interview: David Benz & Melanie Schuler sive photographs of me and the fish swarm. From this moment on I was the underwatermodel. David: Already in 1997, at my first trip to the Caribbean, the underwaterphotography was a topic for me. I wanted to bring the people closer to this foreign and weird world underwater with my images. Although the possibilities were limited and digital photography was not a subject at all. The first photographs were taken by a disposable camera. Today I´m smirking about it, but everybody begins in a small way. Even today I hope to delight the readers of our stories and observers of our images and to show, how beautiful and quirky the ocean and it´s residents can be. Do you have favorite animals to photograph? David: For me the smallest are the biggest. The smaller a theme is the bigger is the challenge for me as underwaterphotographer. Beside macro photography also whale sharks, stingrays and turtles belong to the most impressive underwaterthemes, if not a mermaid is crossing our way. What are some must-have travel items for you? David: This is really clear: my photo equipment. No holiday or even a trip into the bathtub without my camera.
Do you post-process your photos digitally, if so what is your favorite program? David: Because of bad light- and viewing conditions you often have to go back to image editing programs. Images editing YES, images sophisticating and manipulating NO. We are using Adobe Lightroom and Corel Paint Shop for our image editing and finalisation.
Melanie: Anyhow a pair of sneakers for trips into the jungle. And then I´ll snatch David´s camera to paint the world red.
20
THE EYE magazine