Five NEW FREE Handbooks join our Basics of Better UW Photography Series and are now in the Optical Ocean Sales Education Resource Center. These downloadable Acrobat files are easy-to-read with lots of photos and illustrations to help you gain basic skills and understanding of their subjects.

The first is for those wanting to get their feet "wet" with Underwater Photography. Titled "Choosing an Underwater Camera & Housing", it goes over basic things to look for for on both cameras and housings. Basic camera parts and their importance for underwater photography, classes of cameras, basic system configuration, housing considerations and materials, accessories and much more are covered.

Another new Handbook for video photogrpahers or wannabies is  "Video Tips for UW Photographers Handbook". Loads of great advice for those starting out, or for still photographers wanting try shooting video! Cameras, tips, techniques and settings will help you make the plunge into trying out that video button on your camera.

The next handbook is titled Photographing Animals and includes tips, tricks and help on getting great photos of underwater critters! How to improve your Luck, Skill, Knowledge, and Patience in taking underwater animal photos are just some of the areas shown and discussed.

An accompanying piece "Photographing People" is full of tips and techniques from staff writer Margo Cavis on working with divers and models, it will help you add a human element to your photography.

We've also published an accompanying article; How to Photograph People Underwater in our Articles section that gives more in-depth coverage.

Called Strobe Positioning this handbook is maybe the most important and everyone can get something from it. This guide goes over most aspects of using artificial strobe lighting underwater in photography. The Handbook discusses light theory and equipment. It shows how, why and where to use both one and two strobes in macro and wide angle photos. This new guide includes many illustrations done by our own Margo Cavis and is a great resource for new and old underwater photographers.

See the Optical Ocean Sales Resource Center for many more Handbooks, articles, trip reports, spec charts and reviews!