Dive Happy

Banda Islands Scuba Diving

Chris — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:55:02 +0000

Indonesia's Banda Islands are historically famed for their spices, but they also possess some excellent scuba diving around the coast line of this tiny five island group.

We got four dives in at the Banda Islands after arriving there from Nusa Laut and before setting out the next day to head for the remote island of Manuk in the heart of the Banda Sea. There is a profusion of dive sites around Banda so this was a quick glimpse. Sorsongi and Banda Ai's Tenjung Udang (Shrimp Point) were a good start to the day - the former a gentle slope with great viz and beautiful corals, the latter a coral encrusted wall. They provided a fascinating contrast to our third dive at the Lava Flow at the Banda island Gunung Api (not to be confused with Gunung Api, the island of the sea snakes, in the middle of the Banda Sea. Gunung Api means "fire mountain" in Bahasa Indonesia, and as such there are many volcanos across Indo with the same name).

Banda's Gunung Api is still very much active, with the last eruption as recently as 1988. What's remarkable about this black, volcanic site where you can see the tranches created by the lava flow - which is a pretty impressive monument in itself to the power of nature - is just how fast the coral have grown back here. You'd think that the lava would have wiped out all chance of life - but there is a flourishing, vast carpet of staghorn coral, plate corals and table corals now growing where the lava once flowed.

Bandanaira Jetty provided a superb environment for a gentle night dive, with frogfish and a cluster of juvenile sweetlips taking refuge amongst the jetty's pylons. Like Ambon, this was another muck dive par excellence, and another great contrast to the day's dives.

The Banda Islands Above Water

Banda Islands coral

Everyone I Show This To Says It Looks Like A Sex Doll's Face...

Quite Amazing - A Bottle That's Been Covered In Coral By Two Plate Corals

Banda Islands coral

Juvenile Sweetlips at Bandaneira Jetty - they move so fast!

Nusa Laut Scuba Diving – Banda Islands, Indonesia

Chris — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:25:34 +0000

Lying to the east of Ambon, the island of Nusa Laut possesses some stunning hard coral seascapes - the sheer size and variety of corals here is absolutely stunning

Day 2 of our Banda Sea trip saw us heading from Ambon to Nusa Laut, a small island that's just to the east of Ambon and en route to the Banda Islands. The reef around Nusa Laut is protected by the locals and the effect of such protection is immediately apparent. It's hard to imagine a bigger contrast to Day 1's muck diving in Ambon - where we'd spent our first day grubbing around in murky water over trash-strewn black sand, Nusa Laut was blessed with 30 metre plus visibility creating an incredible deep blue canopy over a jawdropping array of hard corals. (See photos below for a small glimpse of what it really looks like).

Giant Plate Coral, Nusa Laut

Nusa Laut Coral

Nusa Laut Seascape

Topographically there was a gentle slope down to around 15 metres before a steep dropoff, and the slope was utterly encrusted with every kind of coral hard and soft. It was the huge plate corals - wider than the full length of a diver - and fan corals that really stole the show, but the size of some of the sponge corals - up to a metre across - was also impressive. Apparently the viz is not always so good here, so I feel very lucky we got to see it in these conditions. It's the sort of dive site that involuntarily makes you say "wow!" when you first jump in - it really is that good. For those who have been to Raja Ampat, Nusa Laut reminded me a little of the lush corals around Misool.

The night dive here was also awesome, as while we had lost the grandeur of the daytime seascape we encountered that rarest - and most dangerous - of creatures, the tiny Blue Ring Octopus.

Blue Ring Octopus on Nusa Laut nightdive

Giant Clam on Nusa Laut nightdive

Nusa Laut Seascape

Nusa Laut Coral

Nusa Laut Seascape

Ambon Scuba Diving – The Twilight Zone

Chris — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:42:45 +0000

Ambon is fast gaining a reputation as an unmissable muck diving destination, with a density of amazing underwater critters to rival Lembeh. The Twilight Zone is the main Ambon dive site that repays repeat visits

Day 1 of our Banda Sea trip on MSY Seahorse saw us getting some easy but deeply rewarding dives in at Ambon's premier muck site, The Twilight Zone. A standard looking muck site - shallow slope with trash and murky viz - The Twight Zone is unreal - there are so many different, and usually super hard to find, creatures here that it is a serious rival to the quality of muck diving in the Lembeh Strait.

