سوزان فلاميس .. مصورة لعالم البحار المثير ! .. مجلة فن التصوير اللبنانية _ ع١٦

Photographer of the month
Susan Vlamis photographer of the exciting sea world!

Underwater photography is the main title of Suzanne Vlamis's trends in the field of photography, even if she is multi-directional, hobbies and tendencies, the majority of which pour into the field of journalism. What concerns us here is what Suzanne says about photography in general and underwater photography in particular.

Susan Vlamis is considered one of the most prominent underwater photographers, in addition to her many activities in the field of journalism, in addition to her other interests in the artistic fields, especially dance and cinema. Suzanne Vlamis currently resides in New York City and was born in . Manhattan, of a Greek father and a Czechoslovakian mother. She graduated in 1966 from Long Island University with a degree in English and pursued several studies in sociology.

In addition to her work as a senior official in the Jersey City newspaper, Susan worked in the field of criticism and press correspondence. Collecting old magazines and authentic stone prints...

Her relationship with underwater photography stemmed from her many hobbies that do not stop at the limits of what we mentioned or a lot of what was not mentioned, such as: reading, traveling and architectural arts. Suzanne is a capable sea diver, with a certified scuba diving license. It collects shells, corals and rare rocks. Hence her interest in underwater photography arose.

Her working life is mostly divided into journalistic activities, and she joined the agency ten years ago. Associated Press, after she had worked as a freelance photographer for four years in and outside New York, during which time she dealt with well-known publications such as: “American Heritage” and “America Illustrated.” And Pride's Magazine, The Daily News and Travel magazine, and other publications. Suzanne officially joined the Associated Press in 1973, after she had been dealing with the agency since 1968, externally. During this period, she won many awards for her work. with . World Press and . National Press Photographers, and . New York Press Photographer Associate. Her tasks during this period included covering the Olympic Games and political conferences in the United States of America, as well as covering the trips of the presidents of the republics and their inauguration ceremonies and other parties, in addition to her interest in
By taking demo films, and setting up photo exhibitions for managing editors at the Associated Press and at the American Newspaper Publishers Association. .

And because underwater photography did not get enough of the attention of photographers, Susan gives some clarifications about this trend based on her long experience in diving and photography together. The photos are from between five and thirty-five feet underwater, where the sun's rays are strongest
degrees, but the deeper you go down, the darker the underwater world becomes.
Thus, the vibrant colors of red, orange, yellow, green, etc., begin to disappear gradually until they disappear completely at the end.. which necessitates the use of special searchlights for lighting under water and to show the colors as they are. Without this searchlight, known as (Strobe), all subjects will take on a blue-green tinge. And it becomes monochromatic, and Susan continues, saying - As for the best time to photograph underwater, it is between eleven and one o’clock in the afternoon, that is, when the sun is vertical above the head, in order for the different subjects to shine equally under the water. The preferred films that are recommended in this field are films, Codechrome, and . Ectachrome, with special cameras sealed against water leakage, of course. Or ordinary cameras that are protected by a plastic cover for underwater work, or placed within a more complex metal or glass enclosure called “Domeport”, and it works to remove distortions that arise as a result of the refraction of light during its passage in water, which leads to the appearance of subjects larger and closer than they are in reality. adverb .
As for the most appropriate method for obtaining the best pictures under the water, she says - good photographs are taken at shallow depths and areas free of rocks close to the surface of the water, in order to avoid foggy and dark conditions, in addition to - scattering, resulting from waste suspended in the water ... and the more it increases Getting closer to the subject that we want to photograph, the lower the ratio. Scattering, or the lightening of the appearance of fine bodies and water plankton.

This allows for a better focus of the image and softer results, and the closer we get to the subject, the better the result will be on more than one level. Hence the importance of using a wide-field micro lens. . Susan Vlamis adds as a general principle for underwater photography, although it is valid as a fixed principle in photography as a whole. It is to decide on the intended subject, and with the appropriate equipment... and the photographer's landing to
Water calls for patience, planning and some luck too! . Finally the Suzanne Vlamis that
We present it here within the section Photographer of the Month. She does not present this information out of the theoretical subtraction and out of the fact that she is the owner of a special school in photography, but rather by simply presenting her experience to others...

Therefore, we will not be surprised if we hear her say about herself: I am just a visual person and photography is still a hobby for me...!

Note: The pictures published with this topic were all taken with a Nikonos 3 camera, with a Toshiba (Strobe) device that was previously mentioned in the topic, in addition to the macro zoom links.