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Underwater photography has always been limited by poor visibility and the rapid loss of the red end of the spectrum in water. Not to mention the loss of angle of view from having a flat filter with air on one side and water on the other. As a result there are zillions of images of "specimen shots" of fish, invertebrates, and people but very few underwater landscape images. It is as if our photographic vision was limited by a very restrictive face mask where we can only peer at a limited part of the underwater world. And like night diving, the images only show what we can light up with our flash.
Spherical photography changes this completely, allowing the photographer to capture the whole scene. Although still limited by the water visibility, the images approach the feeling of being there. The blue filter effect remains a problem. When diving, our eyes adjust for this and we percieve more colors than when we later look at an underwater image that we took while diving. But I can process the raw images and white balance the colors to render a photograph that looks pretty close to what it looked like at that place and time.
I took this photo of the outer face of the fringing reef at Ilot Uatio, in the southern lagoon of New Caledonia, to show the immense size of a single coral head just off the edge of the reef. It is in 8 meters of water and Freddy dove down next to it to give you an idea of how big the colony is.This single coral colony was about 7 meters in diameter and probably began life over a thousand years ago. The coral pinnacles in the area are alive with a tangle of corals of every description.
The resulting scenic of the coral reef really does look like it did when I was there taking the image. It gives you an understanding of the outer edge of a lagoon fringing reef that you would never have get without diving there yourself.
It is a very satisfying photograph. I have been taking underwater photographs since 1958 and I am very happy to be able to present an image that finally shows the reef as it looks to me - and to have it interactive so you can swivel around and admire the wonderful complexity of the coral reef just as I did. You can even hold your breath, if you like, to make it even more real.
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ニューカレドニアはオーストラリアとニュージーランドに最も近い南太平洋島です。ニューカレドニアはフランス領であり、フランス語が公用語として使われておりますが、文化はメラネシア、ヨーロッパ、ポリネシア、ベトナム、中国、インドネシア等多くの国の歴史をブレンドした国際的でユニークな文化を築いております。ニューカレドニアには、グランドテールと呼ばれる1つの大きな山の様な島と6つの小さい島があります。– 3つのロイヤルティー諸島、ベレップ諸島、イルデパン島島には果てしなく広がる荒野があり、そして驚くほど住民が少ないアイランドです。また何百キロメートルのウオ―キングトレック、キャンプ場、４２以上の公園および特別保留地と輝やく滝を保つクリスタルクリアの川があります。人口3分の1ほとんどがヌメアの首都に居住しています。ニッケル採鉱はニューカレドニア第一の産業として、国の高い生活水準への主な役割をしています。グランドテールは世界で2番目に大きい堡礁に囲まれており、この堡礁によって造られ保護されたラグーンは、世界で最も大きいと言われております。この２４,０００平方キロメートルの巨大なラーグンは、２００８年に世界遺産として記録され、多種多様の魚と無脊椎動物の豊かな動物群をサポートしています。 観光客のご到着しだい、一目に留まる島の活気に満ちたクリスタルクリアでリッチな風景は、皆様に大いに愛され感動なされています。ヌメアでは観光客のご滞在を更にご満喫いただけるよう、こちらの全てのホテル、リゾート、レストランおよび島でのアクティビティーを広範囲でご用意させて致しております。