Wonderpus

To prove my point: almost as soon as we hit the water on our very first dive, we encountered a wonderpus within seconds of submerging. It was not particularly bothered by the clutch of excited divers heading towards it, and spent several minutes with us before disappearing into the sand. We did all four dives for the day at The Twilight Zone, and while we didn't see the wonderpus again, we encountered clown frogfish, Coleman shrimps, stonefish, seahorses, ghost pipefish, demon stingers, leaf fish, mantis shrimp, reptilian eels and tiny cuttlefish - astounding. For photographers, it's a simultaneous dream and nightmare - a dream because there's so much to photograph, and a nightmare because there's never enough time to take a photo of one thing before the guide is banging his tank again on sighting another discovery.

It's worth having a look at Tony Wu's excellent multimedia presentation about scuba diving Ambon for a more comprehensive look at the area, as well as this great Twilight Zone writeup by Don Silcock on Divernet

Nudibranch

Frogfish

Clown Frogfish

Honeycomb Moray, Cleaner Shrimp And Cleaner Fish

Demon Stinger

Leaf Fish

Stonefish

Moray Eel

Shrimp

Reptilian Eel

Crab

Cowfish

Cuttlefish

Seahorse

Diving Gunung Api: Volcano Of The Sea Snakes

Chris — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:16:11 +0000

In a remote part of Indonesia's Banda Sea lies the still active volcano Gunung Api, or "Fire Mountain" - and below its lava-encrusted shoreline the volcano is home to hundreds of highly venomous sea snakes that hunt in packs and show little fear of human scuba divers

Sea Snake Coming Right At You

Deep within Indonesia's 17,000 islands lies Gunung Api, one of the remotest volcanic atolls within the Banda Sea. One hundred and twenty miles away from the nearest landmass, getting there takes several days of solid cruising from a scuba diving liveaboard boat departing from the Banda Islands. (I've included Gunung Api's location on a Google Map below if you're interested in seeing exactly where it is). For our trip we were on the MSY Seahorse with whom I'd previously explored Raja Ampat. There are only a few months in each year where the Banda Sea is calm enough to be safely crossed. And the reason for all this effort is because below the water the slopes of "Fire Mountain" are home to hundreds, possibly thousands of venomous sea snakes that we were going to go scuba diving with.

Sea Snakes Coming In from Above

Gunung Api Sea Snake In Mid Water

Two Sea Snakes Swimming Together Over The Reef

Sea Snake In Motion

Given that the banded and olive sea snake species which are found at Gunung Api are poisonous, you may wonder why anyone would willingly want to get in the water with them, especially as the snakes seen here are often a metre or more in length and several centimetres in circumference. The answer is that they are incredibly graceful creatures to watch move through the water, quite beautiful in the fluidity of their motion as they cruise hunting across the reef or head for the surface periodically to breathe before sidewinding back down again to the reef. While sea snakes are poisonous, they are also non-aggressive - although they are very, very curious about scuba divers, as the following photos show. They have no fear about coming very close to investigate.

Sea Snakes Investigating Contents Of Cedric's Boardshorts

Sea Snake On Cedric's Fin

If you look closely, you can see the snake's forked tongue protruding

Two Snakes In The Blue Over Gunung Api's Rock And Coral Terrain

Sea Snake Over Gunung Api's Rocks

Sea Snake In Mid Water

Sea Snakes Over Gunung Api's Corals

Sea Snakes Investigating Their New Scuba Visitors

What is also fascinating about the sea snakes at Gunung Api is that they frequently move in packs together, whereas elsewhere they prefer to operate individually. They have also been seen infiltrating shoals of fish and hunting with them, although I didn't get to witness this behaviour this time round.

