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So this photography business does actually involve some kind of specialist knowledge then Pasha... there I was thinking you just minced about trying to impress the ladies (Smudge in particular) with your "big one".

Speaking of teaching things a lesson - I still have a bottle of dog-water vodka we need to punish... email heading your way mucker!

Hi Pasha!!
Boy o Boy, you certainly baffled me with science there!!
Pasha - you have to remember that we were "feeling in the dark" as far as night photography was concerned.

1. We only used B&W in those days and I think the maximum film speed we had available was ASA 400. A tripod was absolutely essential.

2. The name of the camera has slipped my brain. It began with P and was German. (We are talking early 60's here). We then moved onto the Nikon underwater camera. Please don't ask me which model!! Hence the reference to nose clips!! We needed a nose clip to keep the shutter open. Before that we had to use an elastic band.

3. Ideally we should have had an underwater camera and an "ordinary" camera but unfortunately military procurement didn't work that way!!

Rovers reference to F11 @ 100 was a standing joke amongst the SBS at least! Even now should you have occasion to ask an SBS guy about camera settings they will reply without hesitation - F11 @ 100.!!
The theory being that it will work in most instances!!

Pasha, back in those days we were "playing" at photography. Now I get someone like you giving me technical details I realise how amateurish we were.
They put me in charge of the Dark Room!! I had to learn how to develope negatives and then print them out. I was not taught anything by a proper photographer!! I just bought a good book and got on with it!!
I would spend hours in that Dark Room just playing around. I loved it.

Sorry Pasha, if this lttle diatribe has put the SBS of those days, in a bit of an amatuerish light. We were still very good at other things!!
Nice to talk to you again,
Sneaky

Gentlemen,

I find this subject of night photography most interesting.

It did tend to jog the old memory cells, to such a degree that a conversation many years ago with a friend of mine who was at that time working for a department in London came to mind.

The upshot being that as I was led to understand that an unnamed service unit was in fact doing trials on underwater night photography.
What I found interesting was that my friend refered to 'waterproof magnesium', which I understand was used as one would use a flash in surface photography.

Pardon the pun, but I would be interested if anyone could perhaps shed some light on this subject.

Without wax
(As the Spanish would say)

Saward

'

Thank you for the kind words Pasha. I can take the teasing because in the end, Frank hauls me wherever I want to go anyway. He probably feels like a darned cabbie.

I wish I had a "film" camera, but it isn't at all practical for me. Just getting the film developed would require a couple of hours in bus rides...ugh. At least this way, I can take all the pics I want and save the decent ones to a disk.

Julie