How does a recreational diving undertow turn into a lifelong career, both intellectually, professionally and romantically?
To get an wordplay to that question, I interviewed the German nature photographer Georg Nies. At the NPOTY races 2021 he was winner in the category ‘Under Water’. Through the years Georg found the perfect way to combine his big passions – underwater photography and marine biology – with his professional life. He became the German representative for SEACAM underwater photo gear. He is a diving instructor. And he is organizing workshops for underwater photography in the most trappy places in the world. So it is pearly to say he spends most of his time under the water. And when he does spend time on land, he loves to photograph big cats in Africa.
Georg has been photographing underwater for increasingly than 30 years now. He loves to go diving with his wife and their three daughters, two of whom are moreover photographing under water. But much to his regret none of them is willing to model in his photos. Time to learn increasingly well-nigh this enthusiastic and environmentally friendly underwater photographer.
A soft coral versus strained background, Red Sea, Egypt, © Georg NiesGeorg grew up in the middle of Germany, far yonder from oceans, seas and other unshut waters. As a child he had no special interest in the underwater world. At the age of 23, a friend invited him to take a recreational diving undertow together in Italy. Part of this undertow was an introduction in marine biology. They learned well-nigh the complexity of the underwater world, how the whirligig of life works under the surface and they began to identify species. During this course, he not only became intrigued by the underwater world, but moreover met his future wife, who took the undertow together with him. Back in Germany, he started studying marine biology in Kiel to learn increasingly well-nigh the fascinating marine life. He completed his studies with a doctorate in Limnology (Fresh Water Biology).
A window in the wreck of the Numidia, Brother Island, Egypt, © Georg NiesNevertheless, his initial interest in photography had nothing to do with water. It started with an tutoring at a long-established specialist shop in Cologne. Now he is running the SEACAM competence part-way in Germany, specialized in underwater camera equipment, for the last 10 years. And he moreover organizes trips and workshops all over the world. Whether in Mexico, in the Maldives, on the tailspin of South Africa or Egypt, he is happy to share all his knowledge with the participants and having fascinating stories to tell from 30 years of underwater experience.
Small blenny on a shell, Jackson Reef, Egypt, © Georg NiesInspiration
“I started using the camera underwater in a documentary way, taking pictures of species to identify and document them. In 2006 I took a undertow with Kurt Amsler, a famous Swiss underwater photographer, in the south of France, in the zone where Jacques Cousteau made his first films. In this undertow I was thought how to take interesting and creative underwater photos. This was a turning point for me and completely reverted my tideway to underwater photography.
And as I run the SEACAM Competency Center, I have the privilege to talk to SEACAM Ambassadors visiting Germany, giving me the opportunity to discuss with them. I moreover organize workshops, where I bring together the weightier German underwater photographers and have them explain everything well-nigh the techniques they use.”
Engine room of the Giannis D, wreck in Egypt, Red Sea, Egypt, © Georg NiesInspiring photographers
“Of undertow there are many inspiring photographers. Like for instance Kurt Amsler, David Doubilet, Imran Ahmad, Amos Nachoum, Aaron Wang, Ace Wu, Christoph Gerigk and Tobias Friedrich.
For me, Laurent Ballesta is one of the most inspiring photographers today. This famous underwater photographer, tragedian and wildlife photographer of the year 2021 is among others the trek leader of The Gombessa expeditions. These expeditions are intended to testify to the inaccessible mysteries of the underwater world through innovative diving methods.
And together with the famous wildlife photographer Vincent Munier, he photographed the treasures of the immense Antarctic nature reserve. They shared their photographic impressions in an incredible typesetting called: Adélie – terre et mer.”
Detail of a feather star, Halmahera, Indonesia, © Georg NiesChallenges
“Underwater photography is totally different. To start with you must unchangingly yellowish in mind that you have to survive. And the deeper you dive, the harder it gets physically. Well-nigh halve your smart-ass is occupied with survival routines, the other halve is misogynist for photography.
Add to this the fact that underwater photography is technically totally different. I think it is much increasingly difficult than photography on land. To uncork with you need a good housing for your camera, permitting you to hand dial aperture, shutter speed and ISO. You are forced to use strobe, considering of the lack of ambient light. But the light metering in the camera is not well-judged under water. Plus you are mixing ambient light with strobe light, so getting a correct exposure is tricky. And with the ambient light loosing one stop every 10 meters you need good cameras to deal with the upper iso’s.
