David Doubilet

Underwater Photographer

Photography Presentation by:Lee Zheng Wei

Lasalle Animation Diploma Level 2 ANN 3B / 13051

Contract Freelance Photographer for the National Geographic Society.

Explores the deep an its magnificent discoveries it has to offer, and bringing them closer to viewers with his unique skills and techniques of his underwater photography.

Profile

David Doubilet is known for his works in the National Geographic Society and its diverse publications, which also appeared worldwide in other magazines and books.

He is an avid diver and underwater, always keen on discovering and exploring the world of the deep, and taking professional photographs as he does so.

* in 1969 the prestigious "Sara Prize and International Award" given by Mondo Sommerso Magazine in Italy, first American and the youngest person

* In 1975, he was named "Diver of the Year" by the Boston Sea Rovers, one of the diving world’s most honorable organizations.

He received several honorable mentions by the National Press Photographer’s Association over the last decade

In 1993 he was honored in France by winning first place trophy in the Professional Category of an international contest sponsored by C.M.A.S. (World Underwater Federation);

He appeared as Guest of Honor at the 20th World Festival of Underwater Photography in Cap D'Antibes.

AWARDS

His style of underwater photography is very unique :

Using a split lens camera, he keeps the top half of the lens above the water and the bottom half below, resulting in a fascinating perspective, which allows the viewer to see both the world of land and sea connected by a thin line.

Style

Cartier-Bresson decisive moment in his photos.

He uses a strobe light to produce regular flashes of light for his underwater photography.

His images are prized for both their scientific value and their aesthetic beauty, as with every dive he seeks to explore and at the same time capture every moment and discover new species of fishes in the deep.

His invention of the split lens camera gave the world of photography a variety of shots to explore with, with a whole new type of compositions in photographs.

Contributions to the field of photography

Actively documenting our changing underwater worlds.

A popular speaker and instructor, Doubilet has appeared on the "Today Show" on NBC-TV and is in demand for his lectures and slide shows at universities, underwater film festivals and clubs (the Explorer’s Club and the Harvard Club both in NYC) around the world.

He has been promoting and raising awareness about and protecting oceans, beaches and wildlife.

Influence

His commercial work includes several ad campaigns for clients such as Kodak, Fa Soap, Vitaspa, Seagrams, and Microsoft.

He did the still photography for two films - THE DEEP and SPLASH.

first book, LIGHT IN THE SEA, was published in 1989

second book PACIFIC: AN UNDERSEA JOURNEY was published in 1992

David has authored seven books on the sea.

The most recent are: Fish Face by Phaidon Publishers (2003), The Kingdom of Coral: Australia’s Great Barrier Reef by National Geographic Books (2002) and Water Light and Time by Phaidon Publishers (1999).

Commercial

“…While technique and planning are the bedrock of successful underwater photography, preparation alone isn’t enough.”

“You’re feeling, a moment, almost a wistfulness. You have to think poetically.”

Special techniques

Doubilet uses a strobe light to produce regular flashes of light for his underwater photography.

Split lens camera for a 4 point perspective of two worlds - land and sea.

Uses black and white film and played with correction filters to improve contrast in selective areas.

His split lens camera photography of land and sea - resulting in a unique style of land-sea photography.

His works are distinguishable by:

Cartier-Bresson decisive moment in all his photos, that is able to tell a story with just a photograph.

His amazing compositions where he captures the vibrant colours and wonders of the deep, where it is really dark – attainable by his usage of a strobe light.

Looking at photography as an attempt to incorporate the breathtaking moments of our lives and showing the balance of life.

The importance of predicting the ‘moment’ and converting it onto film.

Learning from his works…

The ability to balance the complementary colours and the asymmetrical compositions of his photos.

The difficulty of getting a good light source or exposure under the sea.

1/3 rule with focus on the diver

Complementary colours with an asymmetrical balance in composition that shows the beauty of the deep sea.

The split lens photography that shows both worlds with completely different perspectives – the beauty of the deep and the vast sky on the surface.

His understanding of the importance of light in the deep and his usage of strobe lights to aid in his style of underwater photography to capture the perfect moments in time.

His alertness as an underwater diver / photographer in looking out for such moments or details that are aesthetically pleasing – the composition for this piece brings the focus to the clownfish in the centre as the surroundings are gradually blurred out.

This is also done with the shooting of this photograph in the right moment, at the right time.

The right balance and composition of his photographs that were taken in the right moment.

It showcases the beauty that nature has got to offer us if we step into this world of the deep.

His understanding of how light works underwater and his impressive compositions of asymmetrical balance that gives all his images an extra push.