This sea snake group hunting behaviour was completely new to me. The first time I encountered it, I was slightly apart from my group, floating around in 10 metres and scanning the blue around me hoping to get a photo of one of the snakes with a backdrop of the ocean behind it. Several minutes went by and there was not a hint of a snake anywhere to be seen. I was getting a bit bored. I idly looked down to check my camera - and the next thing I knew, there was not one but three sea snakes, each over a metre long, their bodies trailing around me, all staring into the dome of the camera's housing, as if mesmerised by their own reflections. Did I have the presence of mind to take a photo? No - I did exactly what all my training as a professional scuba diver told me to do and, erm, ran away. Despite knowing they wouldn't bite, being surrounded by three sea snakes that were extremely close was too much to deal with. I backed off, keeping an eye on them - and they followed me! It took a couple of minutes before they lost interest. However, suitably chastened, I headed back to the reef and now knowing just quite how it felt to be mobbed by snakes, I managed to hold my nerve a bit better when I saw the clusters of snakes pictured below.

Four Sea Snakes Writhing Together In The Blue

Four Sea Snakes Breaking Apart

Four Sea Snakes Heading For The Surface

The above images are not really the best, for the simple reason the snakes move so fast - it's really hard work trying to capture them in a split second because they are continually moving and writhing - it's amazing to watch, and I wish I'd had a video camera because to film these creatures in motion is the only real way to capture their grace.

Sea snakes need to periodically head to the surface in order to breathe, and we would often see them heading up and coming back down again, as well as resting on the surface. On my very last dive on Gunung Api, two snakes followed me from 5 metres until I surfaced myself - when I ducked my head back under the water, they were still circling around my fins. I had to gently wave my fins at them to make them back off before I got onto the boat for fear I might inadvertently whack them otherwise. I wish I'd got a photo of that moment too. It was an amazing end to a fantastic day at Gunung Api - I only wished we could have stayed longer, but given its remote and utterly exposed location, the boat captain wanted to make sail before the bad weather that had been following us across the Banda Sea caught up with us. Thanks to MSY Seahorse for letting me go on this amazing trip to Gunung Api, and I'm looking forward to hopefully heading back out there with Dive Damai in November - and next time, I'm taking a video camera.

Sea Snake At The Surface

Sea Snake Coming Back Down From The Surface

Gunung Api Above Water

View The Best Scuba Diving Sites In Asia in a larger map

Scuba Diving Is The New Yoga

Chris — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 08:01:43 +0000

My story about my friend Kiera who teaches both scuba diving and yoga on the island of Koh Phi Phi in Thailand - and the connection between the two - has been published by Fah Thai magazine.

Last December I went to visit my friend Kiera on Koh Phi Phi to find out more about the connection between yoga and scuba diving. I'd never tried yoga before but I was curious to give it a go - and, much to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. I think the spectacular outdoor setting beneath Phi Phi's limestone karsts at sunset helped, and Keira was a great teacher too for a complete novice like me. Below is the complete article that was recently published in Fah Thai magazine. You can find out more about learning yoga or diving (or both!) with Kiera at Keiritasyoga.com.

Sea Salutation

Scuba diving and yoga don’t normally get mentioned in the same breath, but Chris Mitchell discovers on Koh Phi Phi that together they provide a new form of enlightenment

“Scuba diving is the new yoga.” It sounds like a complete contradiction in terms: scuba is usually seen as a high risk adrenaline sport that involves close encounters with sharks, while yoga is considered a serene, mystical experience practiced by impossibly flexible devotees. Yet there is a growing recognition that scuba and yoga actually complement and reflect one another, and that practicing both together can be extremely beneficial for your physical and mental health.

Thailand’s world famous island of Koh Phi Phi is home to one such progressive practitioner of scuba diving and yoga, Keira White. Originally from Ireland, Keira abandoned a burgeoning career in New York in 2001 after discovering scuba diving on Koh Phi Phi, and has returned to the island continually ever since. Already a yoga convert before being certified a scuba diving instructor, Keira traveled to India in 2006 to study at The Yoga Institute in Mumbai and became a yoga teacher. Wanting to teach both yoga and scuba diving, Koh Phi Phi was an obvious choice for Keira to make her home.

