About

The Photographer

Photo courtesy of Jo Horrocks

Keith has been diving since 2000 and is a PADI Divemaster.

Prior to learning to dive Keith was a keen land photographer and as such underwater photography was a natural extension of this interest, in fact the interest was significantly rekindled through diving.

Photo courtesy of Chris Shrubb

Keith's first experience of underwater photography was with a disposable camera in a plastic housing. Although the results were less than impressive, this ignited a desire to take further images and acquire the skills required to develop as an underwater photographer.

Following basic training via the PADI Photography Speciality course (using the Sea & Sea MX-10 35mm Auto Focus Underwater Camera), Keith bought his first camera and housing. At this time early digital cameras and housings were starting to reach the market at an affordable price and Keith purchased the 3 megapixel Olympus 3040, Olympus PT-10 housng and Epoque slave strobe.

A turning point in Keith's underwater photography development was a weekend course with leading underwater photographer Martin Edge. The tuition and advice gained from Martin has been invaluable in the progression of Keith's knowledge, technique and ability.

Since those early days Keith has progressed through a number of compact digital cameras before moving to a housed DSLR. Keith is currently shooting with the Nikon D300 in a Subal housing.

Keith is a member of the British Society of Underwater Photographers (BSoUP) and Photosub.

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Contact

You are welcome to contact me to pose questions, ask for advice, provide feedback or to purchase any images.

Email: kc.lyall@btinternet.com

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Awards

This section shows images that have been placed in various photographic competitions that I have entered.

(Select images to see larger view ...)

