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…]

Wreck of the Thai Muang

 Ocean diving, Wrecks  No Responses »
Feb 182013
 
Wreck of the Thai Muang

About the wreck Continuing on from last week’s post about the Thai wrecks we dived from the MV Giamani over Christmas, here’s some shots from the next shipwreck on the schedule, the Muang Thai. Before tourism came along much of Phuket’s economy was based on dredging for seabed tin. As the basis of people’s livelihood’s changed the old tin boats were run and used until they sunk of their own accord. There’s a few old tin dredges on the seabed up and down the Thai coast and if they’re all covered with as much life as the Muang Thai they’d be excellent dives. About the dive I suffered from pre-dive indecision on whether to go with my wide angle or [read more…]

Fish around the wreck of the MV Sea Chart

 Ocean diving, Wrecks  1 Response »
Feb 112013
 
Fish around the wreck of the MV Sea Chart

About the site For all this talking about macro shots and fish, and cave diving and dry caving recently, I’ve been a little light on for wrecks. We did some brilliant wreck dives at the end of our stay on the MV Giamani as we headed back down the coast towards Phuket. All three vessels were in “terrible vis” for Thailand – which is to say it was comparable to average to good Melbourne vis, and there were a hell of a lot more fish. The first wreck dive was the MV Sea Chart. The Sea Chart was running from Myanmar around and down to Vietnam with a load of illegally logged teak when she ran into some bad weather about [read more…]

Lessons from a macro lens: Isolating the subject

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  No Responses »
Feb 072013
 
Lessons from a macro lens: Isolating the subject

When I take large, wide angle shots of reef there are several ways to overcome the confusion of a densely packed ecosystem swirling through the scene. By getting up close to a foreground feature, using strobes to highlight reds and oranges, or choosing an angle where the reef stands out against a blue background, there are techniques for drawing the viewer’s attention to the subject. With the above water photography I’d done before taking a camera into the depths, these techniques came naturally. I hadn’t done all that much macro photography above or below water, and I had to sit down and think about what I was trying to achieve with my various subjects. As in wide angle underwater photography, [read more…]

Split shots in Engelbrechts Wests

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  No Responses »
Feb 042013
 
Split shots in Engelbrechts Wests

About the cave Engelbrecht’s Cave run right under Mt Gambier itself, with houses and roads sitting over the cave up on the surface. They’re also a tourist attraction with excellent coffee and an hourly cave tour during the day. Being closer to town means there’s a little more substrate on top of the water table, and thus a few more stairs on the way down to the dive. We were diving Engelbrecht’s West on this occasion, which has a first sump leading through to an internal dry chamber with three more short underwater tunnels radiating off it. I’ve taken split shots in the chamber before, partly because it’s nice and peaceful – no tourists to disturb you on the other [read more…]

Lessons from a macro lens: picking the right subject

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  1 Response »
Jan 312013
 
Lessons from a macro lens: picking the right subject

After three years of shooting wide angle with my Canon 5DII, I picked up a macro lens for myself just before Christmas. I’ve really appreciated being “stuck” with the one underwater lens so far. Not having another option means I’ve taken wide angle shots in terrible vis and with inappropriate subjects on a regular basis. As a result I’ve learnt a lot about getting the best out of the lens in all kinds of conditions, and become a better photographer as a result. With a new lens comes a whole new learning curve for making great pictures. While it’s going to take me a while before I can reliably shoot the picture I see in my head, I wanted to [read more…]

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