Have you ever opened your eyes, diving under a wave in the sea? It is such an ethereal experience – physically and visually. Floating, swimming, and dancing beneath the clouds of breaking waves in the sea is such a freeing and “present” experience. Yet I have found it is a realm foreign and mysterious to most, even those fortunate enough to live near the sea.

Late last year, I was commissioned to photograph forte_forte’s 10th anniversary collection “beneath the clouds” of the sea and portray this concept with their Summer’13 capsule collection, designed by Giada Forte.  Here are some of the final results:

There was something amazing about working on this project, and I think it boils down to it’s simplicity and method of collaboration: A few emails, midnight skype meetings with the Art Director all the way on the other side of the globe, and … a few girls in the sea.

Logistically speaking, it might not have looked that simple: the photography for this series took place through the month of August. I would swim out from the shoreline with the models, dodging the reef, urchins, and occasionally surfers and shoot for hours, multiple times. No floatation, no fins for the models … they were absolute rock stars. It takes someone special to be able to pull it off the drag of garments under waves so gracefully and delicately, and am thankful for the girls I was able to work with for this project. A few times to expedite the process, I went so far as to put the collection in a backpack, swim out to the breaking waves with it on, and have the models change in and out of them the middle of the ocean between sets. Luckily the surf crowd was more curious than disturbed. ;)

Below are several links to published material via print and web I have found online, as well as an interview I did with Marie Claire Italy about the project … for anyone who can read Italian. The interviews are a bit … embellished (and no, I was never a “professional” swimmer), but they definitely put these photos into eloquent prose better than I ever could.

• Entire collection of photos at www.forte-forte.com
• Interview with Marie Claire Italy
  

Interview about photographing forte_forte in March edition of Marie Claire Italy

• http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/2596/Forte_Forte
• http://loversofmint.blogspot.com/2013/03/forteforte-la-force-de-la-simplicite.html
• http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/15840/1/a-decade-of-forte-forte
• http://www.dailyelle.fr/l-observatoire-publicitaire/les-images-aquatiques-de-forte-forte-72850
• http://www.reykjavikboulevard.com/sarah-lee/
• http://www.ronherman.com/blog.aspx?id=1785

Installation via www.loversofmint.blogspot.com

And here’s a feed on my pinterest of posts relevant to this project: http://pinterest.com/hisarahlee/forte_forte/

I’ve been fortunate enough to have a GoPro Hero3 to test and take photos and video with the past few months and have had a blast incorporating it into my day to day activities, as I am out surfing or swimming every day more-so than taking photos. I would never replace my DSLR set-up for one of these, but for the times when having a huge camera in the water isn’t necessary, the GoPro is a perfect and convenient solution.

Though my evaluation of the GoPro Hero3 might be a bit premature and not 100% complete, here are my initial thoughts about my experience using one for photos, from December’12 – March’13. I still have yet to test the video settings, remote, and mobile GoPro app.

Pros:

• Affordable.
• Small and mountable anywhere. Sometimes I’ll carry it around with me on land and use it like a “point and shoot” camera.
• It’s one of those things that’s allowed me to have fun in the water and capture images at the same time. So while out surfing and in-between sets, it’s been rad to ditch the board and capture images of friends and of what’s happening below.  I stick mine in a hip pack … not so fashionable but it works!
• Quality is AMAZING.  It’s not perfect, but a huge step-up from the Hero2 and most waterproof point-and-shoot cameras.
• Fogging:  Not so bad!  The Hero2 was a nightmare.
• LCD BacPac: is touchscreen! I love it … when it doesn’t freeze up.

Cons:

• Freezes up: Often when I use the LCD bacpac on the GoPro, the entire unit freezes up and won’t turn off… the only way to unfreeze is to take GoPro out of housing, take out battery, and turn it back on.  I’m sure they’ll fix this in a firmware update, if they haven’t already… there’s also issues with recharging it, but again, just take out the battery and try again.
• Chromatic aberration. It can be pretty intense, especially in low-light situations where highlights are blasted.  If you’re not a professional photographer and are just using your photos for low-res social media like instagram or facebook, don’t worry about this too much.
• Battery life: Buy a Battery BacPac, it helps heaps.

In Conclusion:
The GoPro Hero3 is a great and affordable way to start, and honestly, unless you’re willing to invest thousands into a DSLR set-up, or risk it with cheaper housing set-ups, get a GoPro and save those thousands for a trip or two to Indo… and bring me with you, ha ha.

Favourite setting for photo:12 megapixels, 30fps on a 2 second interval, wide (15mm) or medium (20mm) angle of view.
Favourite setting for video: 1080p, 60fps, medium angle of view (equivalent to a 20mm lens on a 35mm camera), protune.

All of these photos were taken on the Hero 3, Black Edition at 12MPX. Basic colour + contrast correction applied in Adobe Lightroom. You can check out photos I’ve taken on the GoPro Hero2 here.

I receive numerous emails on a daily basis, inquiring about what gear I use, what gear I suggest using for someone wanting to get into water photography, what are the most affordable options, etc.  For many, I think the GoPro HD HERO3: Black Edition is just what you need. If you have any tech questions about using one, PLEASE check out GoPro forums or just google it first before sending me an email. ;)