UW Photography

A collection of 38 posts

Iceland

Scuba Diving at Silfra Fissure

One of the adventures I looked forward to most when visiting Iceland last year was the opportunity to dive in Silfra in the Thingvellir National Park. There are two exciting draw-cards to diving at Silfra—the famously clear water and the fact that the dive occurs in the fissure between

Photography

Diving PNG

I was surprised today to see blog post from DeeperBlue on Diving Papua New Guinea, featuring one of my images from a trip my wife and I made there in 2006. We love PNG, and have dived at Kavieng, Kimbe Bay (Walindi), Milne Bay (Tawali) and Tufi. These are all

photo mindset

Pre-setting your camera for likely images

My photographic origins in the underwater world have taught me the importance of thinking through the photographic objectives for a shoot (dive), and pre-setting your camera. In underwater photography one key mantra is to get close – minimising the amount of water between subject and your camera1. For this reason, and

Solomon Islands

Feeding Time

Time to post an underwater image! To be honest, I am not sure how exactly I feel about shark feeds. In general, shark feeding can change shark behaviour—making them reliant on being fed at a certain time and certain place, and perhaps on food stuff they wouldn’t normally

UW Photography

Dekudekuru Split

Dekudekuru is a reef close to Uepi Island Resort in the Solomon Islands. It is an ideal place for both over and under shots and images made from underwater shooting the nearby jungle canopy. This is due to the protected shallow waters of the reef inside a reef, and the

Papua New Guinea

Spinecheek Anemonefish

The spinecheek anemone fish is one of several anemone fish found in tropical Indo-Pacific waters. This one is so named due to the spiney growth protruding from the side of the fish’s face that you can see quite clearly in the photo, just under the eye and extending over

Papua New Guinea

Cuddling Nudis

Its been waaayyyy too long since I posted a Photo of the Day, but will intend to get that going regularly again. These two Chromodoris kuniei were spotted on a dive in 2006 in PNG’s Milne Bay area. The nudibranch on the right is facing us, while the one

Travel

Chromodoris lochi and Passenger

This image was made at North Log, one of the brilliant dive sites near Uepi in the Solomon Islands. The nudibranch is Chromodoris lochi, a reasonably common nudibranch in tropical Indo Pacific waters. I liked the side on profile of this individual, and the blurred background really sharpens the nudibranch.

Papua New Guinea

Photo of the Day: Chromodoris Annae Nudibranch

This beautiful little nudibranch was a spectacular find during a dive near Tawali in PNG’s Milne Bay Province. I love the saturated colours and the spotted design of the nudibranch’s back. Finding small stuff like nudibranchs, many smaller than your little finger-nail, is one of the pleasures of

Solomon Islands

The Seghe P38 and Dive Boat Silhouette

Just off the end of the runway of the Seghe airstrip in Marovo Lagoon (near Uepi) there is a P38 lying in about 10m of water. Following a day trip to dive Penguin Reef and the Babata Sinkhole, we made a short stop at Seghe to dive the wreck. Although

photo mindset

The PLACEBO Principle for UW Photography

One of the leading shore dives in Australia is known as Halifax Park, in Nelson Bay just north of Sydney. A  spectacular dive renowned for nudibranchs and other small marine life, Halifax Park is a macro photographers dream. During one memorable dive there, I was using my trusty Nikonos V,

Solomon Islands

The Elbow of the Wall

The wall dropoff at Elbow Point (near Uepi in the Solomon Islands) is a magical spot with rich coral growth, anemones, colourful fish and clear blue water. Pelagics are often seen here, but what captured my attention was the colours contrasting with the blue water

Solomon Islands

Who Me?

This little fish was found at the Uepi dive site called North Log. He doesn’t seem to pleased to see me! I like the left to right composition of this image, as well as the colours and the use of the rule of thirds. PS. Sorry about the interruptions

Papua New Guinea

Schooling Fish at Luaudi

Luaudi (Dinahs Beach) is the dive site in PNG’s Milne Bay where the term muck diving was coined. I went there setup for macro with a 60mm lens, and was really pleased with the small stuff. Incredible variety of wierd and wonderful things I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Sydney

Variable Aphelodoris on a Collision Course

Last weekend Bela and I had an easy dive at Clifton Gardens, in Mosman, Sydney. This shallow, inner harbour site features a wide array of small marine life – octopus, cuttlefish, juvenile fish and nudibranchs. In particular, there were plenty of the species Aphelodoris varia. They were present in large numbers,

Sydney

Fisheye Blue

One of the more common fish seen at many Sydney divesites is the Eastern Blue Wrasse (commonly called a blue groper). At Oak Park, near Cronulla, these fish are so friendly that they will swim right up to divers. This one was actually getting in the way of my photos,

Solomon Islands

Forlorn Crocodile Fish

I stumbled across this rather forlorn looking crocodile fish at a divesite called Binusa, near Uepi in the Solomon Islands. With my 60mm macro setup, I used the opportunity to focus in on the fish’s eyes and mouth, composing left-to-right, and using a diagonal composition.

UW Photography

Kurukuru Wall at Uepi

Kurukuru is one of the amazing wall dives at Uepi. With the wall dropping from the surface to over 2000m, it is covered in fantastic corals, such as the picturesque sea whips. The blue waters are generally very, very clear, and as can be seen, are full of small anf

Solomon Islands

Uepi Shark Feed

Shark Feeds, like this one at Uepi in the Solomon Islands, are an interesting affair. In the blue waters of the channel leading from the ocean into Marovo Lagoon, the Uepi people conduct occasional feeds. This is an efficient way to get rid of some waste, as well as an

UW Photography

Wrasse in the Blue

This colourful wrasse was swimming in a fairly consisten pattern around me as I was taking macro photos, so I noted the point at which it would come above me with a blue water background, and took a shot each time it came past that point. Made in November 2005

Solomon Islands

Moorish Idol on the Bottom Of The Channel

I’ve always loved these beautiful fish that are generally seen in pairs on tropical reefs, and occasionally in warmer months on temperate reefs around Sydney. They are a graceful fish that are a little timid. Made at the divesite called BOTCH (Bottom Of The CHannel) at Uepi in September

Solomon Islands

Ornate Ghost Pipefish at Uepi

After my first visit to Uepi back in 1997, I always throught of it as a destination for big stuff – mantas, sharks, walls, gorgonians, and so forth. But on our return in 2009, I was blown away by the quantity and variety of small life. We’d heard rumours of

UW Photography

Diver and Sea Fan

As with most of the dive sites at Uepi in the Solomon Islands, Kurukuru features wall diving. The walls here start at the surface, and drop down to 2000m and deeper. Coral growth along the walls is spectacular, with gorgonian fans all around. The saturated reds of this fan complemented

Sydney

Port Jackson Shark at Oak Park

This image was made at Oak Park, near Cronulla in Sydney’s south. It features a shark that is common in Sydney waters, the Port Jackson shark. Often these guys are at least partly under rocks, so seeing it out in the open I took a wide berth around him

Solomon Islands

Regal Angelfish

The Regal Angelfish, this one found at the Uepi dive site called BOTCH (Bottom Of The CHannel) is a fish I’ve been wanting to get a decent photo of for a long time. It has beautiful colouring, and is not uncommon on coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific, but is