	BSOUP Theme Portfolio (March 2012) 1st place BSoUP Theme Portfolio (March 2012) Seal images taken in the waters off Lundy, Devon with Nikon D300 10-17mm FE 2xINON Z240 strobe
	Photosub Annual Dinner (March 2012) Island of Coll (nr. Mull), West coast of Scotland 3rd place in Green Water Advanced This image of the basking shark was taken off the island of Coll, Mull off the west coast of Scotland. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Nikon 10.5mm FE in a Subal housing. Settings: 1/250 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 640, focal length 10.5mm
	Photosub Annual Dinner (March 2012) Bali, Indonesia 3rd place in Open Prints This image of the eel and shrimp was taken at Tulumben, Bali. Equipment: Canon S90 in a Canon housing with single Inon Z240 strobe. Settings: 1/200 sec @ f/4.9, ISO 80, focal length 22.5mm
	BSOUP Open Portfolio (December 2011) 3rd place BSoUP Open Portfolio (December 2011) 1 Squat Cleaner Shrimp, Bali: Nikon D300 60mm Macro 1xINON Z240 strobe + snoot 2 Triplefin Blenny on red background, Bali: Nikon D300 105mm Macro+1.4 Teleconverter+stacked INON 165+INON 330 wet lenses. 1xINON Z240 strobe 3 Blenny on sea pen, Bali: Canon S90 + macro lens, 1xINON Z240 strobe + snoot 4 Blue ribbon eel, Bali: Nikon D300 60mm Macro 1x INON Z240 strobe + snoot 5 Anthia, Nuweiba, Red Sea: Nikon D300 105mm Macro 2xINON Z240 strobe 6 Nudibranch, Bali: Nikon D300 105mm Macro+1.4 Teleconverter+stacked INON 165+INON 330 wet lenses. 1xINON Z240 strobe
	Photosub open 2011 (November 2011) 2nd, 4th and 5th place Entrants were able to enter 3 images. The competition was judged by underwater photographer and educator Martin Edge. The blenny (4th place) was shot with a 105mm macro + 1.4 tele converter and stacked INON 165 and 330 wet dioptres. The blue ribbon eel (2nd place) and shrimp images (5th place) were lit using a fibre snoot to control the lighting and reduce light spillage onto the background. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Nikon 105mm and single INON strobe.
	Photosub Annual Dinner (February 2011) Highly Commended Image 1: The eel was taken using a home made snoot to limit the light coverage and produce this shot against a black background. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Nikon 60mm and single INON strobe. Settings: 1/200 sec @ f18, ISO 200 Image 2: I was photographing the colours of the gun breech and urchins against the green water when a shoal of fish made a fortuitous appearance adding extra interest to the shot. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Tokina 10-17mm FE zoom and dual INON strobes. Settings: 1/30 sec @ f5.6, ISO 200
	British Underwater Image Festival (January 2011) James Egan Layne, UK Winner of Apeks UK This image of the diver was taken on the wreck of the James Eagan Layne off the Cornish coast at a depth of about 20 metres using a mixture of strobe lighting and natural light. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Nikon 10.5mm FE in a Subal housing with twin Inon Z240 strobes. Settings: 1/60 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, focal length 10.5mm
	BSOUP Focus On "Best of 2010" (January 2011) Backlit scorpionfish 3rd place BSOUP Focus On - Best of 2010 (January 2011) The scorpionfish was sitting proud on a coral outcrop allowing a single snooted strobe to be placed behind the subject to produce the silhouette shot. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Nikon 60mm and INON strobes. Settings: 1/320 sec @ f/11, ISO 200
	BSOUP Underwater Excellence (September 2010) 6th place BSOUP Underwater Excellence (September 2010) The Underwater Excellence competition requires contestants to enter 3 photographs (not necessarily related) which demonstrate a range of photographic techniques and skills. A judging panel chose their "best 12" (from an entry of 27 contestants) and the BSoUP audience votes for their favourites from this final 12. The winning shots were taken by BSoUP member Joss Woolf. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Nikon 60mm or 10-17mm FE zoom and INON strobes.
	BSOUP Focus On - Anemonefish (July 2010) Anemonefish, Maratua, Indonesia 6th place BSOUP Focus On - Anemonefish (July 2010) This image was taken on a raging drift dive in Maratua, Indonesian Borneo. The state of the sea agitated the anemone to reveal the purple skirt (actually looks light blue when viewed in natural light) but was a pig to get the sequence of shots from which this was selected. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Nikon 60mm and dual strobes. Settings: 1/100 sec @ f/14, ISO 200
	BSOUP Focus On - Reflections (June 2010) Lionfish reflection, Nuweiba pier, Egypt 3rd place BSOUP Focus On - Reflections (June 2010) This image was taken on a night diver under the pier at Nuweiba, Egypt. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Nikon 17-55mm zoom with +4 dioptre and dual strobes. Settings: 1/100 sec @ f/8, ISO 200, focal length 25mm
	BSOUP Focus On - Wide-angle with model (May 2010) Diver at Shark & Yolanda Reef, Egypt 4th place BSOUP Focus On - Wide-angle with model (May 2010) This image was taken on Shark & Yolanda reef, Ras Mohammed, Egypt at a depth of about 10 metres using natural light with a touch of flash to illuminate the edges of the opening. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Tokina 10-17mm FE zoom in a Subal housing. Settings: 1/80 sec @ f/16, ISO 200, focal length 10mm
	Photosub Annual Dinner (February 2010) James Egan Layne, UK 2nd place in Green Water Advanced This image was taken within the hold of the SS Jmes Egan Layne, Cornwall, UK at a depth of about 18 metres using natural light. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Tokina 10-17mm FE zoom in a Subal housing. Settings: 1/30 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 250, focal length 10mm
	Photosub Meeting (November 2009) Nuweiba, Egypt 2nd place in Photosub open This image of the lionfish was taken at the jetty, Nuweiba, Egypt at a depth of about 2 metres using a mixture of strobe lighting and natural light. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Tokina 10-17mm FE zoom in a Subal housing with twin Inon Z240 strobes. Settings: 1/125 sec @ f/13 ISO 200, focal length 17mm
	Photosub Annual Dinner (March 2009) Sipadan, Borneo 2nd place in Blue Water Advanced This image of the turtle was taken at Sipadan Island in Malaysian Borneo at a depth of about 10 metres using a mixture of strobe lighting and natural light. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Nikon 10.5mm FE in a Subal housing with twin Inon Z240 strobes. Settings: 1/60 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 200, focal length 10.5mm
	Photosub Splash-in (July 2008) Photosub Annual Dinner (March 2009) Tompot Blenny, UK Highly Commended (Photosub Splash-in) 3rd place in Green Water Advanced (Photosub Annual Dinner) This Tompot Blenny was taken on the wreck of the SS James Egan Layne off the Cornish coast at a depth of about 10 metres. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Nikon 60mm Macro in a Subal housing with twin Inon Z240 strobes. Settings: 1/100 sec @ f/13, ISO 200, focal length 60mm
	BSoUP Splash-in, Plymouth (July 2008) James Egan Layne, UK Runner-up in wide angle category Runner-up across all categories This image of the diver was taken on the wreck of the James Egan Layne off the Cornish coast at a depth of about 20 metres using a mixture of strobe lighting and natural light. Equipment: Nikon D300 with Nikon 10.5mm FE in a Subal housing with twin Inon Z240 strobes. Settings: 1/60 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, focal length 10.5mm
	British Underwater Image Festival (March 2007) Grey Seal, Lundy, UK Highly Commended This image of the seal was taken off the island of Lundy (North Devon coast, UK) at a depth of about 2 metres using natural light. Equipment: Canon 20D with Canon 10-22mm zoom in an Ikelite housing. Settings: 1/1000 sec @ f/10, ISO 400, focal length 20mm
	Photosub Annual Dinner (February 2007) Grouper, Lanzarote Commended This grouper was taken at the Cathedral dive site off Playa Del Carmen in Lanzarote (Canary Islands) at a depth of 25 metres. Equipment: Canon 20D with Canon 10-22mm zoom in an Ikelite housing with twin DS-125 strobes. Settings: 1/80 sec @ f/16, ISO 200, focal length 10mm
	SPORTDIVER Magazine (December 2003) Coral Shrimp in anemone, Bonaire Runner Up This coral shrimp was shot on the house reef off Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire (Southern Carribean) at a depth of about 5 metres. Equipment: Olympus 3040 in an Olympus PT-20 housing with single Epoque ES-150 strobe. Settings: 1/100 sec @ f/10, ISO 200, focal length 17mm

