Kona Mantas (aka Sting Ray City on Acid)

Here’s a small collection of photos from a recent night dive with huge Pacific Manta Rays in Kona. To be honest I was a bit over my skis having never tried to photograph large animals at night. As much as possible I wanted to somehow create images that revealed the elegance of these animals and none of the surrounding circus atmosphere. By no means did I do a great job but I had some modest success. I’d love to go back and try again.

Here's a short blog entry I wrote for non-divers.

http://davidsafanda.com/night-diving-with-manta-rays/

Looks good to me!

Looks like you had a lot of success and an exciting trip. I particularly like the second and fourth pictures. I will be heading to Kona next week on the aggressor and look forward to the manta dive. I have never done wide angle at night either and was wondering if you have any tips on photographing the mantas that you learned on your dive?

Tom

Looks like you had a lot of success and an exciting trip. I particularly like the second and fourth pictures. I will be heading to Kona next week on the aggressor and look forward to the manta dive. I have never done wide angle at night either and was wondering if you have any tips on photographing the mantas that you learned on your dive?

 

Tom

Hi Tom,

The Aggressor was on a buoy right next to us. I only had one night to do this dive and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. The dive master more than once reminded us that sometimes no Mantas show up and sometimes only a few. With this in mind I think I was too frantic to get shots when the slightest opportunity presented itself. In reality I had plenty of time and numerous close encounters. My advice would be don't rush it, despite the initial excitement. Take your time, watch the patters the Mantas are swimming in before shooting anything and plan a few shots. Then position yourself and let them come to you. My experience was that it's only a matter of time before you get buzzed by a 15ft Manta. I was constantly swiveling around trying to get the right angle when all I really needed to do was pick one and stick with it for awhile.

David