Despite its breathtaking natural beauty, arriving on Phi Phi can be quite a shock for those expecting a quiet place to find themselves. The island’s inhabited area is a maze of tiny streets which are thronging with Thais and tourists alike day and night. “It’s like a tropical Manhattan.” Keira laughs. “The lack of space available for development and the high cost of living seem to contribute to the high intensity atmosphere of the island. That actually makes going diving and practicing yoga all the more important.”

Sea Salutation

Keira regularly conducts yoga classes at sunset in the open air on the roof of one of Phi Phi’s beachside bars, with a spectacular view out over Ton Sai bay and the towering limestone karsts that surround it. The bustle of the street below is forgotten as she takes beginners alike through a class that is at once calming and invigorating, outlining the basics of yoga positions and the concepts of meditation and breathing that help bring peace to the mind. Keira is keen to demythologize yoga to make it more accessible, but also stresses that “it’s a philosophy or a way of life, not just a means to physical training and fitness.” Keira teaches the Ashtanga Yoga system, which emphasizes moral principles and personal discipline as the foundation on which the postures and meditational practices of yoga must be built.

So how can scuba diving, with all its heavy tanks and bulky gear, have any similarity to yoga? “The link between yoga and diving is quite significant on a meditative level more than a physical level,” Keira points out. “Meditation has many different levels and most people have a form of personal meditation be it walking, running, reading, singing, playing a musical instrument or, as is the case here on Phi Phi, diving.

Meditation, in simple terms, is being so immersed in an action or contemplative state that all else is blocked out and one has an overwhelming sense of peace and connectedness to the life energy of the earth and universe.

Personally I feel closest to this inter-connected energy when I am diving. One hour underwater can feel like five minutes because I am totally absorbed by what I am seeing – the amazing movement of the hundreds of different fish and the sheer beauty of living corals never gets old.

Like yoga, scuba is all about breathing. The focus on long slow deep breaths, the weightlessness of the body and the silence that’s imposed by being submerged underwater all provide an ideal environment for being at peace with yourself.”

In this way, a regime of scuba and yoga while on holiday can work wonders for quietening the mind and allowing people to focus on both themselves and what is really important within their lives, away from the endless distractions of work.

Despite the benefits of practicing scuba and yoga together, for some the thought of submerging underwater is enough to induce a panic attack – especially if they’ve watched Jaws one too many times. But diving is actually misnamed as an adrenaline sport – most dives are usually peaceful affairs and with little physical effort besides the odd kick of your fins. The sensation of hovering in midwater is immensely liberating, the nearest most people will get to experiencing near-zero gravity like an astronaut.

Thailand’s warm waters provide the perfect place to beat the fear and try scuba diving – the sensation of breathing underwater feels very strange at first but soon dissipates. As Keira points out, “Diving can be relatively stressful when you’re learning the basics, but once you’re through the learning curve there’s not only a great sense of achievement but a whole new underwater world to explore”. The payoff for making the effort to learn scuba diving is huge, both in terms of enjoyment and the escape from the everyday world

As such, what seem at first like complete opposites turn out to be the perfect complement to each other – and Thailand is the ideal place to practice both scuba and yoga, combining as it does spectacular scenery above and below water that allows people to explore the inner space of the oceans and their own minds.

Diving Komodo Videos

Chris — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:54:48 +0000

Komodo National Park in Indonesia - home of Komodo island and the famous Komodo Dragons - has an incredible diversity of underwater life. These videos show some of what can be seen while diving there

Diving in Indonesia, on the Komodo Dancer

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Diving in Indonesia, on the Komodo Dancer

6:03
Rating: 5.0
Views: 2,607

Strange Creatures/ Night Diving Indonesia

9:25
Rating: 5.0
Views: 251

2005 Komodo and Bali on the Komodo Dancer

26:28
Rating: 4.428571
Views: 1,103

Manta Rays - Scuba Diving - Komodo National Park

4:38
Rating: 4.4
Views: 682

Fish of the Komodo National Park Final

5:29
Rating: 5.0
Views: 77

Evil Mermaid, Komodo

0:32
Rating: 4.5
Views: 5,088

Indonesia - Part 12: Diving around Komodo

7:38
Rating: 5.0
Views: 355

Manta Ray Compilation

4:07
Rating: 4.0
Views: 714

komodo 1

2:46
Rating: 4.0
Views: 198

Komodo Scuba Diving - Sharks, Turtles And Tons Of Fish!

4:39
Rating: 5.0
Views: 225

Underwater scuba photo favorites

3:51
Rating: 5.0
Views: 199

Manta cleaning station, Komodo National Park

1:27
Rating: 4.0
Views: 127

Coral Seasnake Dolphin Manta Shark Komodo Diving 2008 Duyung 2/2 scuba tauchen adventure attack

9:53
Rating: 3.5
Views: 1,094

Diving in Komodo Indonesia Dive & Cruise 2007

8:37
Rating: 3.3333333
Views: 1,042

Scuba Diving in Komodo National Park

10:38
Rating: 3.2
Views: 2,230

Diving In Komodo Park

8:27
Rating: 3.0
Views: 98

Dolphins, Manta, Shark, Komodo Diving 2008 Duyung 1/2 scuba apnoe tauchen adventure seastar attack

9:54
Rating: 3.0
Views: 2,732

Komodo

0:22
Rating: 1.0
Views: 518

Komodo

0:26
Rating: 2.0
Views: 818

The Flying Circus - Manta Rays In Komodo - Garry Bevan

4:50
Rating: 5.0
Views: 29

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Diving Koh Lanta Videos

Chris — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:31:17 +0000

Koh Lanta island in southern Thailand is surrounded by several of Thailand's best dive sites - in particular, Koh Haa, Koh Bida and Hin Daeng / Hin Muang. My friend Rob who runs AmazingLanta.com has shot many excellent videos of the incredible marine life around Lanta - including whale sharks and manta rays. You can browse his videos below, along with a few of Koh Lanta island itself

Whale Shark, Hin Muang, Koh Lanta, Thailand 26th Dec 2007

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Whale Shark, Hin Muang, Koh Lanta, Thailand 26th Dec 2007

2:33
Rating: 5.0
Views: 3,458

Hin Daeng - Scuba Diving Thailand

2:57
Rating: 5.0
Views: 3,446

Octopus Changing Colors Wow!

0:51
Rating: 4.285714
Views: 1,954

Octopus Swimming - Poetry In Motion!

2:05
Rating: 4.3333335
Views: 1,559

Whale Shark, Koh Bida, Thailand

1:11
Rating: 4.5
Views: 376

Cuttlefish Face Off!

2:06
Rating: 5.0
Views: 114

Whale Shark Thailand www.AmazingLanta.com

0:40
Rating: 5.0
Views: 65

Lanta Sand Resort and Spa, Thailand. www.AmazingLanta.com

3:02
Rating: 5.0
Views: 719

Sea Snake

1:00
Rating: 5.0
Views: 453

Long Beach, Koh Lanta, Thailand

0:23
Rating: 5.0
Views: 3,385

North Khlong , Koh Lanta, Thailand

0:23
Rating: 5.0
Views: 138

Whale Shark Great Surprise!

1:11
Rating: 5.0
Views: 420

Whale Shark Hin Muang Thailand

2:11
Rating: 5.0
Views: 140

Sea Horse, Koh Bida, Thailand

0:32
Rating: 5.0
Views: 99

Koh Lanta Liveaboard - Southern Thailand 2007

1:41
Rating: 5.0
Views: 864

Sea Horse Swimming, Koh Bida, Thailand

2:07
Rating: 5.0
Views: 710

Yellow Box Fish - Koh Ha Lagoon - Thailand

0:21
Rating: 5.0
Views: 345

Koh Haa Lagoon, Thailand

0:14
Rating: 5.0
Views: 263

Octopus on the move

2:05
Rating: 5.0
Views: 438

Lionfish, Koh Haa, Thailand

0:15
Rating: 5.0
Views: 48

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Got The Shot: Bali Wrecks And Muck Diving – Julian Cohen

Chris — Sat, 16 May 2009 06:03:14 +0000

Julian Cohen got some invaluable underwater photography tuition from photo pro Mike Veitch while in Bali. Here he describes how he got the shot for five of his best Bali pictures

This trip was to be a liveaboard on Citra Pelangi, run by Crystal Divers in Bali. At the time the professional dive photographer and writer Mike Veitch was the photo pro on the boat and I wanted to dive with him. Unfortunately the boat had a mechanical problem that scuppered the trip, however Minni Vangsgaard, the manager of Crystal Divers, reorganized the whole thing and each day Mike met me at my hotel and we went on day trips to Bali's premier dive spots.

Crystal Bay for Mola Mola, (it took six dives to find one); Manta Point was forty five minutes of freezing cold staring into an empty sea as I am incredibly unlucky when it comes to seeing big things; Liberty wreck at Tulamben was magnificent; Seraya Reef at Tulamben was brilliant muck diving with harlequin shrimps and ornate ghost pipe fish. Mike was an excellent teacher and I learnt a great deal about camera technique and composition.

My rig for this trip was a Nikon D200 in a Subal housing with two Ikelite D-125 strobes.

Wreck, Bali

1/40 at f5 ISO 100 Nikon 10.5mm - All Images Sizes on Flickr

The Liberty wreck at Tulamben is a magnificent dive site. Settled just off a stony beach the wreck lies in crystal clear water ranging from about 12m at the bow to 25m at the stern. This is one of what looks like the mast structures, which is totally encrusted in corals. It is just incredibly colourful. This wreck really is a must see.

Harlequin Shrimp, Bali

1/125 at f22 ISO 100 Nikon 105mm - All Images Sizes on Flickr

I love these shrimp. In fact I love shrimp in general as they come in the most dazzling array of shapes, sizes and colours. The Harlequin was always the holy grail for me (now it is the bumble bee shrimp) as it is just the oddest looking animal, with its pincers that are so large and misshapen it is hard to tell what they actually are. There is a metal dome shaped structure on this site and the shrimp are in there in only 8m of water. Very easy to shoot and I spent a lot of time playing with angles and lighting.

Coral Wreck, Bali

1/50 at f6.3 ISO 100 Nikon 10.5mm - All Images Sizes on Flickr

This shot was one that Mike asked me to shoot. He did it as it is a test of how to balance the ambient light from the blue of the sea with correctly exposing the super structure of the wreck. There is no magic setting for this sort of thing. I use spot exposure to get the colour of the blue and then under expose that by 2/3rds of stop, sometimes a full stop. Always shoot then check the colour on your screen to see if it's what you are looking for. Then adjust the strobes to give you the exposure for the close object. Every strobe is different and after a while you will know what is likely to be the right setting for your set up. I find that the strobe power I use is normally lower rather than higher. I can't remember the last time I shot on full, but then I am lucky to be in Asia with clear seas and beautiful weather.

Big Mouth, Bali

1/200 at f6.3 ISO 100 Nikon 105mm - All Images Sizes on Flickr

Shot at Seraya this was just a quick grab shot as I saw the fish opening its mouth to show an impressive array of teeth. I shot a lot on shallow depth of field on this trip and that has blurred the background nicely in this shot.

Yawning, Bali

1/125 at f16 ISO 100 Nikon 105mm - All Images Sizes on Flickr

This was my first yawning shot. I had seen the behaviour a few times before but never been in a position to shoot it. I saw the fish yawning out of the corner of my eye and rushed over to grab a shot. As I settled in front he did it again. I have since found that this is often the case. Here's a tip for you: with frogfish they will often yawn two or three times, with a short space in between. The last yawn will be a full on "monster from alien" one with the jaws extending to an unbelievable extent. I have been reliably informed that after a frogfish has been walking and settles into one spot, it will yawn. I have since tried this and it certainly worked for me, I hope it works for you!

See Julian's complete Bali portfolio on Flickr

Got The Shot: Maldives Manta Rays – Julian Cohen

Chris — Sat, 09 May 2009 13:57:22 +0000

The Maldives are famous for manta rays - here Julian Cohen describes how he finally got the shot of these elusive, beautiful creatures

Julian Cohen: Going to the Maldives for me was all about my quest for Mantas. Since I started diving I had wanted to see these most enigmatic sea creatures but was unsuccessful at the top Manta spots of Asia. Hin Daeng, The Similans and Koh Bon in Thailand; Bora Bora in French Polynesia and even Manta Point in Bali. So off to The Maldives I went and saw my first Manta feeding on the surface as we approached the first dive site on the first day and then there was not a dive that went by without seeing them. I had to wave them out of the way so I could see the fish!

My rig for this trip was a Nikon D200 in a Subal housing with two Ikelite D-125 strobes.

[Chris note: You can also read Julian's article about the Manta Rays of the Maldives in Underwater Photography magazine issue 46 - download it for free]

Mantas, Maldives

1/50 at f5.6 ISO 100 Nikon 10.5mm - All Image Sizes On Flickr

This is my favourite shot from the whole trip. At the end of a dive we came up to find the mantas feeding at the surface. Stripping off the tanks we jumped back in with snorkels and swam with them for an hour. I wanted to get a black and white reportage kind of shot with the mouth of the manta wide open. To do this I had to get close at feeding time and on the surface proved to be the best for this. The visability was about ten meters as there was a lot of plankton in the water and they swooped around me, appearing out of the gloom swimming at top speed. Sometimes they seemed to be surprised to see me there in front of them but they always just missed me and carried on feeding. As there was a lot of backscatter, converting to black and white helps to attract the eye away from this and onto the manta.

Manta Sun, Maldives

1/160 at f8 ISO 100 Nikon 12-24mm at 17mm - All Image Sizes on Flickr

I am always trying to find different ways to shoot the same subjects. For me a lot of the subjects are actually new, as this was my first time shooting mantas, but other photographers have shot mantas before so it was important to me to impose my own style on the photograph. This can be done in post processing, as is the case with this photo, as well as in camera. I primarily use Adobe Lightroom to develop and store my RAW images and this program has the ability to store a snapshot of the adjustments made to a photo as a preset that can then be applied to any other. I have many presets stored and use these as a base to further adjustments. I like this one as it has removed a lot of the cyan ring that you get when including the sun in the shot with a digital image. The surrounding water is turned so dark it is almost black which draws attention to the manta and the sun.

Manta Rain, Maldives

1/125 at f7.1 ISO 100 Nikon 10.5mm - All Image Sizes On Flickr

Taken in only eight meters of water during a period where the mantas were feeding at the surface, I was looking for the beautiful silhouetted manta shot to add to my collection. I tried one with the strobes on to see how it would look and got this. Although the water was murky, because I was near the surface and was shooting straight up it appears to be very clear, and the manta is beautifully highlighted by the strobe. You can see the rain on the surface of the water.

Glassfish, Maldives

1/200 at f8 ISO 100 Nikon 10.5mm - All Image Sizes on Flickr

This dive site was teeming with glass fish that covered the whole bombora; so thick it was nearly impossible to see the coral. The dive guides told me that later in the season there would be loads of fish there. I find it hard to imagine there being room for any more!

Manta Vortex, Maldives

1/4 at f22 ISO100 Nikon 10.5mm - All Image Sizes on Flickr

An experimental shot that involves shooting at slow speed, maximum aperture and then twisting the whole camera housing as you squeeze the trigger. Try to keep the subject as the axis point and twist the camera without moving the lens off it's axis or the subject itself will be blurred. It doesn't always work and I had a whole card of blurred and warped images while I practiced this technique but I think it was worth it for this shot.

See all of Julian Cohen's Maldives portfolio on Flickr.

Similan Islands Diving Videos

Chris — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:44:41 +0000

The Similan Islands are Thailand's most famous dive area and rated as one of the world's best dive destinations. Thanks to Thailand's cheap dive prices, the Similans are very popular and there are scores of great videos of diving there

Peckish Turtle