52 Assignments: Underwater Photography

Dr Alexander Mustard MBE, has been widely regarded as one of the world’s leading underwater photographers for the last 20 years. He has pioneered many techniques within underwater photography, which he shares through magazine articles, talks and workshops. His photographs have won many awards including, on five occasions, the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year. He has also won multiple categories in the British Wildlife Photography Awards. In 2013, Alex was named GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his image Night Moves. He has a PhD in marine ecology and still occasionally publishes peer-reviewed papers. He is based in the UK.

For underwater photographers out there, a new book by Alex Mustard is always something to look forward to. But this is something completely new. A book to help people improve their underwater photography one assignment at a time. There are 52 different assignments in the book ranging from Black and White Wreck, Posing a Model, Off-Camera Strobes and everything in-between. You can tick each one off as you feel that you have successfully completed it. Start at the beginning and work through methodically or see what your next dive is going to be and select an assignment to suit. This book is going to be popular with both those just starting out in underwater photography and seasoned pros alike. The book breaks the mould of traditional underwater photography guides. Gone are the sometimes daunting, long chapters on techniques, settings and equipment. This offers a much more accessible and refreshing approach. Simple, useful, practical skills to try whatever camera you are taking on your dive. I love this idea and am looking forward to picking out an assignment that will fit each of the dives I have coming up.

• Available Light Fantastic 8Float Like A Jelly 10 Earn That Angle 12Shoot From The Hip 14Subject Not Scene 16One Strobe Macro 18Color Combos 20Silhouettes 24Black & White Wrecks 26Verticals On The Sand 28Wide Angle Blues 30Bossing Depth Of Field 32Natural Patterns 34Bang With Black 36Wide Angle Macro 38Vintage Lenses 40Circular Fisheye 44Splits Without A Mask 46Surface Reflections 48 Snell’s Window 50Missing The Bullseye 52Mandarinfish 54Blackwater 56Sumptuous Sunbursts 58Beam Me Up 62In The Spotlight 64Snoot With Movement 66Simple Is Strong 68Go Super 70Work With A Guide 72Small In The Frame 74Work The Background 76Off-Camera Strobe 78Full Color Wreck 80Pose A Model 82Light A Model 86Double Eye Contact 88Macro Backlight 90Wide Angle Fluorescence 92Pan-tastic 94Digital Doubles 96Zoom Blur 100High-Speed Synch 102Sunset Splits 104Panoramas 106Photogrammetry 110 Macro Flashlight 112Decisive Moment 114Wrong Lens 116Cover Shot 118Tell A Story 120Recipe For Success 122