Reporter Dives Deep to Convey Right Picture

Why would anyone want to shoot a shark with anything but a lethal weapon?

That’s the question staff writer Ken McAlpine answers in this week’s Centerpiece on underwater photographers, brave souls who seek up-close encounters with predators--or any other creatures that happen to be lurking below the surface.

“Obviously, they do it for the challenge,” McAlpine said, “but they’re also privy to an incredibly beautiful world they can take back and put up on their wall.”

In researching the story, McAlpine literally sank to new depths, diving off the Channel Islands with some of the best underwater photographers in the area.

“It was really spooky down there,” he said. “You’re in this thick green curtain and can’t see a thing. It’s also disconcerting knowing that something can come up and eat you.”

Scuba diving and photography are fascinating, complex hobbies in their own right, but combining them creates an endeavor that is risky, frustrating and extremely difficult to master. As hard as it is getting the kids in focus at a birthday party, imagine being buffeted by ocean currents while trying to capture a darting image in murky light.

“I’ve always had a lot of respect for photographers,” McAlpine said. “Dry land photography is enough to drive anyone off the deep end. Having botched enough pictures on my own, I know how hard it is to get a good one.

“When I was young, I always remember being told never to get your camera wet. But here are people who break that rule right off the bat, then take brilliant pictures in an environment that’s about as picture unfriendly as possible.”

McAlpine was startled to learn that underwater photographers don’t have to travel to exotic places to find a compelling marine habitat.

“The Channel Islands, right in Ventura County’s back yard, are one of the most spectacular underwater photo labs in the world,” McAlpine said.

While McAlpine found underwater photographers to be a fun-loving, adventurous breed, he also saw their serious side.

“When I talked with Dick Madsen, as avid an underwater photographer as you’ll find, he raised a sad and sobering thought,” McAlpine said. “Sure he liked diving. Sure he liked photography. Sure he enjoyed having his own pictures on the wall of his home.

“But Madsen also had other reasons for his hobby. In 40 years of diving, he’s witnessed decimation of the ocean firsthand. ‘We may lose all of this someday,’ he told me. ‘Somebody should record it.’ ”