Scuba Diver Australasia + Ocean Planet
ERNEST H. BROOKS II
ADEX AMBASSADOR (Emeritus) Guest of Honour ADEX 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Ernest has exhibited his underwater photography in New Zealand, Australia,
Italy, Germany, China, Mexico, France, Canada, Costa Rica, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Iceland, Chile, Puerto Rico and Portugal.
He has been published in National Geographic and many other leading magazines in the world. He was one of the original owners of Islands magazine and his first cover can be remembered: The Channel Islands. The Historical Diving Society, USA has honoured Ernest for his contributions to the world of commercial diving in the US. The early 1960s found Ernest filming the abalone divers of San Miguel Island, the early deep dives of Dan Wilson of Ocean Systems, Oceaneering’s Cal Dive and the development of offshore exploration.
Ernest focused on bringing into being an educational photographic programme for students at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara to study the challenges of underwater photography for the future – art, science, technique, futures. You will know the work of many of Ernest’s students: David Doubilet, Cathy Church, Chuck Davis, Richard Salas, the Cousteau Society, Amanda Cotton and Wyland Nicklins.
Most photographers paint the ocean with a barrage of colours – blotches of blue on the glimmering surface, globs of green of a kelp stalk and splashes of scarlet of a sponge. But Ernest brushes with a much simpler palette, capturing all of the ocean’s beauty with just 21 delicate shades of grey.
ERNEST patched together his first housing from scratch for a black and white Leica camera at the age of 19 and still has not strayed into colour photography. His list of appearances and accolades couldn’t fit onto one roll of 36-frame film, including induction into the Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, being named Legend of the Sea and having his work featured in the Smithsonian alongside the likes of Ansel Adams. Through it all, the timelessness of his black and white beauties continue to serve as a reminder of the ocean’s resilience, beauty and fragility.
We know your father was an avid boater and diver. What effect did this, and growing up in the rich marine environment around Santa Barbara, have on launching your love of the sea?
This certainly was one of the key elements that urged me to venture out into the
Pacific and the Channel Islands. At the age of nine I entered a swimming contest at summer camp – a 50-foot-long sprint. Not only did I win first place, but also I managed to hold my breath and stay underwater the whole time. By the time I was in high school, I was competing in mile-long swim meets. It was during a five-kilometre race off the coast of Santa Barbara that my fate was sealed – through my swim goggles I spied the kelp strands, schooling fish and sunrays disappearing into the depths. With both my parents working as photographers I didn’t just see Nature, I saw frame and focus lines.
When did you first pick up a camera?
I was given my first camera in kindergarten – a Kodak Browne Box. I made one exposure of my class in front of the Lompoc Grade School, superimposing the teacher in front of the class. It turned out to be my first published photograph on the front page of the Lompoc Review in October of 1940. My father had a photographic studio in town, so my sister and I would work together to develop my father’s film – I would do the acetic acid while my sister handled the processing times, washing and drying. By the time I reached grade school, I already had a brown fingernail from all the film processing. By the time I turned 19, I decided to build an underwater housing for my Leica camera. It was the perfect camera, compact with a sharp lens for my love of ambient light. But it wasn’t like a fancy housing of today. There was only one control – the shutter. The rest of the
settings were fixed: 15cm focus, f/8 and a shutter speed of 1/100th second. It was easy and a joy viewing the sunlight from below the waves, looking up.
You aren’t just a photography pioneer, but also a diving pioneer. What was it like exploring the Channel Islands for the first time?
As a young diver I would pretend to be [Austrian diving pioneer] Hans Hass, exploring the waters around the eight Channel Islands. From the beauty of the massive kelp forests – “redwoods of the sea” – to the marine mammals of San Miguel and Santa Barbara Island, I had his desire to tell the world of the beauty of my own backyard.
You certainly have a connection to your subjects. How did you establish this?
As a photographer, there must always be a time when you observe the behaviour of your subject, whether it is a sea lion or just light rays interacting with the water. And then there is a moment when it all connects. For me, the technical part is automatic. Pushing the shutter down, the moment of the capture is the essence – creating that one exposure that says, “I’m yours, Ernest H. Brooks.”
Your underwater photography crosses the line between a natural history photograph and art. What mindset does this take?
You must illustrate the beauty of light and the presence of design, the form the viewer realises is a quality joined together to begin a “statement”. These visual “words” are the language of all the people on our planet, and a language that all photographers need to learn as their careers take form.
You clearly have an appreciation for art, like music, for example. What similarities does music have to underwater photography?
Music is the driving force, the rhythm and the heartbeat that solidifies the image and composes the visual ballad. All of my published works strive to begin with a musical note. Today, many film festivals blend images with the music chosen by the photographer. Many of my programmes today are enhanced by the music of another artist, Ernest Cortazone. A single piano serves like the 21 steps of the greyscale that creates the tonal range of the black and white image.
The underwater world is full of colour. But you choose to stay with black and white. What does this add to your images that colour cannot?
The majority of my images are exposed just with ambient light in black and white. For me this creates an image with a timeless statement that bears no date. The delicate shades that grey creates have the ability to capture a sense of wonderment or freeze action in the contrasts between highlight and shadows. This grace, beauty and simplicity creates perfection and a lasting impression on the viewer.
Some of your most iconic images are the black and white wide-angle shots of kelp forests and swarming schools of fish. Do you plan these shots?
Preparation is key. Appreciating the fact that I had only 10 exposures to capture the one exact moment, that became my method underwater – waiting for that moment when all the elements came together in one singular frame. With full frame the joy is discovering that your point of view is the same as your camera’s. If you want a wideangle then back up; if you want a medium shot, just get closer. You can probably tell that I was raised with a 4x5 view camera with one lens.
Your résumé includes a long list of awards. Is there one that is close to your heart?
They are all so very touching – each one is a treasure. As it seems, the most recent is remembered in a special way. Being the first to receive the Hans Hass Diving to Adventure Award, presented in Dusseldorf by Hans Hass, was overwhelming, as was the chance to be on stage with my earliest mentor, the very same explorer I pretended to be all those years ago. Other highlights that come to mind include being named “Legend of the Sea” at the 2012 Beneath the Sea. Of course, nothing is quite the same as being immortalised in stone: In 2011, the sculptor Viktor unveiled a larger-than-life granite bust, which now stands watch at the Maritime Museum in Santa Barbara.
In the age of digital photography, you stick with a large format Hasselblad. What is it about this camera that you love?
Victor Hasselblad presented me with his favourite in 1961, the 38mm SW with a 70mm back. After 40 years of use without ever changing the O-rings, aperture, shutter
speed and prefocused 15cm to infinity, it remains the best point-and-shoot in the world! And much like my Blancpain watch that never fails, quality is something that should never be sacrificed.
Do you have a favourite image? If so, why?
Of all my underwater images, I must admit that I have a love affair with Spot, a very special sea lion. Back in 1990, I set out to snorkel the kelp forest off of Anacapa Island. At 4.5 metres below the surface, nestled in the kelp fronds, Spot appeared. A sweet shaft of early morning light graced her face, spotlighting her expression… priceless. She stole my heart and also stole my snorkel.
You’re still very actively shooting. What projects do you have coming up?
Being a photographer is all about giving back in a way that all peoples can witness our fantastic landscapes of wonder… My sights now are set on illustrating a lasting view of past civilisations and the monuments remaining. Of course, my photography will continue to be lit only by the sun and kept timeless in black and white, so the memories never fade.
“Being a photographer is all about giving back in a way that all peoples can witness our fantastic II” landscapes of wonder…
ERNEST H. BROOKS