the photographer and his siren
Alexandre Gries was born in 1971 near Paris, France. He started learning scuba diving at age 14 and, since then, he's kept on diving regularly, ultimately becoming an instructor a few years later.
After having tasted the joys of teaching and passing on to his students his passion for nature, he discovered in the early 2000s the pleasure of underwater photography. He found himself fascinated by this photo speciality and eventually became a professional underwater photographer.
Shooting mainly in tropical waters, Alexandre got the occasion - in nearly 25 years of diving - to submerge in many places around the world.
Since late 2004, he is using digital reflex cameras, with several different lenses, in underwater housings fitted with two strobes. (read the next section about the equipment)
His work has been awarded several times.
One of his "macro" photos has been awarded a prize at the "Festival of Underwater Images of Neuchatel - Festisub 2008" - Switzerland.
One of his "wide angle" photos has also been chosen to cover the official catalog of the "Paris Dive Show 2007" - France.
Three of his "macro" photos have been awarded at the "Festival of Underwater Images of Neuchatel - Festisub 2005-2006" - Switzerland.
One of his photos of a nudibranch won first prize at the "Paris Dive Show 2005" (France) photo competition.
The photographer has also won the" Palme d'Or" at the "World Festival of Underwater Pictures in Antibes 2005" (France) in the "artistic website" category. That same year in that same festival, Alexandre was ranked 8th in the international "portfolio" competition (set of 10 photos).
Shooting also terrestrial photographs, his work is mainly dedicated to underwater photography.
Presented in the above pictures in the turquoise waters of a lagoon of the Seychelles, his companion Beatrice is his assistant and his usual model in shots that show a diver.
the equipment
Alexandre is currently using a NIKON Digital SLR D2Xs. This device is perfectly suited for shooting underwater even if one can still regret that highlights processing is less efficient than it was with traditional photography before digital era.
Depending on the photo to be shot, this camera is usually equipped with either a wide angle lens, 10.5 or 12-24 mm, or a 105 mm macro lens. The teleconverters +1.4 and +2.0 as well as +2.0 lens are also often attached to the main lens according to the desired result.
The camera is then fitted in a SUBAL housing. With rival SEACAM - also an Austrian -, SUBAL is probably the best manufacturer of underwater professional housings. These are real aluminium gems entirely handmade.
The camera is mounted on a saddle for precise positioning inside the housing. This also greatly facilitates the insertion and extraction of the camera. The perfect ergonomic controls of the housing provide convenient and comfortable access to all functions of the camera.
The wide main-O-ring seal and the SUBAL quicklock latching system make it virtually impossible to close the lid if the O-ring is not lying correctly in its groove. Maximum security is well ensured and a light is connected to a leak detector.
Several threads are available to mount various accessories such as strobes on the housing. Generous shading of the LCD-monitor provides a bright and clear image. The housing incorporates an optical viewfinder particularly precise and practical, which displays the necessary full-frame viewing. Alexandre has chosen for his housing the magnifying viewfinder optic GS 180 which provides exceptional viewing comfort and better framing and focusing.
Depending on the chosen lens configuration, the front of the housing receives one or more extension rings and a flat or dome port with zoom and focus control.
Alexandre chose two INON Z240 strobes to provide illumination. These strobes are routinely used in manual, the power of each strobe being separately adjusted for each shot by the photographer. The strobes are mounted on INON articulated arms. A focus light is also used.
Alexandre sometimes also shoots with a special underwater filter appropriately called "magic filter".
All the underwater photo gear was provided by Ocean Optics - London - whose professionalism and kindness deserve all compliments. Thank's again Steve and Mark !
Concerning the diving gear and depending on location and season, Alexandre uses either a 3 mm or 6.5 mm wetsuit or a drysuit. His usual travel gear includes an ATOMIC Aquatics titanium regulator, an ultra lightweight CRESSI Flex stabilizing jacket and a SUUNTO D9 dive computer.
Pictures are taken in RAW and stored on hard drives in 16 bit TIF format. An APPLE Macbook Pro computer is used for postproduction.
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