Photos from 2004 Wetpixel Bahamas Sharks & Dolphins trip

Hey guys! I just returned this morning from the first Wetpixel Bahamas Sharks & Dolphins trip. We had a wonderful time out there. My trip journal is up at:

http://echeng.com/travel/bahamas2004/

... with a Wetpixel feature (and photos from all participants) to follow eventually. I'm so excited about this new tiger shark location that I'm going to book a trip out there for late winter or spring of 2005 or winter of 2006. Details to follow...

Great shots, Eric! Personally, I'd very much like to do some dives with tigers somewhere. (I'll just bring an old wetsuit that I can throw away after the dive. )

Mark Addison (Blue Wildnerness) and other operators in South Africa have also been running tiger dives at Aliwal Shoal near Durban for the past few years. It wasn't that long ago that most divers felt believed tigers were intrinsically too dangerous to be in the water with except in a cage. Now all that seems to be changing - people are even free-diving with great Whites.

Some people, however, are concerned that a proliferation of operators offering encounters with potentially dangerous animals such as these will eventually lead to a serious accident, which could also lead to tighter regulation of this sort of diving in some countries and other follow-on effects. Any views?

It lo0ks like you had a very successful trip. A fanatistic variety of subjects. And diving with tiger sharks in the dark.....that's really pushing the envelope! Excellent, excellent stuff!

I hope to to join you for one of these trips in the future.

Larry

It's looks you had a great time there.

The tiger sharks are very impressive, they looks almost as pets in your shots, In Dahab (Sinai, Egypt) one of their relevant just eat the hand of a girl to weeks ago.

George Lawrence or George Vincent (aka scorpio_fish??). You call him George Lawrence on the front page, but George Vincent elsewhere...

It does look like a mighty cool trip, lots of varied subjects, lots of lovely sharks. I hope to join one one day.

Yeah... It's George Vincent. He has a Lawrence in his name as well -- I deleted the wrong part.

040713_151252_echeng8662.tif is my favorite shark shot.

How did you get the color in 040716_152538_echeng9166.tif

and other similar shots. Are you using filters or are you achieving it with WB? BTW, I like those kind of aerial view shots. I often hear the advice "never shoot down." I quess that's more of a guideline than a rule.

What's with the guy's face being blocked out.....is he fooling around on his wife or a member of the witness protection program?

Larry

Hey, Larry. I didn't use a filter. Instead, I shot wide angle and prayed that enough red would be recorded for CaptureOne (or equivalent) to be able to WB properly on a white tank, Ike strobe, or highlights in the sand.

I used a red filter in some of the tiger shark shots (the ones that were taken with the 15mm full-frame fisheye -- no strobe), but I think I prefer the 20mm shots taken without filter and with strobe.

The aerials were really fun to shoot. this is my favorite (when viewed full-screen):

Eric do you have any tips or suggestions before I head out there on Thursday? (I am shooting Canon, just the poor cousin of yours) :?

Hey, Todd -

I'd recommend shooting the 15mm full-frame fisheye almost exclusively. You probably have enough shots of sharks already, so you can concentrate on getting really close and lighting them up well.

Um. Not much else, really! If you're kneeling or laying in the sand, push your strobes up a bit and point them up a bit. Use diffusers for better coverage and a more pleasing look. I typically push my strobes way out and point them straight forward or even a little outward. That way, I don't have to adjust strobe power much even when sharks approach very close, because the fall-off lighting will light them up as they approach. I've found that with my Ikes at 1/2 power, diffused, I can light up a shark properly at a large range of distances at around f7.1 or 8, ISO 100. You'll probably have to shoot at full power with your INONs if you use the diffusers.

Oh, and take some incriminating photos of Watt for me.

Eric, that first shot of the Tiger posted here is outstanding. Beautiful.

Rand

Hey, Todd -

 

Oh, and take some incriminating photos of Watt for me.

Thanks Eric.

As for Watt I'll probably have to switch to a macro lens for his diminutive frame. LOL

I'd recommend shooting the 15mm full-frame fisheye almost exclusively.  You probably have enough shots of sharks already, so you can concentrate on getting really close and lighting them up well.

I've been shoting with the 15mm FE exclusively, with a Drebel ike housed, it's a perfect lens for this trip

I'm still sorting and uploading my pictures, it'll take a few days to have everything online, a few pics are already on my website :

http://underwaterpics.org/index.php?groupid=7 (WIP)

Alex