Mark C. Posted March 10, 2017 Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 Just returned from a month long trip Spent the that two weeks on a remote Island which is part of 4 islands called Wakatobi. If you google this you will find our paradise for diving. It was a three hour flight east from Bali in extreme southern Sulawesi. The plane fly's once a week-we spent two weeks there diving. I dove 3 dives a day and shot 1,000s of underwater photos I have yet to see them all. Here are a few-the 1st is my setup-a Nikon D300 in subal housing with two strobes-weighs about 12#s the second is a bubble coral shrimp next-leaf fish poisonous banded sea snake hunting fish clown fish nudibranch crocodile fish pufferfish close up pigmy sea horse fire dart fish clownfish One last note about these shots is this underwater photo thing has been a passion of mine since 1983 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted March 10, 2017 Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 fabulous! you really deserved all that wonderfulness, nobody works harder than you. it looks as though you play hard, too. glad you had such a great time. also glad you are back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted March 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 I'm exhausted as the dive schedule was grueling. The resort I will add was world class. So the eating was good. I'll post more Cambodia photos later on another thread. Threw 8 pots this afternoon-last one was thrown in Cambodia at the Japanese chamber kiln. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted March 10, 2017 Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 WOW! Great photos, textures, color, forms. I am envious. I always wanted to dive. My friend, Marge Levy, has been doing a lot lately. SO wonderful for your to have that opportunity. More please if you can. Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted March 10, 2017 Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 Awesome pictures. Is the "nudibranch" a slug? It looks like some kinda crazy slug, probably my favorite picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted March 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 Another note these photos are not touched up or cropped or doctored in any way. as to Nudibranchs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudibranch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted March 10, 2017 Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 Another note these photos are not touched up or cropped or doctored in any way. as to Nudibranchs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudibranch So cool. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted March 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 Nudibranchs are in almost all oceans world wide-I have many books on then which I use to key them out as with all the fish and invertebrates . Learning the habitats and habits of all the creatures Makes it easier to find them.I have a huge library on these critters . Life is short and I tend to over reach in interests .Not enough time to get it all done. I shot macro lens and wide angle with a dome port on this trip the lens on the Nikon d300 cropped sensor DLSR used are macro 60mm 2.8 105mm VR 2.8 and my new macro 85mm 3.5 18mm 2.8 wide angle Nudibranchs and flat worms 1st 6 photos lion fish goat fish eye at night two box fish photos hawkfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bethw13 Posted March 10, 2017 Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 Your pictures are amazing!! How deep were most of them taken? Wow just wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted March 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 Your pictures are amazing!! How deep were most of them taken? Wow just wow. All dives less than 60 feet maximum (20 meters) except for the Pigmy seahorse which was just over 79. Most of the best life on any reef is in the shallows where sunlight can penetrate . So the best zone is 40 and above. Most of the world speaks in meters and 20 meters or less for most divers there. When I was younger and a wreck diver I went to Truk Lagoon 3 times and did extensive decompression air diving as deep as 200 feet taking underwater photos which today is done very easily with mixed gas with no worries .At the times I went that was not the case.I worked hard at diving early on and became a dive master in 1985 in Little Cayman Island all while doing pottery as well. That was when I was younger traveling with some ex military folks who loved wreck diving and photography-in fact I got this U/W photo bug from them in the early 80's. Now as an older diver with a huge amount of dives in I limit myself and would never dive deep .You have to know your limits as to narcosis (which sets in like a two martini drink at depth which makes you a little drunk and is dangerous )It used to hit me at 120 feet and and now I have no idea what that depth may be. This fuzziness can effect everyone much differently . As a life time of non smoking and not drinking I tend to have less issues at depth. Things like sleep and body mass also factor into this as does age.Working with this takes training and training . I have seen just about every thing go wrong underwater-its like flying airplanes it not the 1st thing going wrong or usually the second it the 3rd and who you train for that and if that takes clear thinking and no panic. The last note on deep diving is a recompression chamber for the bends. There was not one on Truk but the plane came 3 times a week. In Wakatobi the flight into the only airport on another Island is once a week-That flight is 3 hours and would cost 18 K for a special flight so safe diving is key. In most remote world spots recompression chambers are days or week away and that factors into all dive plans. All dives at Wakatobi are maximum 70 minutes and usually 20 meter maximum depth. I spent lots of time at 35-45 feet and long safety stops on the shallow reef tops in 10-15 feet off gassing . As I mention habitats are critical so knowing that nudibranchs like it 35-50 feet you can find more of them there or say Pigmy seahorse like the currents deep. Or sea fans and crinoids like more current all makes for getting better photos.For every good photo I have 10 times more bad ones. It used to be for one 36 roll of slide film I would feel good with 3 good photos now with digital I can see them underwater and make adjustments but with current and location it not for the impatient.In fact my biggest asset for underwater photo is my patience mixed in with my experience. Which is the same as in my pottery business and all things ceramic. OK I'm rambling and need sleep as its still 18 hours ahead for me and day is night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted March 10, 2017 Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 Thank you for posting some of your photos of your dive trip they are wonderful. Sleep tight. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEP Posted March 10, 2017 Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 The photos are amazing, Mark! Glad you had a great trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted March 10, 2017 Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 Photos are really amazing, excellent depth of field allowing the view of all of the textures and how the creatures are able to blend in to the surroundings in so many ways. Great stuff! Am truly jealous! best, Pres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preeta Posted March 10, 2017 Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 wow mark you did some night diving too!!! i always have had an affinity for the sea as i grew up on Jacques Cousteau. Great, great pictures. glad you were safe from feeling drunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugaboo Posted March 11, 2017 Report Share Posted March 11, 2017 Wow Mark! Absolutely fabulous. I am so glad you had such a great time you deserve it since you work so hard all the time. The photos are amazingly colorful, who knew all that was going on under the surface of the water. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yappystudent Posted March 16, 2017 Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 One of the projects I'm working on is a series of porcelain bracelets with animal skin patterns painted in underglazes. I'm particularly inspired by your nudibranch photos but if I did patterns that bold viewers would probably think it was 60's pop art and not get the references to nature. Beautiful, Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curt Posted March 17, 2017 Report Share Posted March 17, 2017 Nice photo's Mark. Not sure my computer screen or the upload limitations you probably faced is doing them justice. Interesting to see nature's bold and extensive use of high-vis contrasting colors and shapes to warn off predators... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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