Rocks, reflected

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  No Responses »
Mar 252013
 
Rocks, reflected

About the cave The photo above was taken under “Lake Ayre”, which is on the gold line in Tank Cave. Given its convenient location I usually swim under it at least once on a weekend in Tank, on the way home from the further reaches of the cave. It’s a completely enclosed air space composed of bubbles exhaled by passing divers. When first approached from back in the tunnel, you can look up and see the still, mirrored surface. Once divers swim underneath and exhale the ripples begin, spreading outwards to the walls on either side. About the shot As I was putting together my talk for OZTeK last weekend I spent a lot of time trawling back through my [read more…]

A winning shot in the Shaft

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  9 Responses »
Mar 182013
 
A winning shot in the Shaft

Many thanks to all those who dropped by to see me at OZTeK 2013 this weekend…I had a truly excellent time, and I hope you did too! For those who couldn’t make it, my photograph above won first prize in the cave category of the photo competition. I’ve been keeping it under wraps until the show and I’m very glad to be able to share it with you now. In my talk on Saturday morning I walked through a little of the effort that went into creating this shot. After initial attempts at a tripod based shot in the bottom of the Shaft way back in August 2011, and two separate dedicated trips in summer 2012, this January I put [read more…]

Juvenile leatherjackets under Rye Pier

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  No Responses »
Mar 112013
 
Juvenile leatherjackets under Rye Pier

About the site Rye Pier is a long sandy swim down to the end. It’s known for seahorses hanging out on the pylons, and once a year playing host to the spider crab migration. Last week I’d heard a rumour the spider crabs were out and about. It seemed a little unlikely especially given last year I dived with them in May. With the weather looking beautiful for any kind of dive, we decided to head down to Rye anyway and see what we could see. About the dive We walked down the beach and into the water, rather than walking along the top of the pier in the very hot sun. After a bit of wading, this meant swimming through [read more…]

Hero shots in Kilsby’s Sinkhole

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  1 Response »
Mar 042013
 
Hero shots in Kilsby's Sinkhole

About the site We’re very lucky to have the easily accessible and stunning Mt Gambier sinkholes so close to home. Piccaninnie Ponds, the Shaft and Kilsby’s are all huge spaces filled with crystal clear water. In all three you can hang mid-cave and see from one side to the other (unless the sun is too low or your torch isn’t big enough). From a diver’s point of view, they’ve got clear water all year round. From a photographer’s point of view, all three get silty and milky (although non camera holding visitors might not think so). By the time a bunch of divers have been through Kilsby’s on a weekend the water takes on a hazy quality. About the dive [read more…]