The Story Behind Amos' Unique Images My first introduction to the Hasselblad XPan was through my mentor, acclaimed photographer David Doubilet. We were on the Sardine Run in South Africa and I noticed an odd-looking housing. David explained that it was an old Aquatica housing that had been modified by the National Geographic team to accommodate the revolutionary Hasselblad XPan camera. It was a one-of-a-kind underwater imaging tool that I immediately wanted for myself. What is the XPan? The XPan is a rangefinder camera that takes both true panoramic and regular 35 mm photographs. The camera has three superb dedicated lenses of 30, 45 and 90 mm. For underwater I used only the widest lens, the 30 mm. The angle of coverage is about 94 degrees, similar to that of the legendary Nikonos 15 mm lens. Without the might of National Geographic behind me, I approached Aquatica (www.aquatica.com) in Canada to help make a housing for the XPan. Blake Stoughton from Aquatica came up with a prototype housing that I had a chance to test for the first time. The images in this article were taken using this system. Going Panoramic Underwater Taking the XPan underwater is a complicated task but worth the effort. The camera has no autofocus. The built-in light meter is not accessible through the underwater housing, nor is the viewfinder. Furthermore, the 30 mm lens requires a graduated neutral-density filter to balance the light fall from the center to the edges. It takes at least three strobes to cover the expanded field of view. The payoff for all this is unparalleled image-making possibilities. The cinematic proportions of the panoramic format give photographers an incredible tool for those "you are there" images. —Amos Nachoum For more on Amos' adventures, check out www.biganimals.com.