The diving book is dead, long live the diving book! Alex Mustard’s latest book, 52 Assignments: Underwater Photography, is a rare thing today – a substantial, informative and quality diving book.
The internet has hoovered-up most of traditional diving media with specialist guide books, in particular, now a dying art. The books that supported divers in times gone by were detailed, well researched and one of the few sources of good information.
There are plenty of diving books still being printed but often only for the coffee table or from vanity publishers.
I’ve got a shore diving guide of the Red Sea on my bookshelf from the 1980s that has aerial photographs of sites with tracing paper pages that could be overlayed showing the underwater topography and reef layout. It’s a fantastic thing made with care but going to that sort of expense doesn’t happen today.
Concept
Mustard, the current President of the British Society of Underwater Photographers, is possibly the most visible British underwater photographer with significant involvement in magazines, books and the Underwater Photographer of the Year competition. Fortunately, he’s an excellent educator too.
52 Assignments isn’t a traditional guide book; it doesn’t follow a linear progression from the basics of underwater photography towards more advanced techniques. Rather, it challenges the reader to approach Assignments (52 of them…) focused on a particular technique or style of underwater photograph.
Each concept is well explained with useful hints, tips and the usual selection of excellent example photographs. The Assignments are specific: ‘Natural Patterns’, ‘Double Eye Contact’ and ‘Surface Reflections’ are the level of detail we’re talking about (so no generic assignment for a fish portrait).
The reason I like this book so much is it’s a great way to add some structure to your underwater photography. I’ve been taking pictures underwater, with varying success, for many years and it’s easy to go simply through the motions waiting to have an encounter or find a particularly interesting subject.
Soon you have wasted dives and the opportunity to improve your photography. The book’s format not only gives inspiration but also structure to focus on a technique and practise it.
It’s not best suited to the absolute beginner who would benefit more from Mustard’s previous book Underwater Photography Masterclass or the late Martin Edge’s The Underwater Photographer that both take more traditional approaches starting with the absolute basics. However, 52 Assignments isn’t limited only to seasoned pros and would be useful to everyone bar the complete novice.
Form Factor
It’s a compact A5 hardback which is a double-edged sword, being both a convenient size to travel with and consult but also reducing the impact of the images. For me, its pocketable size wins out.
The only genuine criticism I have for the book is the all matte finish. The images are nicely reproduced but I would have liked to see the beautiful images in their rich, glossy, glory.
Final Thoughts
52 Assignments is practically a workshop in a book. I’m looking forward to taking it on my next dive trip to see if I can add some focused photography to an uneventful dive on a house reef.
It’s an excellent concept excellently executed by one of diving’s true masters. I like the format and it’s a nice reminder that there’s still the odd great diving book being printed.
- 52 Assignments: Underwater Photography by Alex Mustard is published by Ammonite Press and priced at £12.99 or $19.99
