While undergoing Instructor training with Inon UK, I've taken the opportunity to shoot with a compact camera (Canon S110) and maximise its potential underwater using dedicated accessory lenses and lighting. In learning to teach others about underwater photography, even an experienced photographer must revisit the basics and apply them to modern compact cameras that are available to today's divers.

The difficulties facing a novice underwater photographer, even if they are experienced land photographers, are getting completely comfortable with diving skills and working with really wide-angle or close-up lenses. The latter is only possible with dedicated optics that minimise the distance between the photographer and the subject. With larger, housed Digital SLR cameras, this means fitting a specific lens for the dive while with compact cameras these are 'wet' lenses that can be fitted and removed underwaterwater. The two images above were shot on the same dive, using completely different lenses.

This final image was taken with a micro-fisheye lens that gives really wide view and very close distances and gives a very unique perspective.