DIVE, CAMERA, ACTION – focus on your best shot!
Join our Entry Level Underwater Photography Expedition
Creative Thinking to Improve your Underwater Photography, with Gill Williams Photographer.
Underwater photography should be fun. Sharing the marine and coastal wonders that we as snorkelers and divers take for granted should be such a joy. But how often does that sexy image you think you have in the camera, turn out to be just a bit of a disappointment, and you don’t show it to anyone.
We’ll we’ve got the answer!
ON DECK MENTORING WITH GILL WILLIAMS
We have teamed up will Gill Williams of Below the Skye Line to create a photography improver expedition. This expedition intends to make underwater photography accessible to everyone. To build your confidence, to encourage you to experiment and to have fun with your camera. Offering onboard mentoring to help you ‘think out of the box’ and to get more from your photography, showing you how to achieve results you will be proud to share!
EXPEDITION OBJECTIVES
Simple things can make the difference. For example, not having a steamed-up housing is a great start, but this happens so often, even to the professionals 😉! Learn how to use the natural light. How to pick out colour. Framing the subject more creatively. Think outside the box, looking at what you see in a different way. Enter the water with an open mind and work with what you find. Focus on the details. You don’t have to spend a fortune to start taking better images, nor does it need to be technical and scary!
This expedition will give you the time to set up your camera, to get comfortable in the water, to spend time ‘pfaffiing’ because you can, everyone’s taking photographs. No pressure, no hurry. Enjoy what you see, take time to be creative. Immerse yourself in the process of using your camera to catch what you see. Then after on deck discuss your results. Get tips from Gill and your fellow photographers about what to try next time.
What Skye offers is clear water, coarse stable seabed’s, good visibility, abundant life, lots of colour and oodles of time, a choice of depth – don’t make it complicated, just have fun!
WHO IS GILL WILLIAMS
Gill is an ideal mentor for those of you who are embarking on improving your underwater photography adventure and feel that you could do with some tips. She has a passion for sharing the underwater world and started out with the simplest of cameras, just showing that with a relatively simple photographic set up, you can get that great shot. Honing her skills without spending a fortune she has managed to bring inspiration and creativity to their work. She works with everything form an iPhone in a Divevolk housing to a Canon 5D mark 4 in Aquatica housing, getting equally exciting results from both.
ABOUT GILL WILLIAMS
An ex Thames Valley Police Diver, she is also a BSAC Advanced Instructor and PADI Divemaster, who now prefers the simplicity of snorkelling. Motivated to share the beauty of Below the Skyeline with those that have never been there, has been applauded. Careful buoyancy, breath control, creativity and a lot of dedication has brought its rewards, and Gills enthusiasm for her photography is infectious. Bringing a refreshing creativity to her underwater photography, she captures the shimmering light and abundant life of the shallows often making our waters look tropical. By simply changing how you look at a subject, framing it differently, focusing on the pattern, texture, colour, or reflection, she demonstrates that there’s always a fabulous image waiting to be caught. Those techniques apply no matter the depth of your snorkel or dive.
GILLS PHOTOGRAPHIC PASSION & THE RESULTS | Copright 2023, Gill Williams, All rights reserved.
An award-winning, ‘self-taught semi-professional’ photographer, Gill has been published in Scuba, Scottish Field, BBC and STV online and STV on TV. In 2021 she published her 1st underwater photography book Below the Skyeline.
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- Moving subjects take patience.
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- Maximise natural colour and light.
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- Frame it creatively.
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- Let your imagination run riot!
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- Move gently, fill the frame.
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- Be inspired by the patterns of nature.
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- Focus on pattern and colour.
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- Patterns of movement and light.
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- Sit still, let it come to you!
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- You have to hunt to find them.
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- Catch that reflection!
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- Often camouflaged but Very pretty.
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- Maximise shallow natural light.
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- Still down and wait for the moment
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- Capture the colour and tiny detail
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- Catch the colour and movement.
MORE OF GILLS WORK
Have a look at Gills Facebook and Website and let her inspire you to show just what she can help you achieve.
EXPEDITION SUMMARY
Simply to relax, think out the box and explore how to take more creative images with your camera, regardless of what presents itself on the day. Have fun! We’ll choose the site to suit the group onboard with options to visit calm shallow waters or high energy dive sites, always with options to choose our depth.
DIVE QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
Dive Qualification/Experience required: Snorkellers and Diver/Buddy pairs qualified to dive independently of their club. All diving/snorkelling will be in buddy pairs. Get in touch for more information.
Photographic Experience: Beginner and above, familiar with your camera set up, but needing advice and experience to achieve more.
Photographic Equipment: Whatever you have. Most important bring large capacity memory for lots of experimenting.
DATE
Fri 30th June – Mon 3rd July 2023
COST
Elena C is licensed for 12 but places aboard will be limited to 10.
FULL PACKAGE
£320-£420pp: depending on numbers sharing in accommodation. Includes 3 nights self-catering, 3 days aboard, dive air if required and Gills mentoring.
BOAT & PHOTOGRAPHY ONLY
£270: 3 days aboard, dive air if required and Gills mentoring.
CONTACT
Aileen on 01470 592219, or diveskye@dive-and-sea-the-hebrides.co.uk