KISHAN THAKRAR

Phoebe Rudomino is a commercial underwater photographer based at the Underwater Stage at Pinewood Studios in London, frequently working on shooting behind the scenes footage and stills of underwater filming.

 

I like the idea of capturing images underwater, although this will not be easily done with my current equipment. I will look at recreating some of the images (like the one above where a room has been submerged underwater), using Photoshop tools to composite and manipulate multiple images.

 

Being a behind-the-scenes photographer, Rudomino does not always capture photos of high quality, however her style and composition in the photos seem to account for the lack of quality, with little or no editing being done. This leaves a sole focus on the meaning of the image; what's going on inside the photo. Therefore, her work for TV commercials and adverts is explained, due to her ability to focus on the subject rather than worrying about complicated editing.

 

I chose the first image below because it displays her techniques very well. There is little editing, probably just darkened around the sides and then a focus on the reflection. There is probably also a story behind the image, given the facial makeup and ribbons tailing behind. The reflection is used to portray that the man has four arms, and there is a stark dramatic lighting coming from above. The deep black tones elsewhere juxtaposed against the light help add to this dramatic look.

 

The second image also has a similar look; here I also like the small bubbles of air rising above the figures. It also must be more difficult to photograph objects underwater than above water due to the fact that in water it is more difficult to move, stay in one position, and capture a photo. The whole process of photographing would be slower.

 

The third image I chose because I liked the fact that the fish are made out of manmade materials, but placed as if they were real. The colours and lighting provide a natural looking environment, and the vibrant blue plastic seaweed compliments the scene, increasing the depth of colour in the image.