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The Travelling Photographer – Virgin Islands, Part 2
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Unless you're a successful pro who has spent so much time roaming the world that you're happy to stay put in your rocking chair, chances are that travel is one of the main activities you like to combine with photography.
For most of us at photocourses.com, despite having covered photo assignments all around the world, just a whiff of jet fuel gets us in the mood to hit the road. Each month or two, The Travelling Photographer will touch down at a specific location and cover some of the opportunities for photography you might encounter in that location. Perhaps, the introspective photographer will also share with you the opportunities lost, "opportunities tossed away and into the blue" to quote Pete Townshend. That means we're going to tell you about photographs that might have been taken but weren't. This month, NYI Dean Chuck DeLaney recounts his experiences in the water in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In the next installment of Travelling Photographer, we will visit Morocco with photographer Tara Cuccia. In the first installment of the piece on the Virgin Islands, I told you a little bit about the history of the islands, all the photos I should have taken but didn't around the airport and in transit across St. Thomas. Before we hit the beach with a waterproof Advanced Photo System point-and-shoot camera, let's dip into reader mail. This series is intended to provoke feedback from our readers. We want to hear your suggestions for locations you would like us to cover as well as specific attractions that we didn't cover in prior installments. You let us know what's on your mind by e-mailing the Travelling Photographer and we'll share as many of your comments as possible with our readers. In addition to a number of friendly notes with pleasant memories of trips to the Virgin Islands, we received this somewhat pointed note from Mr. or Ms. "Webejammin". I stand corrected. And be advised, next time I'm headed toward the Caribbean, I intend to take Webejammin up on the generous offer: Hi, I was reading about your trip to St. John. I had to stop reading because what I read upset me. You said that St. Thomas is the largest of the three islands and the only one with an airport that could accomodate today's jets. You obviously haven't visited all of the islands that make up the Virgin Islands and you haven't taken time to really look at the map that you have. St. Croix is the largest island and there are four islands that make up the Virgin Islands. We do have an airport that is far larger than the one on St. Thomas. We don't have as many hills as St. Thomas and St. John. The reason why you don't hear much about St. Croix is politics. I am personally extending an invitation to you to visit St. Croix so that you could see for yourself. We don't have as much tourists as St. Thomas, so things here are a little slower. If you want some rest and relaxation, St. Croix is the place.:) Another island that you should visit is Virgin Gorda. That's the British Virgin Islands. You will fall in love with that place. If you loved St. John, I dare you to try Virgin Gorda!:) Webejammin © NYI Dean Chuck DeLaney 
Visiting the Virgin Islands in February, I confess my interest ran more toward spending time on the beach rather than hiking in the National Park System forest areas. When I learned that I was going to be visiting St. John, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to test a waterproof Advanced Photo System camera, so I contacted the good folks at Minolta and they were kind enough to lend me an Advanced Photo System Weathermatic. I stocked up on 24mm (also known as Advanced Photo System) film from the local drugstore, and I was all set. © Minolta 
I should note that I did also take an SLR system and flash with me, but hardly used them at all. I was, after all, on vacation. One thing I like about a good point-and-shoot is that it's small and easy to keep in a beach bag along with a few rolls of film.
Photo Marketing Note: So I don't have to keep typing "Advanced Photo System" let me insert a note regarding the history of this format and the debacle regarding its nomenclature. The Advanced Photo System was introduced with great ballyhoo back in early 1996 at the Annual Convention of the Photo Marketing Association. The system had been in development since the early 1990s in a rare example of industry cooperation between Kodak, Fuji, Canon, Minolta and Nikon. The system was then known as APS but that's a term that can no longer be used legally, as I'll explain in a moment. Hence, I prefer to call the system 24mm, which is easier to type. Sadly, the companies that developed the 24mm system created a great product but also launched a business school case study in bungled marketing. Consumers are still confused about the Advanced System, which Kodak calls Advantix. To make matters even worse, no one had done the necessary homework. The photo industry is technically barred from using the three letters APS or the logo they had developed that incorporate those letters, because some other company in a different industry already had "APS" under some sort of trademark or other legal protection. Talk about dumb! Anyway, I've always maintained it should have been called "EPS" or "ESP" for "Easy Photo System" or "Easy System for Photography." © NYI Dean Chuck DeLaney 
Suffice it to say, the photos you can get with a 24mm camera are great and you do get the choice of three formats - normal, slightly wider than normal and panoramic. 24mm has other features we won't cover now, but the system is used in some great cameras, both point-and-shoot models and SLRs. Sadly, the SLRs don't appear to be selling well, and there are only a few film stocks available for APS cameras. There's a lot of promise here that has been squandered. We'll get in the water in a moment. Before we do, let me point out that I did find that my 24mm Weathermatic camera was great for taking photos of my travel companions on dry land and at the water's edge. St. John is also the kind of place where there can be an afternoon rain squall with little warning, so using a waterproof model for all my picture taking was an added convenience. © NYI Dean Chuck DeLaney 
Here's a shot of the Cruz Bay harbor during one of those squalls, taken while standing in the rain. When it came time to do some serious snorkeling, I noticed a lot of the people who were going snorkeling had waterproof disposable cameras with them. I don't know what kind of results they enjoyed, but I found the Weathermatic had certain limitations, principally based on the limited power of its flash. This is no fault of the camera. It is the natural result of working underwater. It has to do with the way that water transmits light. Under even the best conditions - that is to say calm water where sand and other sediment has not been roiled up by waves or storm conditions - water cuts off light very rapidly. Even when you're just a few feet under the surface, colors get dull very quickly, and objects take on a bluish green cast. This effect is much more pronounced on film. This is another aspect of the way that our eyes see things very differently than film. Viewing conditions underwater were adequate during our visit to St. John, but far from perfect. There had been a heavy storm a few days before we arrived and the water was still slightly turbid, and we were told that conditions off shore were still very rough. © NYI Dean Chuck DeLaney 
The members of this school of fish are a much richer, silver-blue color than I was able to capture on film. I'm not the kind of person who knows the names of a lot of fish, but there's a yellow tone that you can clearly see on the rear fin that's just barely visible in this photo.
Even using a flash, as I did in the photo above, there's little color to be seen in a view of the coral that's probably six to eight feet below me in the shot on the left. Even with a bright color such as the yellow coral in the photo on the right, it is necessary to get very close (about one foot) from the coral in order to record the color. The last time I tested a point-and-shoot underwater camera about twelve years ago, I found the model I was using cumbersome and hard to use. In fact, I was so engrossed in just advancing the film as I floated around in the South China Sea that I got nailed by a very nasty jellyfish I had failed to notice and spent two days recuperating on a small Philippine Island from a painful bite. The Weathermatic worked very well and it's fun to use. However, there are reasons that serious (and certified) underwater photographers use SLR (single lens reflex) cameras that allow them to use fast lenses that make it possible to use a large aperture to gather more light underwater along with powerful flash units. While my underwater work with the Weathermatic won't compete with the pros, I had a good time using the camera and recommend taking one along on any snorkeling adventure. Here are a few of the photos I was able to take above the water using the camera, and there's also one very abstract sunset panoramic that was taken by my daughter who was just shy of her fourth birthday at that time. © NYI Dean Chuck DeLaney  © Lily DeLaney  © NYI Dean Chuck DeLaney  © NYI Dean Chuck DeLaney  There's a lot of great photos on St. John that I did not get the chance to take. They're waiting for you, and the Island is definitely worth a visit. |
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