March 2017. Underwater Photography Project in the Philippines

March 2017. During an underwater photo trip in the Philippines, we went diving in the waters of Anilao, a small coastal town in the Straits of Batangas. Anilao is one of the best diving sites, as it has a wide variety of small underwater creatures such as nudibranchs, shrimps, crabs, or octopus.

The seabed of Anilao also contains small treasures, such as the blue ring octopus, found in Rhinopia of Eschmeyeri. The blue ring octopus is the most toxic cephalopod in the world. Anilao is also the paradise of fish, frogs, and a multitude of species of gobies.

Undoubtedly, one of the highlights of this trip was a night dive in the port of Anilao. We photographed common cuttlefish a few centimeters long. These tiny creatures stayed with us for several minutes because they were attracted by our lights.

As professional underwater photographers and photographic artists, we usually go back to the same places several times to complete the art print series we sell. Returning to locations over and over provides us with an advantage: we become familiar with each place, as well as its native marine animals and currents. This was our 3rd trip to Anilao. During the previous two trips, we focused on sceneries and on crustaceans. This time we decided to produce a series on nudibranchs and cephalopods. Listing all of the species we photographed would be long, so we will merely name a few: Ceratosoma alleni nudibranches, Chelidonura varians nudibranches, and chromodoris willani nudibranches. Our trip was a success, and we achieved our goals.

For three years, we have been working on an artistic photo project to create different series for our collections of art photographs. We will create a series in the theme of "Shades of Blacks and Whites" and a series in the theme of "Lights and Colors".

All our art photographs are available online or from art galleries. They are available either on Masonite or delivered with a frame, as well in various formats.

Today, we have nearly 40 art photographs made in Anilao meeting the criteria of our artistic vision.

This year, we finally defeated some of our “demons” of close-up photography. In the past, we mostly preferred sceneries and wide-angle photography, because we could not find inspiration among the small underwater animals. Fortunately, this year, we discovered how to highlight small subjects effectively and creatively. Thus, we have been able to create dynamic and interesting photographs suitable for hanging on walls in homes, offices, or etc.

These few color photos display our ideas in action. They come directly from our cameras, and some photos have been cropped. Certain photographs, which will be used in supporting art prints, are going to be edited further-particularly the suppression of the backscattering, which is illuminated by the flashes.

Underwater photography project in Philippines in Anilao in March 2017.

Photography is an Art Different from Others

This photograph of a red deer in Europe at dawn is an artistic approach.

What is a Piece of Art?

In a very general way, a piece of art is an aesthetic physical element, an artistic creation. The word, “aesthetic” implies the action of provoking in those who go to watch it the feeling that something is beautiful. The concept of beauty being strongly subjective depends on the viewer’s perspective; a piece of art can please a certain audience and displease another.

In the case of visual arts, such as photography, a piece of art is a physical object that fulfills an aesthetic function.

In photography, a piece of art can be thought of as an element within the overall work of the photographer.

A piece of art fulfills its purpose in conveying messages. It subjects the viewer to questioning, to reverie. Art is emotional.

A purely descriptive creation is not a piece of art. Photojournalism or documentary photography do not produce pieces of art because they are merely descriptive disciplines.

Why Photography is Different from Other Art

Photography is a true artistic discipline.

It is part of a larger group called the third art (also known as the media art) or the seventh art (also known as the visual art).

Yet photography is a different art from others because it is based on reality. The photographer uses developmental techniques which will produce a work that is an interpretation of the reality at the exact time of shooting.

In this blog dedicated to the photographic approach, I do not talk about the techniques of photocomposition or photomontage as I said before.

These creative processes are no longer photography but photographism. The creator uses several photographs to create a universe in two dimensions; a universe which has nothing in common with the real universe at the time of a shot. Even if it is an interpretation of the real world, creation is no longer tangible. That fleeting moment no longer exists.

For me, artistic photography remains an interpretation of a real scene, with techniques of development. The aim is to accentuate certain elements to create emotions or to provoke feelings.

What are the Photographer’s Limitations?

Often, I say during my workshops or photo conferences that simply framing a photo is an act that denies reality. Indeed, when we photograph a landscape or an animal, removing fragments in the framing that do not contribute to the proper reading of the photo is an act that does not show the real world.

I choose a frame to show a precise scene and attract the attention of the viewer. I want to avoid all unnecessary details that would disrupt the delivery of the message.

When I create an artistic photograph, the first thing I do is reframe. Then I change the colors by either saturating them, or, in the case of a monochrome photo, suppressing them.

In my artistry approach, which is an ethereal and dreamlike, I like to see vague backgrounds and creamy environments as with my bird photographs.

It is important that I erase details around the points of interests so that the desired atmosphere is not disturbed. I never add new elements. Sometimes I do remove a branch, a clump of grass, or an electric cable. But this deletion is equivalent to the technique of cropping.

My limitations in retouching are limited to the existing scene. I accentuate the lights and the reflections. I accentuate details, such as cloudy skies. I modify textures. But all the changes made are always done on elements photographed during the original shot.

For me, these are the limitations that an artistic photographer must impose upon himself upon the creation of a work.

Finally

Photography can be either artistic or merely descriptive.

If a photographer decides to make artistic photographs, it is because he wants to deliver messages and emotions, to share his imagination with either a limited audience or a large one. Regardless of who the receiver of these emotions is, photography always remains an act of sharing.

In photography, there are limits which cannot be exceeded—the photographer should not integrate elements which are absent at the time of shooting. In this case, he becomes a photographer and leaves the field of photography.

The role of the artist photographer is to share, to make people dream, but the real purpose it serves is as a support. The photographer can interpret it, transcend it, but not deform it by adding elements to it. We believe that it should not depart from this rule. In any case, it is the one we impose on our daily work.

Be humble, patient, constant, persevering, and persistent because the road to excellence is long.