More underwater images

I got another chance this past weekend to play with my underwater digital camera, and I think I am learning a bit more about how to use it. I'm still not completely on top of all its bells and whistles, but one thing I did learn was that I have to be extra careful about holding the camera steady as I am taking the shot. It seems that the "mode" setting for taking photos underwater is more sensitive to movement that the regular "Best Picture" setting.

In any event, it's still a lot of fun, and there is something slightly "otherworldly" about the colors and lighting in these photos -- even the ones of common seaweed and rocks and snails -- that really appeals to me. Here's a sampling:

I was excited to find a small living starfish in one tidal pool, though I couldn't quite get the shots of it I wanted. I do like the texture of the starfish's "arm" as seen in this one, however.

There is something cool about getting in the water and pointing the camera slightly up so as to capture the underwater reflection of the water's surface.

I even used that technique to take this "self portrait" shot -- not too exciting, but it's kind of neat to see those few random bubbles floating mysteriously across what might seem like an ordinary photo.

While we were at the ocean, Jeannine braved the cold water and repeatedly dove into the waves, doing the body-surfing thing. I like this image I caught just as a big wave broke over her.

It was pretty nifty to be able to stand in the ocean up to my stomach, with a camera in the pocket of my swim trunks that I could pull out at any moment to take a shot. Thank you to the clever camera engineers who made such a thing possible! -- PL

P.S. For anyone interested in knowing more about the camera with which I took these photos, here's the link to the amazon.com page for it:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MKNJEI/ref=wms_ohs_product_T2

and a photo of the camera itself: