Grand Bahama Island: Dive Diversity

An excerpt from the original from X-Ray Mag

By Matthew Meier

Well known for it’s crystal clear water, the island of Grand Bahama offers underwater photographers a wide variety of subjects and adventures to explore. Whether you like to spend your time patiently investigating the reef with your macro lens or prefer to break out your dome port and wide-angle lens for sharks, dolphins or shipwrecks, Grand Bahama has all that and more.

Scuba diver at large coral bommie as a Caribbean reef shark swims past.

Easy to access from the US mainland, with daily flights from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, Grand Bahama is situated just 55 miles east of Florida out into the Atlantic Ocean. Divers can expect 300+ days of sunshine a year with air temperatures ranging from 65-77 F in the winter and 75-91 F in the summer. Water temperatures range from 75-88 F and visibility is typically 60-100 ft.

Shark professional Cristina Zenato hand feeding Caribbean Reef Sharks.

Caribbean reef sharks swim circles over the sandy bottom.

Caribbean Reef Sharks were a common sight on the majority of my reef dives and there is a fantastic shark feeding dive available if you would like to get up close and personal. Here you will experience the exhilaration of sharks swimming slow circles right in front of you, while being hand fed by a diver in chain mail. If you are really lucky, the shark feeder will find a cooperative shark to demonstrate the state of tonic immobility. This is a natural paralysis in animals, induced in these sharks by placing one’s hands on its snout. While in tonic, the feeder can actually lift up the shark and bring it over to the divers so that they might touch its tail. Photographically, I would recommend a wide-angle zoom lens and to position yourself at one of the ends of the line of divers. This gives you the chance to photograph individual sharks as they come in to feed and also to shoot down the line of divers while incorporating the feeding activity.

Snorkeling with a common Bottlenose dolphin.

Grand Bahama is one of the only places in the world where you can interact, swim and dive with trained, captive dolphins in the open ocean. The Dolphin Experience is run by UNEXSO and offers several dolphin encounters for every level of comfort. I would suggest the snorkel or dive experience if you are keen to capture images of dolphins interacting with people and swimming in open water. Again a wide-angle zoom is a great tool for these types of photos, but don’t forget your topside camera to capture images of the dolphins leaping out of the water on the way to the dive site.

Shipwrecks litter the waters off Grand Bahama and create some amazing artificial reefs. A great number of the vessels were purposefully sunk, but others ran aground on the shallow reefs or sank in storms. The clear water allows for graphic shots of large wrecks and there are plenty of opportunities to penetrate inside if that is your thing. Bring an underwater model with you for scale and don’t forget a flashlight.

Scuba diver hovers over the bow of this 50-foot, triple-decker tugboat called La Rose Wreck.

Grand Bahama has the second largest underwater cave system in the world, with over 32,000 feet of mapped tunnels. For the fully certified cave diver, this is a must see destination. For the rest of us, there are several large caverns at the entrance to these caves in which we are still able to dive. Bring a strong flashlight and a sense of adventure. Fresh water diving in a cave in the middle of a pine tree forest is an experience not to be missed.

Scuba diver in the main cavern of Ben's Cave.

To read the complete story on Grand Bahama and see all of my photos, please use this link to X-ray Magazine: http://www.xray-mag.com/content/grand-bahama
From there you may download a PDF of the entire article.

About the author

Matthew Meier is a professional underwater photographer and travel writer based in San Diego, California. To see more of his work and to order prints, please visit:
http://www.matthewmeierphoto.com

Further reading

• Photographing underwater behavior

• Improving your wreck photography

• Dive destination guide

• Our Favorite Dive Spots, Part 1

Support the Underwater Photography Guide

Please support the Underwater Photography Guide by purchasing your underwater photography gear through our sister site, Bluewater Photo & Video. Click, or call them at (310) 633-5052 for expert advice!

Journey to the Midriff Islands

Diving the Northern Sea of Cortez aboard the M/V Rocio del Mar

Text and Photos by Marli Wakeling

In my quest for a short summer trip, I heard about a relative newcomer to the diving scene of Baja called the Rocio del Mar. In summer, they explore the Northern Sea of Cortez; specifically a group of desolate islets, rocks and pinnacles called the Midriff Islands.

Diving Conditions

I brought a 5mm suit, and was glad that I did. Temperatures varied from mid-70’s to low 80’s. Occasional colder upwellings were chilling. Currents could be ripping or absent. Visibility varied from 15 to 70 feet. I soon realized that in the Sea of Cortez, diversity was low, while numbers were high. In other words, I saw a lot of a few different species.

La Vela. Nikon D5000, 18-200mm VR lens at 35mm, ISO 200, F13, 1/100th.

Brown Booby. Nikon D5000, 18-200mm VR lens at 200mm, ISO 200, F7.1, 1/60th.

Dive Sites

La Vela

Jutting like an iceberg out of the sea, sea lions rest on the base of La Vela, our next site. The white is guano from a lot of Brown booby birds. These comical creatures with perpetual crossed eyes invaded the boat most afternoons. Our dive at La Vela featured a strong current, but the reward was finding several species of colorful nudibranchs, juvenile Highhats, and a droll looking Bay blenny.

Browncheek blenny, Acanthemblemaria crockeri. Nikon D200, 105mm macro lens, 5x SubSee, ISO 100, F22, 1/125th. Sea & Sea YS90DX Strobes.

That afternoon, I spotted some dolphins along the shoreline. Marty and I convinced the crew to take us out in the inflatable. Dozens of Bottlenose dolphins, including babies, frolicked around us in the waves.

Common dolphins. Nikon D5000, 18-200mm VR lens at 200mm, ISO 200, F5.6, 1/400th.

Angél de la Guardia

The site is a beautiful wall with gorgonian corals and fields of Yellow polyp black coral. Large Cortez and King angelfish seemed unafraid of us and we found several species of nudibranchs as well. Although I usually shoot a 105mm macro lens with a 5X SubSee, the 60mm was my go-to lens for most dives. It gave me the versatility that I needed for subjects of varying sizes, ranging from Triplefins to Scorpionfish and Green morays.

The Wall at El Arrollo. Nikon D200, Sigma 15mm FE. ISO 200, F8, 1/60th. Sea & Sea YS90DX Strobes.

Las Vidoras

The water was a bracing 70 degrees. Angelfish and purple juvenile Cortez damselfish abounded, and I heard the sound of barking California sea lions. All over the islands are colonies of brooding females, babies and a few huge males. We headed south that night to Isla San Pedro Matir under a star filled sky and calm seas.

Juvenile King Angelfish, Holacanthus passer. 105mm macro lens, ISO 100, F25, 1/100th. Sea & Sea YS90DX Strobes.

El Arrollo

The water was a blissful 84 degrees, and there is a steep wall with yellow polyp black coral. Several large male sea lions came by to check me out. The goofy boobies were overhead at my safety stop. They scattered in panic as I got close.

In the afternoon, we went into the shallows to photograph sea lions. The surge made it difficult to stay put. The moms and babies showed off their nimble swimming skills. At the end of our 70 minutes we were rewarded with a large school of baitfish.

As the ship left the area, we were approached by several Sperm whales.

California Sea Lions and baitfish. Sigma 15mm FE, ISO 200, F6.3, 1/100th. Sea & Sea YS90DX Strobes.

Isla Cormorad

We dived around a large pinnacle with surge and light current.  A big grouper appeared, and I found a cooperative Vergara octopus that came out of its den.  A Jeweled moray was out hunting, and Brown Cheeked blennies posed for my Subsee.

That afternoon, we actually tried to snorkel with Sperm whales! These beautiful giants spook easily, and although our group was not successful, other guests did get to swim briefly with one of the leviathans.

El Lavadera

This site was used for our night dive. The water was 72 degrees, but tiny arrow crabs perched on gorgonians, pink ghost shrimp and a tiny red Player scorpionfish made it worth the chill. Beautiful pink sand anemones had emerged at night to feed. In the morning, we returned to improved conditions. There were lots of damsels, hogfish, groupers and fields of the black coral. An electric ray swam by. I found a Pacific seahorse to the delight of my buddies. That evening, we had small Humboldt squid feeding off the stern of the ship.

Sal Si Puedes: Los Cuervos

A steep pinnacle rises from the sand. At its base, we found both blue spotted and Giant jawfish. A cave filled with colorful gorgonians held huge lobster. A pike blenny darted in and out of its tube home. In the shallows, I found a colorful spotted nudibranch. The afternoon held another surface surprise: Rizzo’s dolphins, which get whiter as they age. We again took the skiff to photograph sea lions on the rocks. The next morning, hundreds of common dolphins frolicked in the bow wake and around the ship.

Norris’ Chromodoris, Chromodoris norrisi. Nikon D200, 60mm macro lens. ISO 100, F22, 1/100th. Sea & Sea YS90DX Strobes.

El Pescador

This site was comprised of large boulders with blennies, octopus and black cup coral. While looking at a scorpionfish in a hole, my buddy realized that we were beside a camouflaged frogfish.  As well, there were comical staghorn hermit crabs that reminded me of Smurfs.

Flabellina marcusorum. Nikon D200, 105mm macro lens. ISO 100, F25, 1/125th, Sea & Sea YS90DX Strobes.

Giant jawfish, Opistognathus rhomaleus. Nikon D200, 60mm macro lens. ISO 100, F25, 1/125th. Sea & Sea YS90DX Strobes.

Roughjaw frogfish, Antennarius avonlonis. Nikon D200, 60mm macro lens. ISO 100, F20, 1/60th. Sea & Sea YS90DX Strobes.

Bahia Los Angeles

In our quest for more surface encounters we sailed into the bay where whale sharks are sighted at this time of the year. We searched in vain for a long time, and were about to head back when we spotted one, then another. Although the visibility was poor, to see these creatures first hand was thrilling. They were so fast, yet looked so graceful.

Whaleshark at Bahia Los Angeles. Nikon D200, Sigma 15mm FE, ISO 200, F7.1, 1/250th.

Getting there

A shuttle picks you up at the airport or your hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, and transports you through the Sonoran Desert to the ship. I met my roomie, Kathy and photographer Marty Snyderman, who were joining us for the week. The journey takes about three and one-half hours, and our driver gave a running commentary as we drove through sand, humongous cactus, and incredible temperatures.

M/V Rocio Del Mar.  Photo courtesy of Rocio Del Mar.

The Ship

The Rocio del Mar was built by divers for divers. The Sandovals built, own and run the ship, a 110 foot all steel vessel. The ship departs from Puerto Penasco. On board, eight air conditioned cabins sport two single beds, while two others have full beds with a single bunk above. All have private bathrooms, full size windows, and plenty of storage.

The dining was excellent, with varied meals and lots of choices. There is a lounge in which to relax and watch movies or play back images from the day’s diving, and a large sundeck. The dive deck was well organized, with stations for each diver. Your gear gets set up once, and that’s it for the week. Diving is from two inflatables. The camera table was adequate; I preferred to work on my camera in my cabin.

The variety of experiences and photographic opportunities, both underwater and on the surface make for a great journey. The Rocio del Mar’s crew is fantastic, from the divemasters and skiff operators to the chef. I had the opportunity to dive with the Sandovals; they truly know, as divers, what divers want. I booked to go back on the Rocio del Mar within a few weeks of returning; this time to their other destination, the Socorro Islands.

About the Author

Marli Wakeling has been taking underwater photos since 1995. She resides in New Westminster, on the outskirts of Vancouver, B.C. where she teaches art, photography, and graphic design. She uses Nikon cameras, Sea & Sea Strobes, and an Aquatica housing. Marli’s images and articles have been featured in magazines, textbooks, and numerous dive related publications. You can see more of her work at www.marliwakeling.com.

Further reading

• Sea of Cortez Photo Workshop Trip Report

• Capturing marine animal behavior

• 2011 Ocean Art Photo Contest

• Improving your supermacro underwater photography

• Complete destination guide

Support the Underwater Photography Guide

Please support the Underwater Photography Guide by purchasing your underwater photography gear through our sister site, Bluewater Photo & Video. Click, or call them at (310) 633-5052 for expert advice!

Dive Adventure: Braving the Arctic

Scuba diving and underwater photography near the North Pole

By Kevin Lee

“Diving in Arctic waters will be warmer than when we dived in the Antarctic," my buddy said, “because the warm Atlantic Gulf Stream current travels far north and warms the polar region."  That prospect sounded inviting so I signed up for the adventure.  True enough, it was warmer diving in the Arctic, but only by 2 degrees, as my dive computer registered 30 degrees in Svalbard, Norway, an archipelago of islands far above the Arctic Circle, about 600 miles from the North Pole.

Perry, Kevin Lee, Jeff Bozanic, and John Lee.  Photo courtesy of Debbie Smerker.

Scuba tanks, filled and ready for use. All tanks had two independent primary valves for separate regulators. Insurance in case one uncontrollably free-flowed.

Diving and underwater photography in the Arctic

In six days, I completed 8 dives. Water temps varied from 29 to 41 degrees and visibility ranged anywhere from 5 feet to 50 feet.   As in the Antarctic, dive duration was limited, not by the amount of air in our 80cf steel tanks, but by our capacity to endure increasing pain, from the frigid waters, which first accost the hands and then the feet.  My longest dive was 61 minutes.  A few brave souls utilized wet gloves and were usually the first out of the water.  Some, with dry gloves, experienced leaks and had to call their dive within minutes. Having dived both Polar regions, I must applaud the Dive Concepts and similar dry glove systems.  Knock on wood, of course, but these dry gloves have not failed a single time in hundreds of dives.  They are so easy to snap on and off, I cannot see why others struggle with other less functional glove systems that continually fail and produce great frustration.

Dense undergrowth of kelp was common at most dive sites.

At most dive sites, there was a surprising thicket of kelp, among which flourished amphipods, stars, snails, tunicates, anemones, crabs and other crustaceans and a few fish, the largest a dark sculpin-like fish at 8 inches long.  We did one bottomless, open-water dive at the edge of an ice sheet, where buoyancy was difficult to control due to the constant mixing of fresh and salt waters of differing densities.  Here, ctenophores were plentiful, many like the Beroe which resemble inverts back home in California.  Of particular interest was the pelagic opisthobranch, yes, a sea slug, Clione limacine, that lives in the water column.  Its common name, Sea Angel, is apt as it has two wing like appendages that makes it appear to “fly."

Clione limacina, aka Sea Angel, approx. 1.5 inches.

Limacina helicina, aka Sea Butterfly, approx. 3/4 inch.  This is the prey of the Sea Angel, which is pictured above.

Underwater photography tips

Kevin used a Nikon D300, with 60mm macro lens and 1.4x tele-converter which worked well for macro shots. Visibility was generally good enough for wide-angle underwater photography, though macro opportunities are more prevalent. A Sea & Sea housing was used, with dual YS-110a strobes. Some think camera gear should be kept outside to minimize condensation. This is not necessary and the author does not recommend this. The air is so arid condensation is not a problem, as long as there is good ventilation inside your room. After each dive, change batteries in both the camera and strobes, as batteries have significantly shorter lives in cold temperatures. Dry gloves are best, with medium inner gloves, providing enough dexterity to operate housing buttons.

Special diving tips for Arctic diving

Chiton.

Dendronotus sp. nudibranch

Sculpin-like fish.  ID Unknown.

Benthic Jelly.

Arctic nudibranch, ID unknown.

Memorable adventure under the ice

One dive is most memorable as it was potentially the most dangerous. My buddy, Jeff Bozanic, and I were the last two divers blowing bubbles, as others had already surfaced. We were both engrossed in collecting echinoderms for the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History (we had the requisite Norwegian permits) and we were covered with a thick carpet of kelp, which lay horizontal from a constant, pesky current.  Occasionally I would look up to see only Jeff’s long legs sticking out of the kelp, as his face was stuck underneath, poking around for critters.  Sometimes we’d accidentally whack the other in the head with our fins, assuring each other that we were “together."  At 500 psi, I decided to head for more shallow water and indicated my intention to Jeff, who gave me the "ok" sign.  I followed the steep contour of the rocky slope up to 15 feet, all the while still searching for echinoderms and opisthobranchs.

Limacina helicina, aka Sea Butterfly.
Approx. 3/4 inch. Algae background. 10' fsw.

With my safety stop completed, I looked around and behind to find a suitable place to surface but was stunned to see a massive sheet of ice, 25 feet deep and extending as far as I could see both directions, moving toward me.  My heart pounded against my rib cage.  What to do? With my air reserve depleted at 200 psi it was not an inviting option to duck under the ice and risk running out of air, trying to swim out from under the huge ice floe.  Also, I considered going down to Jeff and warning him of the threat but he was well under the oncoming ice and in a safe zone as long as he had sufficient air.

It would be perilous for me to stay in place as the monstrous ice would crush me like an ant against the vertical rocky wall.  By this time, I decided to surface and could see Henrik, alone in our Zodiac, about  100 yards down current, frantically trying to push the ice away with the craft, though it made no impact whatsoever against the inertia of the football field sized ice sheet, inexorably approaching.  If needed, I prepared to ditch all my gear and scramble on top of the oncoming ice, though this maneuver would be fraught with its own dangers.  Pressed for a decision, I peered down in the water a final time to assess the situation and noticed that the base of the ice floe would soon contact an outcropping of rocks twenty feet at the bottom.  It did with explosive power and sent large chunks of ice showering upward.  This momentarily arrested the movement of the ice and gave me a tiny window of time to fin like hell and scramble onto the Zodiac, which zipped away just in time to avoid the crushing ice.  Thankfully, Jeff appeared on the opposite, safe side of the ice floe and we picked him up.

It was certainly a dive to remember!

Wildlife

Wildlife was plentiful with frequent sightings of polar bears, walruses, foxes, seals, whales, and thousands of birds fluttering around breeding cliffs, swarming like bees around a hive.  Oddly there, are no penguins in the Arctic and no polar bears in the Antarctic.  Every zodiac is armed with flares and a rifle to warn, ward off and, if needed, subdue any menace from polar bears as Svalbard, Norway is home to the largest population in the world of these magnificent creatures.  In one incident years ago, a diver was pursued by a polar bear, forcing the diver to descend to 60 feet, at which time the bear gave up the chase.  Thankfully, we had no such traumatic encounter with the wild beasts.

Zodiacs and MV Plancius, our floating base camp.

Mother Polar Bear checking on her cubs.

Getting There

Using connecting flights through London and Oslo, I reached Svalbard’s largest town, Longyearbyen, home to about 2500 inhabitants, which is on Spitsbergen, the major island of the archipelago.  Coincidentally, the town is named after an American, John Longyear, who was the main shareholder of a company that mined coal from 1905.  Coal reserves are dwindling and tourism contributes much to the town’s economy.  By the way, high on a hill, near the Longyearbyen Airport, one can see a drab concrete structure which appears to be some sort of an entrance. Indeed, this is the site of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, where millions of the world’s seeds are stored in permanent deep freeze as protection against natural and human disasters.

MV Plancius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions

Two dive buddies, Evan and his father Jeff Bozanic, joined me from California, a few days before our ship’s departure, and we decided to commemorate the summer solstice by hiking up to an old defunct Coal Mine #2B.  We commenced at 23:00 and, crawling up a steep incline over huge boulders, snow fields and gurgling streamlets, reached our destination at midnight, with the sun shining brightly overhead, in an azure sky.  At this time of year sun doesn’t set, hence the “midnight sun”.  Of course, the opposite is true during the winter where the night is perpetual.  However, the locals told me that the lunar light reflects so brightly off pure white snow that it rarely gets truly dark.  The town counts more snowmobiles than people.

We boarded the modernized MV Plancius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, along with a hundred other passengers for one week of exploration among the many Svalbard islands.  Fifteen of us paid extra to scuba dive.  Unlike the 20-foot swells we experienced crossing the Drake Passage, from the tip of Argentina to the Antarctic Peninsula, our Arctic foray was like plying the waters of a placid lake.

About the author

Kevin Lee has traveled to all seven continents, and was recently the OCUPS underwater photographer of the year. He resides in Fullerton, California and is an enthusiastic traveler, diver and nudiphile. Kevin's images have been featured in magazines, newspapers, academic literature, and numerous dive related publications. For more of his excellent photography and dive travel stories, please visit his website at http://www.diverkevin.com/.

Further reading

• Diving Under the Ice

• Dive Adventure: SCUBA Diving Tofo Beach, Mozambique

• Diving the Antarctic - by Kevin Lee

• Complete Dive Destination Guide

• Underwater photography in Giant Kelp forests

Support the Underwater Photography Guide

Please support the Underwater Photography Guide by purchasing your underwater photography gear through our sister site, Bluewater Photo & Video. Click, or call them at (310) 633-5052 for expert advice!

Diving with Whale Sharks: Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Tips and suggestions for underwater photography and travel

Text and Photos by Stanley Bysshe

If you want to know what it is like to be in the water with the whale sharks off of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, stand in the middle of the street while 30 school buses (with their hoods up) come at you from all directions. For the past decade there has been a growing awareness of whale shark congregations during the summer months around the Yucatan.

Originally reported by fisherman from Isla Holbox, the shallow water feeding area quickly became a remote tourist destination. A second congregation has been found in the deeper waters of the Gulf about 20 to 30 miles out from Isla Mujeres just northeast of Cancun. Locally called the “Afuera” (outside), this grouping of whale sharks appears to gather to feed on huge patches of fish eggs from spawning Little Tunny/ Bonito (small Atlantic Tuna). In fact, the surface water of the ocean can become almost milky with fish eggs and the whale sharks converge on these nutrient-rich patches.

With the ability to filter 1,500 gallons an hour, the whale sharks gorge themselves on the fish eggs. Nikon D2xs, Tokina 10-17mm at 10mm, F8, 1/160th.

From May to September, whale sharks supply a significant tourist attraction for Mexico.
Boats from Playa del Carmen, Cancun, and Isla Mujeres travel the 1-3 hour distance on a daily basis so that tourists can snorkel with these animals. In order to protect the sharks, the Mexican government in coordination with local biologists, has set up specific viewing regulations.

Whale sharks - when to go, rules to follow

This year the season runs from June 1 to September 15. Any tours outside these dates are illegal. Boats have to have guides with regulated numbers of snorkelers per boat. Flotation devices have to be worn; a wet suit is considered a flotation device. No scuba is allowed. Underwater photography without flash is permitted. Obviously touching the animals is prohibited. The rules are pretty well adhered to as a license is a livelihood for a boat captain and the areas are patrolled by the regulating bodies. However, you cannot walk five feet on the island without getting accosted by a boat tour hawker, and there were days on the water where we counted over forty other boats.  Given the density of sharks that we saw, I would say that it would be pretty hard to go out and not see any animals. However the trips are weather dependent and all boats can be grounded due to high seas. This actually occurred one of our days as we arrived on the back end of Tropical storm Don.

Calm waters here do not mean calm seas 20 miles out. Cancun is on the horizon.

Underwater photography with the whale sharks

As far as underwater photography is concerned, this is a “light” trip. First of all you don’t need full scuba gear. Fins, mask, snorkel and wet suit (with hood, see below) are all you need pack. Underwater, you will only be shooting wide-angle, and the wider the better. Do not take strobes, arms, spotting lights etc, as you can’t use them. For SLR shooters, just a dome port and one or two lenses are all that's needed. All my images were taken with a Nikon D2xs (cropped sensor) and a Tokina 10-17mm fisheye lens or Nikon 10-24mm AF-S DX lens. Don’t forget appropriate extension rings and diopter filters for your dome port. For compact shooters a wide-angle port would be a must. For instance the Canon G11 with the dry mount wide-angle port should work quite well. You will need to disable the internal flash.

Using natural light

All images are with available (natural) light and this takes some trial and error. Bobbing on the surface with the shark moving below you makes using the viewfinder or live view challenging. Free diving can help eliminate some motion (you will need to add weight to compensate for the wet suit buoyancy). Sunny days allowed for shutter speeds in the 1/125th to 1/200th range while keeping the f-stop (aperture) around F8 to F13 (shooting with an ISO of 100-200). However there can be a lot of backscatter on bright days, especially with a lot of eggs in the water. Keep the sun to your back. Easier said than done when whale sharks are coming at you from all angles. Slightly overcast days seem to be the best. The water is darker and the colors are amazing. One particularly dark day was a challenge for my camera. Wide-open f-stops, slow shutter speeds, and pushed ISOs just didn’t produce acceptable images. Some of the newer high ISO sensors would help in this situation. Nonetheless, getting close to the animal is the key. Silhouette shots are also possible with free diving.

Tokina 10-17mm at 10mm, F8, 1/200th.

Close-up of a whale shark's massive mouth.  Nikon AF-S 10-24mm lens at 10mm, F8, 1/125th.

Whale sharks are said to travel at about 3 mph. It seems like these 30 (+) foot animals are traveling 20 mph. If you spend your time chasing, you will end up exhausted. It is best to let them come to you. There are so many in the water that you can be concentrating on one animal and get bumped from behind by another. As they swim right at you some will veer off but others will just keep coming! Towards the afternoon the animals seem to slow down as they are so full and underwater photography is easier. When it is cloudy or the seas are rough the sharks tend to stay deeper.

Large female. Tokina 10-17mm at 12mm, F8, 1/125th

Remora on the back of a passing whale shark.  Nikon AF-S 10-24mm DX at 24mm, F8, 1/125th.

If you are right in front of the shark they may not see you, with eyes on the side of their head. Like all sharks they do sense electrical current but they still may move ahead. The large animals have mouths four feet across. Sharks propel themselves using their entire body. This puts a lot of force in the tail. WATCH OUT FOR THE TAIL. It may look slow but it can deliver a blow. You will want a good lanyard for your camera.

The animals seem to pass in waves. Our boat captain was very good about moving us around to keep in the peek action. However, floating around with no land in sight, there was always something happening. We saw mantas, sailfish, cownose rays, mobula rays in large schools and Bonito tuna. So between whale shark runs, keep your eyes down.

A pair of lone remoras passing below in between waves of whale sharks. Tokina 10-17mm at 10mm, F9, 1/160th.

My accommodations

The tourist boats are not well suited for photography. They are crowded, have limited time in the water and you are surrounded by one hundred pairs of legs dangling in your line of site. I wanted a trip dedicated to photographing whale sharks. Isla Mujeres has the shortest travel distance out to the sharks, not an insignificant consideration in 3-6 foot seas. Traveling to the island is not difficult. Many US cities have direct flights to Cancun or you fly thru Miami. A thirty-minute cab ride gets you to the ferry; the crossing to Isla Mujeres is a comfortable 20-minute air-conditioned trip. My research of Isla Mujeres found only one boat company that caters to photographing whale sharks.

Pro underwater photographers who charter one-week trips occupy the company most of the season. The owner did say that he has some open spaces that can be rented by independent groups. I signed up with Mauricio Handler who I have traveled with before. Once you hit the island, everything else is pretty much taken care of. The boat captain owns the hotel.  Breakfast and lunch/drinks (on the boat) are included as well as a very knowledgeable and helpful crew. We had ten photographers and spent four days bobbing on the high seas photographing to our hearts content. The boat left before the snorkel trips and stayed for a while after they went to shore. If it got crowded in the water the captain would pick up our group and find a more isolated spot. The 36 foot boat made the trip out and back in “relative” comfort.

Lilly M photo boat.

“Swim with the Sharks”

More tips for your whale shark trip

The sun can be brutal, especially reflecting off the water and frying your face. You may be in the water for four hours a day. Sunscreen just doesn’t cut it. Hair challenged men can get the scalp cooked. The best solution seems to be a full hood. It protects your scalp, ears and most of your face.

Seasickness can ruin your trip. Unless you are Captain Ahab, bring something that works for you. There is as much motion in the water as on the boat. I used Scopolamine patches for the whole trip and my spares were eagerly passed around to people who “never” got seasick.

When the usually solitary whale sharks aggregate in one spot, by the hundreds, it is an amazing natural event. To be able to witness the sight and photograph these animals is an equally amazing experience. Below are some further links to help with planning a photographic trip to Isla Mujeres and the Afuera.

Isla Mujeres

About the Author

Now retired, I have tried to dedicate more time to becoming a better photographer. Certified more than 30 years ago, I have always been fascinated by coral reef ecology and creating underwater images. My wife and I moved to Curacao N.A. to start our retirement so working underwater has become almost a daily exercise. My first underwater camera was a Nikonos I, but the digital age certainly allows for a faster learning curve. My land photography also gravitates to the natural world and I hope to add some shots from our travels as well. To date I have not been very happy with scanned 35mm images so the folders of slides continue to gather dust!

You can also visit Stanley Bysshe's Photography Website.

Additional Resources

• Join Underwater Photography Guide in 2012 as we dive with whale sharks!

• Keen M International

• Additional information about the whale shark aggregation

Further Reading

• Photo Essay by Jim Lyle: Scuba Club Cozumel, Mexico

• Diving La Paz, Mexico: whale shark mecca

• Capturing marine life behavior

• Diving with Great White sharks at Guadalupe Island

• Diving with the West Papua Whale Sharks

Dive Destination: Southeast Sulawesi

An Underwater Photography Paradise in Indonesia

Trip review by Jim Lyle with photos by Jim Lyle & Randy Harwood

Southeast Sulawesi is considered to have some of the most pristine reefs in Asia, and is located right in the center of the "Golden Triangle", famous for the diversity of fish and coral. Many people consider this area a "must do" at least once for all serious underwater photographers.

Marine Life

The reefs in Southeast Sulawesi are very healthy, with huge coral formations, sponges and many schools of fish.  Southeast Sulawesi is not the place for large pelagics, and although we did see two eagle rays and one black tip shark during our week stay, there were lots of schools of medium/small size fish to enjoy.  Many species of nudibranchs, unusual inverts and two species of pygmy seahorses added spice to an already satisfying fish stew! Frogfish, lionfish, sweetlips, jacks, angelfish, leaf scorpionfish, eels, cuttlefish, several kinds of anemonefish, and a zillion little tropicals were a delight.

Large seafan.  Photo by Randy Harwood

Green Sea Turtle.  Photo by Jim Lyle

The Diving

Diving is done from four, large traditional Indonesian boats, each carrying two or three dive groups of six divers and the DMs. It has been said, "the heaviest thing you have to lift at Wakatobi, is your fork."  The hard-working crew transfers all of your dive gear and tanks to and from the dive boat.  All you have to do is walk off and on. Entries are a giant stride from the side of the boat.

The dive boats go to different dive sites each day, so there is never more than one boat on a reef. The only divers you will see are those in your group.

Boats lined up, ready for a great day of diving.  Photo by Randy Harwood.

Typically, boat dives are at 8:00, 11:00, and 2:30.  Once a week, each boat does a night dive in place of the afternoon dive.  All boats have loads of room, snacks, water, beverages, and towels.  There is plenty of room for cameras and the boat carries an ample supply of camera rinse water.

Optional dives can be made on the house reef at 6:30 AM to 10:30PM.  The house reef at Wakatobi is easily the best house reef at any resort we have been to.  The reef is comparable to the other dive sites and is sometimes done as one of the boat dives.  A taxi-boat is available for those divers wishing to drop on the wall farther from the resort or up current for a drift back. The staff will willingly carry your dive gear to the water's edge and someone will meet you on your exit to take your tank from the "easiest shore dive in the World."
 

The dives were limited to seventy minutes.  "What??"  Photo by Jim Lyle

Yes, you read that right; every dive was seventy minutes of fantastic, multi-level diving - more than ample bottom time for most divers.  None of the return-to-the-boat-after-thirty-minutes-with-1,500-psi-remaining-in-your-tank dives that you get at many places!  I loved it!

Dive masters were assigned to groups of five to six divers.  These young men and women were wonderful and pointed out lots of interesting critters that we would have missed if left up to our own devices.  The dives were evenly divided between drift dives and ones where the dive boat was moored. The dive sites were carefully chosen with the tides in mind to avoid strong currents.

Camera room at Wakatobi Dive Resort

The majority of the divers at Wakatobi were underwater photographers. The camera rooms had ample space for all the camera gear, with lots of 110 & 220 volt charging stations.  Plug adapters are not needed; the power strips will take standard American two-prong plugs.

Best time to dive

In Wakatobi you can enjoy diving 365 days a year.  There is no period or season unsuitable for diving, and the resort has skipped only 4 dives in the last 10 years.  The climate is drier than in other parts of Indonesia, and the location is quite protected by the surrounding reefs and islands.

Wakatobi Dive Resort.  Photo by Jim Lyle.

On the water temperature front, the warmest water in Wakatobi is found in the upper water layer around late October, when temps may reach a maximum of 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). The coolest time falls in the latter half of August with a minimum temperature of almost 26 degrees Celsius (78 degrees Fahrenheit).

From March until May the temperature averages 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit), June averages 27 C (80.6 F), July 26 C (78.8 F), September is between 26 - 27 C (78 - 81 F), October 28 to 30 C (82 - 86 F). From November until March the temperature averages 28 - 29 C (82.4 F- 85 F).

The water temperature range is ideal for coral growth and there is no coral bleaching in Wakatobi.

Where to Stay

Wakatobi Diving Resort is beautifully situated on the beach of a small island, and is truly a vision of tropical paradise.  It consists of 21 bungalows; a long house containing the kitchen, restaurant, camera rooms, a gift shop, and various support buildings.  A couple of additional bungalows are planned, with an ultimate, maximum capacity of only 45 guests.  Each of the bungalows is roughly 400 square-feet with en suite bathrooms and A/C. The fresh water is desalinated, plentiful, and drinkable.

Internet access is available, both in the long house and individual bungalows, for a fee. The connection is slow, but adequate to send email to the folks back home.

Wakatobi bungalow.  Photo by Jim Lyle

The bungalows are spacious, with en suite baths, and A/C. Some of the units have been being remodeled with outdoor baths.  The water is desalinated and drinkable.

Ah yes, the food - second only to diving in the hearts of scuba divers!  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were served buffet-style.  The menu was varied and tasty enough to satisfy anyone - from traditional American fare to Indonesian dishes. Plus, there were three kinds of dessert at lunch and dinner!  Considering that everything has to be brought in from Bali, the food was unbelievable. (Note: beverages other than coffee/tea were not included in the price, but were reasonably priced.)

Pelagian Liveaboard

In addition to the Wakatobi Beach Resort, you can also choose to do liveaboard diving with the Pelagian - Wakatobi's luxury liveaboard.  The Pelagian will take you to the region's outer islands for access to new and varied dive sites. Perfect for the first time visitor or the returning diver looking for more.

Pelagian Master Suite

(photo by Didi Lotze)

“A trip of a life time. Incredible diving with experienced and friendly guides. The Pelagian is a Yacht of comfort, a crew that is always helpful and the good food of a 5-star restaurant. In one word –“Awesome!” – Paul Yeomans

The Master suite spans the entire width of Pelagian’s beam and boasts a king bed, large flat screen television with Blu-ray DVD player, comfortable sofa and spacious bathroom with rainforest shower.

Pelagian’s Outdoor Dining

(photo by Didi Lotze)

"The most beautiful and relaxing cruise / dive trip ever. The crew is extraordinary, the divemasters are terrific. You have achieved that wonderful feeling of care and perfection." - Tia Millman and John Madsen, April 2012

Getting to Southeast Sulawesi

You will need to make an international flight from your gateway city to Bali Indonesia. Several airlines operate convenient flights from both the East and West coast of the US and Europe. In most cases, your flight to Bali will involve a full day of travel and the crossing the international date line (if traveling from the US).

In Bali, we did a day tour of the shops; saw a traditional dance performance; and visited an ancient temple, the rice fields, and the volcano.  Handmade crafts are big in Bali and there are shops along every road.  We were warmly greeted everywhere we went and thanked for coming to Bali.

The next morning, we flew two-and-a-half hours on a chartered Dash-8 turboprop to the airstrip on Sulawesi; there, we were transported by minibuses to the shore for a twenty-minute boat ride to the resort.

Commuter plane from Bali.  Photo by Jim Lyle

From the landing strip, we were taken by minivans to the nearby town, where we were taken on board one of the dive boats for the twenty-minute ride to the resort.  On arrival, we ate lunch, had a briefing before everyone jumped in the water for a "welcome" dive.

Underwater Photos from Southeast Sulawesi

Photo by Randy Harwood.

Anemonefish.  Photo by Jim Lyle.

Anthias.  Photo by Jim Lyle.

Cuttlefish.  Photo by Jim Lyle.

Emperor Angelfish.  Photo by Jim Lyle.

Pygmy Seahorse.  Photo by Jim Lyle.

Further Reading

• Photo Essay by Jim Lyle: Scuba Club Cozumel, Mexico

• Traveling Guide for Underwater Photography

• Improving your Macro Photography

• Improving your Wide-Angle Photography

• Dive Travel Forum