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Presentations

Talks and photography workshops that I have presented at:

	A Photographer in the Philippines Venue: Kings College London Date: November 2008 In collaboration with Ocean Optics and Atlantis Diving, I presented a talk on my experiences the diving and underwater photography opportunites in the Philippines, focussing on the dive resort of Puerto Galera. Additionally I discussed tips and considerations to improve your underwater images and described the process of building up an image.
	Underwater Photography in Borneo Venue: Imperial College London Date: February 2009 A group talk of the November 2008 BSoUP photographic trip to Malaysian and Indonesian Borneo.
	Improving your underwater photographs Venue: Ocean Turtle Dive Centre Date: March 2009 A talk covering areas such as choosing and building an underwater camera system, basic logistical tips, introduction to various underwater photographic considerations and techniques and worked examples of building a complete image.
	Taking better underwater photographs Venue: Ocean Turtle Dive Centre Date: November 2011 A talk covering the basics of underwater photography including camera and housing preparation, key photo tips, composition, lighting and general photo ideas.

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Publications

Published material which has included some of my underwater images

July 2007 : Various images used for full page advert for Blue Turtle Diving.	Sept 2007 : Images taken of the Historical Diving Society in their hard-helmet diving equipment at Horsea Island, Portsmouth, UK	June 2008 : Article promoting Father's Day presents, including a Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) experience.
July 2008 : Article in Western Morning News detailing the results on the BSoUP 2008 Splash-in competition.	March 2009 : Article in BSoUP 'in focus' magazine (Spring 2009, no. 91) on the November 2007 photographic trip to Bali.	Images provided to support the Fourth Element James Eagan Layne 3D project.
May 2011 : Article in BSoUP 'in focus' magazine (Spring 2011, no. 95) on the application of snoots in underwater photography.	Autumn 2011 : Article in BSoUP 'in focus' magazine (Autumn 2011, no. 96) on Nuweiba, Red Sea as an underwater photographic destination.

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