Finally the position of the strobes is important. If the strobes are too tropical to the lens or the wile of the light is wrong, the strained light will highlight the little backscattering particles and ruin your photo.
But the wool most important thing is that you stick to the rules for ethic photography, plane when these rules are still unwritten. You have to make sure you unchangingly photograph in an environmentally friendly way. Tampering with animals and the environment to get a good picture must be avoided at all times.”
Tail of a lionfish, Maledives, © Georg NiesPreparation
“With that said it is time to prepare for a photo trip. The way I prepare myself totally depends on the journey I have planned. Normally when you go to an interesting diving area, the local diving guide will tell you what you can expect. And you just go into the water and see what happens. The only thing you have to decide up front is what lens you will use; a macro or a wide wile lens.
The preparation is totally variegated if you go out to find and photograph specific species like sharks, whales, or the like. Through the years a lot of knowledge well-nigh the whereabouts of these species is gathered by scientists and underwater photographers. So if you know what you want to photograph you know where to go. Mantas for instance are known to gather in huge numbers at so tabbed cleaning stations where little fish eat the parasites.
On these trips you don’t just go into the water and see what happens. You work with local swoop guides. Things like the whereabouts of species and which local guides to use are worldwide knowledge in the small polity of underwater photographers. Furthermore there are specialized tour operators to help you plan and execute these kind of trips.”
Longimanus, Brother Island, Egypt, © Georg Nies
Signature
“Typical for my kind of work is the well-healed use colors. Many times underwater photos are dominated by “a lot blue”. When you squint at the selected photos in the category ‘Under Water’ you will see that mine was the most colorful one.
When I am in the water I like to play virtually with my gear. I try to do creative things like using a slave strobe to backlit the scene. Or I like to use tools to create bokeh, which is not easy under water. And I am doing UV fluorescence photography, which is plane harder under water than on land.”
Arm of a feather star versus strained background, Forgotten Island, Indonesia,
© Georg Nies
Ambition
“With my photography I want to show how trappy nature is, expressly nature under water. This world is so variegated from the one we know whilom the surface of the water, and I am happy to share it with those who are unfamiliar with it or who do not have the resources or capabilities to explore this fascinating world.
I regularly requite lectures well-nigh the underwater world. And during these speeches I pay sustentation to what is going wrong in our natural world. But I unchangingly document these stories with photos that show the eyeful of nature. Considering showing the eyeful of nature is necessary to summon the interest of your audience. And then you can tell the story virtually it, what we’re doing wrong and where it’s leading, knowing they’re listening. By showing the ugliness and the effects of our policies on nature to the public, you make people squint yonder and automatically stop listening.”
A large soft coral with surgeon fish, Forgotten Island, Indonesia, © Georg NiesPhotography contest
“For me taking part in photography contests like Nature Photographer of the Year is expressly inspiring. I think it is important to squint at the previous editions to see which photos win and compare them with your own photos. Looking at other photos gives an opportunity to discover and learning, and getting new ideas. It is scrutinizingly like a workshop to me.
I haven’t signed up for the 2022 edition of NPOTY yet, but I definitely will. And I expect it to be with something variegated than what people are used to from me.
To those who have little or no wits with photography races I would say it is important that your image tells a story. The worst thing is hearing people say: “Oh…it is a picture of a lion!” Instead people should say: “Oh…it is a trappy picture!”. Realize that good photography is well-nigh story telling instead of documenting subjects.”
In a small mountain lake in the Alps, Austria, © Georg Nies
Covid-19 effects
“During the pandemic we were not unliable to travel, so I could not go anywhere, didn’t get into the water. I only did some photography tropical to home. Besides it was not good for merchantry considering customers could not go anywhere either. I could not organize underwater photography workshops. I think of it as two complicated years.”
Soft Corall and a tunicate in a small cave, Raja Ampat, Indonesia © Georg NiesAt the end of the interview I asked Georg the question: “if you could ask flipside nature photographer one question, who would that be and which question would you ask?
Georg answered right away: “It would be Laurent Ballesta, the underwater photographer I mentioned before. He is organizing outstanding trips, doing real expeditions and lattermost things like Jacques Cousteau did in his days. He is not that old but once a legend. I would ask him: “Can I join you on your next trip?”.”
Screw sabella - Sabella spallanzanii, Malta © Georg NiesHet bericht Nature photographer Georg Nies well-nigh the trappy underwater world and the importance of an ethic approach verscheen eerst op Nature Photographer of the Year.
