Going to Cocos Island in a about a week.

I'm told they should be at around 60 feet or so and I'm assuming we shoot up at them.

 

I have a point and pray (I mean shoot ) . Olympus SP560 and I've been pretty lucky using their uw setting in the past: ISO 100, auto WB, f 4. I'm pretty sure the shutter speed varies depending upon light.

 

I want to try to shoot either manual or if someone suggests aperture or shutter priority, I will try that too.

 

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

I shot mostly at ISO 400. If your camera will produce acceptable images at that ISO I would suggest trying

it

 

.Cocos

Ellen,

You will be shooting anywhere from nearly straight up to somewhat downward so, one manual setting probably won't be good for everything. Shutter priority might be worth a try.

There are cleaning stations that sometimes result in an eye level shot which to me is the one to be ready for as the others will become somewhat commonplace depending on how lucky you get with the Hammerheads in general. You're going the exact same time I went 3 years ago. It was pretty awesome. The night dive with the Whitetips is worth the trip.

Rand

That's putting it in perspective Rand. I will be so thrilled to see schooling hammers and if I get a silhouette of the schools, a nice shot like Eric has, it will be worth the trip. I can't imagine them getting commonplace, but a friend of mine got bored with the whale sharks in Galapagos if you can believe that. As for the close up. I know I'll blow that shot. I get too excited and then I mess up. Too bad they don't sell patience and calm on the internet.

So, I want to try to get a photo like Eric's. I wonder how close he was when he took this and what settings he used. I did PM him but we all know how busy he is.

 

Hope you have a great trip.

 

Please post a report when you get back. I was there in March. My trip was good but i did not seem many hammers overhead.

Conditions/viss change a lot at Cocos so you will have to change settings a lot. Dial in shutter speed of 125, Iso 200 and take it from there.

yes, a higher ISO will be important, you will need something in the 200-400 range as the water is quite dark there.

 

I would say set yourself to f5.6 and play with shutter speeds, anywhere from 1/30 if shooting slightly down all the way up to 1/200 or higher if you need to shoot straight up to the sun and anywhere in between for the others.

 

Basically, set yourself on manual and set fstop to f5.6, then use the light meter to set your shutter speed to somewhere between 0 and -1 on the light meter. The speed itself will depend on the lighting conditions for each and every shot as they will all be different.

Thanks guys. I appreciate it. I keep getting conflicting advice about ISO so this helps a lot. I keep hearing that I will have lots of opportunities to capture these guys, but who knows? I'd hate to blow my one chance.

 

Mike, hope your shoulder is better.

Facebook

 

Thanks Ellen

Ellen, here's a little teaser for you and the Exif follows what Mike was suggeseting.

 

ISO 400

f6.3 @ 1/100

July 8, 2006

Note the exposure goes from very bright in the upper left to quite dark in the lower right. This was at about 100'.

 

 

Rand

Thanks guys. I appreciate it. I keep getting conflicting advice about ISO so this helps a lot. I keep hearing that I will have lots of opportunities to capture these guys, but who knows? I'd hate to blow my one chance.

 

Mike, hope your shoulder is better.

 

you will have lots of oportunities to shoot hammerheads but not necessarily big schools. i went in January of 2003 and we didn't really get any big schools. saw a couple groups of 30 or so in the distance but not up close. granted we still saw hammerheads on every dive except for the night dive with the whitetips and the silvertip cleaning station. just be prepared and there will be plenty of amazing photo ops. the school of jacks at dirty rock is mesmerizing.

 

and my own safety plug: be careful of the beds of sea urchins, had my hand & arm kicked into a patch by a careless diver hopelessly trying to fight the current and u don't really want to be injured and bleeding at 90ft in a 3 knot current surrounded by sharks....

and my own safety plug: be careful of the beds of sea urchins,

 

I believe they call them Costa Rican Tattoos

 

Stew

Ellen, here's a little teaser for you and the Exif follows what Mike was suggeseting.

 

ISO 400

f6.3 @ 1/100

July 8, 2006

Note the exposure goes from very bright in the upper left to quite dark in the lower right. This was at about 100'.

 

 

Rand

Thanks Rand. Awesome photo.

and my own safety plug: be careful of the beds of sea urchins, had my hand & arm kicked into a patch by a careless diver hopelessly trying to fight the current and u don't really want to be injured and bleeding at 90ft in a 3 knot current surrounded by sharks....

Well, at least I would get a good closeup.

 

I lost my dive light doing a back roll in Thailand for a night dive. Can't remember what happened to my back up. I didn't have my focus light yet so I never brought my camera on night dives. Too much task overload for me to hold a camera and a light. Anyway, there were urchins all over the place and I couldn't see them so I wound up with quite a few tattoos.

Hi all

 

I was in coco's at christmas. We didn't get to see the big groups of hammerheads but we did see one or two every dive so there are still there all depends on the water temp. The cleaning stations are quite deep so I would shoot at a minimum of iso 400 if your lucky enough to see them

Thanks for that tip!! I appreciate it.

 

Tick tock. I leave tomorrow!!

Good luck, Ellen! Sorry I didn't reply to your PM.

 

It is dark down there -- I shot between ISO 320 and 640 at depth and had pretty good results. I would love to go back there sometime!

 

Oh yeah. If you want a silhouette shot, you can shoot at lower ISOs because you'll be pointing your camera upwards. Don't be afraid to set your camera up for a specific shot. Focus is better than a shotgun approach.