from the International Academy of Underwater Sciences. And it was very special to be awarded an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II for ‘services to underwater photography’.

So as an underwater photographer who has been around the block, it makes sense for me to aim this column at you enthusiastic shooters. I hope to pass on valuable insights, gleaned from being out there in the

People correctly assume a marine biologist has a tremendous advantage for underwater photography. It means you know what you are looking at, where to find interesting species and gives you a sixth sense for capturing natural behaviour. I’d encourage any diver learn a bit more about underwater life, whether you take photos or not. It is not about knowing dry Latin names or tongue-twisting technical words, but real-world experience of how underwater animals live their lives. Knowledge is always faster than reflexes for a photographer.

My scientific background has shaped my photographic career as well as my pictures. As a scientist you learn knowledge isn’t to be hoarded - there is no point in earning it if you don’t share

ocean shooting. I won’t be covering the very first steps of underwater imaging here, but I know the magazine will regularly run standalone features on getting started in underwater photography. And I am sure I will contribute to them. I also want this new column to romp widely, and I hope to share my experience on all aspects of underwater photography. We’ll talk techniques, lighting, composition and equipment, naturally. But I plan to cast my net wider and cover detailed photographic tips for destinations and popular species, as well as other topics of interest, like advice about photo contests and getting published.

To continue my introduction in photo-speak, I currently shoot with Nikon SLR cameras (Nikon D850 and D5 to be specific) in Subal housings. I also own a Mirrorless Olympus system in a Nauticam housing, but I am yet to take the Mirrorless plunge for my primary system. But it is clear it is the future. I am regularly asked to review new cameras and get the chance to get to know most systems intimately through my workshops, which also account for most of my diving. I have an unhealthy fascination with light underwater and think that most other underwater photographers are too obsessed with cameras and not enough with their flashes. My strobes are from Retra and Seacam. I also enjoy available light photography and more than 15 years ago now, invented the Magic Filter for working without strobes, which I still use.

My other obsession is underwater optics, which I think is the most-exciting current frontier of progress in underwater photography equipment. It has always been possible to design lenses to work specifically in water, but very few bothered. The advances in computer-aided optical design, capitalised on by intelligent engineers like Edward Lai and motivated companies like Nauticam, have been rewriting the rules over the last decade. For underwater photographers, the digital revolution has been followed by the optical revolution. Today we’re blessed with an ability to shoot types of images, and with a quality that has never been possible before. When it comes to making images underwater, this is a time of ever-expanding possibilities. In short, we’ve never had it so good, and I look forward to helping you make the most of it. n