I'm a radio astronomer and underwater photographer. I began shooting at age 6. A summer job in high school allowed me to buy a used Nikkormat DSLR, and I've been shooting DSLRs ever since.
From my father, a physicist, I learned to love physics and how it brings our existence into contact with the absolute. Most of my physics work has to do with extending the boundaries of what we can see, to understand the invisible.
Carl Gwinn
I first breathed underwater 28 years ago at Heron Island, a tiny islet at the south end of the Great Barrier Reef. I'd gone to Australia for a radio astronomy meeting, and for visits with colleagues. I decided to see some sights, including the Reef, while I was there. I was immediately hooked. Once I got back to my home in California, I learned to dive in cooler water and began to explore the kelp forests.
I wanted to share my underwater experiences with my friends and family, so I began to learn underwater photography. I did a few experiments with a Canon Rebel in a waterproof bag and a borrowed Sea & Sea Motormarine II. Then I started shooting with a Nikon F5 film camera in a Subal housing, with Sea & Sea YS-120 strobes. In the film days, one dive produced a maximum of 36 exposures (37 if you cheated), and the housing had to be opened after every dive, to change the film. It was always exciting to drop the film off for development. Looking at them a couple of days later was a little crazy: always accompanied by many regrets and a lot of slides sailing into the trash. It was tossing out dollar bills.
I made the switch to digital photography after 7 years of film, with a D700 in a Subal housing, and Ikelite DS-130 strobes. I tried some other cameras during that time: in particular, for beach diving I wanted a less expensive, more rugged, and ligher system for surf entries and exits. I tried a Watershot housing for my iPhone, an Olympus TG-6, and several Nikonos IIs, IIIs, and Vs -- a brief return to film. After 16(!) years with the D700, I bought a D850 and a Nauticam housing, and Sea & Sea YS-D3 strobes. I also got a Mini-Flash 2 strobe that I am learning how to use. After 25 years and 2000 dives, I think I may finally be getting the hang of underwater photography.
