ADM Writer / Photographer
Director of ADM's Fish-Eye Photographers
Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, John Rawlings spent much of his childhood alongside his avid fisherman father gazing down into the emerald green waters of Puget Sound and wondering what really lay beneath the surface. Finally learning to dive in the mid-1970s, it wasn't long before he developed a burning desire to photograph the many colorful animals and scenes he regularly saw while diving so that he could share his wonder with "topside friends".
Starting with a used Nikonos II and a dented flash-bulb system, John became a self-taught photographer as he struggled to find the best methods to photograph the underwater creatures and sights of Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and British Columbia. Often having to deal with typically Northwest low light and poor visibility, these conditions contributed much to the manner in which John views both his subjects and the methods that he uses to capture his images. In the early days he would emerge from each dive with an old breadbag full of used bulbs lashed to his weight belt and a "wee bit" more knowledge about Pacific Northwest underwater photography bouncing around in his head.
Now into his fourth decade of Puget Sound diving, John is a Staff Writer and Photographer for Advanced Diver Magazine, in which for the past five years his work has regularly appeared. He is also a contributing writer and photographer to the regional publication Northwest Dive News. His photographs and writings have also appeared in other publications dealing with the Pacific Northwest, in both the print medium and on the web.
Having traveled to a variety of locations throughout the world, John still treasures the underwater world of his home waters above all others. Year-round.....sun, snow, wind or rain..... he can usually be found striding out of the surf on a desolate beach or climbing back into a dive boat, his camera again containing new images from the cold, green waters of the Pacific Northwest. John has a large portfolio of macro and wide-angle images from the Pacific Northwest as well as other photographs from "warmer locations".
While still retaining his Nikonos camera bodies and lenses, (it’s hard to beat that Nikonos 15mm lens!), John now primarily shoots digitally. He uses the Nikon D-70S as his primary camera equipment for both land and underwater photography, with a Nikon D-100 as a back-up. For wide-angle shots, he mostly uses the AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm 1:4 G ED lens, while also making use of the AF Nikkor 10.5mm 1:2.8 G ED Fisheye lens, his preference being for the 12-24mm lens because of both versatility and less distortion. For macro photography, John uses two lenses – the AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm 1:2.8 D for the majority of his macro work, and the AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm 1:2.8 D for extremely small subjects.
Photography Equipment
John uses Aquatica housings, (http://www.aquatica.ca/index1.html), and truly appreciates their quality, durability and customer service. The number of housings available on the market capable of reaching the depths achieved in technical diving is an extremely short list, with the Aquatica housing for both the Nikon D-70 and D-100 cameras being rated to 300 feet/90 meters. Whether utilizing dual or single strobes, John uses adjustable arms from Technical Lighting Control, also available through Aquatica, (http://www.aquatica.ca/tlc.html), which are constructed of lightweight high-grade aircraft aluminum and easily adjustable underwater.
Long a fan of Ikelite lighting systems, (http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/1strobe_index.html), it is no surprise that John would select their products for underwater work. Designed to be used with digital camera systems, Ikelite D-125 strobes have become his primary lighting system. These strobes have a 90 degree angle of coverage, (100 degrees with a diffuser), and can be set at Full, 1/4 or 1/8 power or TTL if available. Rechargeable, they will provide a photographer with up to 150 flashes per charge and will actually recycle in one second, allowing the photographer to take multiple fast shots in a variety of situations. On the horizon, John is looking at possibly moving to the newly announced Ikelite Substrobe DS-200, which has some additional features but a slightly longer recycle time, (1.6 seconds as opposed to the DS-125’s 1 second).
John will be heading up the “Fisheye” Photography page here at Advanced Diver Magazine. Both he and the rest of the ADM staff are excited about its development and the many possibilities opening up before us!
Contact
John Rawlings
Pacific Northwest Photographer
Mill Creek, Washington
john.rawlings@verizon.net
