Cenotes and Whale Sharks 2010, Mexico, trip thread

Amazing work all. Really wish I was there....

Video: 11 whale sharks in rapid succession!

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Here's one of Eric gracefully posing

Insane Eric! You really captured the experience!

Here's another one, without any kind of frog ruining the image

I dont know what to say.

Stew

Thanks for the compliments everyone. Killer video Eric! That really does capture the lineup!

Another great day - fewer sharks, but just as concentrated. Water was slightly more choppy, but visibility was excellent at times. I got in on the first rotation which was nice before all the boat madness (35+ boats of snorkelers show up around 9 am).

Heidi swimming with a new friend.

Whale sharks everywhere.

Botellas were happening early in the day.

With so much already in the can, I took the fisheye off for the first time of the trip and switched to the 17-40. Great for head shots.

Also for other details.

Lots of other pelagics showed up today. Another boat reported seeing a great hammerhead. I saw a barracuda swim by. These mobulas were the only thing I could get close enough to photograph.

Hey guys, these images are fantastic and Eric, that video is smokin'! Love the editing!

I'm heading up with a small group tomorrow...hope these conditions hold out!

Eric - that video is incredible! Great work.

Cheers

James

Video: 11 whale sharks in rapid succession!

Amazing how they can just speed up then slow down like that. So Matrix like Very cool.....

Great pix all.

Eric, that video is just amazing.

Alex

I hereby issue a challenge to capture an underwater video clip with the most whale sharks visible in 90 seconds. I think Shawn has a 9 whale shark video, and mine has 11 in it (although a good number of them are in the background). Let's see what we can do.

For this adventure, is a Tokina 10-17 the lens of choice for the DX format or something else? For those of us that are dreaming of taking this type of trip, we would love to learn from your experience.

Shoot the widest lens possible...!

I disagree somewhat with Shawn -- it depends on what you are shooting. A 17mm (full frame) yields much more natural-looking images and video, but a fisheye will let you capture more than one shark at a time (and get close enough to make the water look clear). The Tokina 10-17 should be ideal because you will have the full useful range!

What I meant to say, was shoot a lens that lets you go as wide as possible...ala 10-17

Does this count for most whale sharks in 90 seconds...how about 1 second

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Does this count for most whale sharks in 90 seconds...how about 1 second

Man, just intense seeing that.... I have seen a whale shark (a young one, maybe 6 meters) once. Was on scuba and it somehow wound up with us. To see so many of them, just awesome.

Eric:

I am heading that way with Elmer Yu week after next - what kind of rubber are you wearing for the cenotes and what is the water temperature? I assume you are not using flash with the whale sharks.

Great photos.

Thanks.

Andy

Does this count for most whale sharks in 90 seconds...how about 1 second

Nice video! However, I think you missed the "underwater" part.