Photographing cuttlefish eggs

I'd like some real information on doing this. I know that they can be forced to hatch by using lights and I know that people have taken hatching shots set up like this. This seems like not a great practice to me. Thoughts?

And how about taking shots of them in the eggs but then flipping the coconut or shell or whatever back over to let them go on in peace & relative safety. Harmful? No biggie?

Humans are insane!
I've seen do it in Indo with the flamboyant.
I think the main focus point has to be: Education.
PADI and any other agency, instead to brainwashing students in buying equipment, should have at least one chapter focus in Marine Bio.
Because that is what divers are gonna see!
We need to educate'em in the first steps of diving!

and, just to answer: not biggie at all!

Just take pics of things how it is, leave the marine life be. I really thought this was common sense, or at least hoped it was.

Just take pics of things how it is, leave the marine life be. I really thought this was common sense, or at least hoped it was.

Wishful thinking I fear.

On a recent visit to Puerto Galera we watched with horror as a photographer took his pics of a frogfish then smacked the fish off it's coral perch. Honest. He then moved along, found another and did the same thing. Incredible.

Wishful thinking I fear.

 

On a recent visit to Puerto Galera we watched with horror as a photographer took his pics of a frogfish then smacked the fish off it's coral perch. Honest. He then moved along, found another and did the same thing. Incredible.

 

That is fucked up. If I saw that I don’t think I could have stopped myself from smacking the diver tbh.

Yup

I heart horror story about award winning photographer would cut off sea fan after he take his picture, just so that no one can take picture of the exact same subject again.

Holy smoke. He should win the Git of the Year Award.

No-one we know here I hope.

I forgot who he was, it was back in the day. The information was shared when I attended an underwater photography workshop trip back in 2012, the trip organizer explained all the etiquette and quoted this story.

Humans are really stupid animals....
We should enjoy what we get to see, and we have the luxury to fix these moments for others.

Beeing an instructor, it was allways a have to do for me, to show people a bit about the underwater world, and to tell them how lucky we are, simply to have a chance watching this real.

I have seen divers / photographers watching a scene, and while swimming away kicking the animal from ist original place....
Divers, taking a pic of a pygmy in a fan, and kicking the next fan with their fins, so if there was a pygmy, it would have thought this will be the end of the world...

For the "best shot" putting animals to places they would never go... And riscing the live of that poor thing...

It looks on land, like there is only me, than me and than, after a long break maybe something else...
Under water without witness, it can be even worse...

So ist our job to save of the underwaterworld as much as possible.
To tell people what stupid things they were doing, even when this means to get unfriendly answers.

Who else than a photographer archieves things there???
If you visit some places for years, you see the changes. And we can document it, and tell the people why...

Sorry for the Long message,
but i think ist time to give the "blue" part of the planet a bit back of what we take....

Regards,
Wolfgang

It's all about education and respect. I'm an instructor and UW photographer. Regardless of experience I always include in my briefing do not touch, tease or harass anything. I usually take this further with beginners telling them the ocean is not our home, we don't belong there and its only by technological advances we have the opportunity and privilege to witness its wonders. We should leave no trace of being there, ideally not moving as much as a grain of sand. We are mere visitors. If invited into someone's home as a guest we'd never dream of taking anything or moving their belongings, the ocean should be the same to us. Most are receptive to this, those who are not, I remind them politely that many things in the Ocean are venemous therefore for their own safety it is better not to touch. I find that usually does the trick.

With photographers, I give them tips on buoyancy and how best to get into position without disturbing anything. If it's evident their buoyancy isn't yet at a level they can manage that, then I'll never point out anything that's in an awkward place where they'll likely damage. If they do, then that's my fault for showing it in the first place.

So to answer the OP... Moving something may seem like no biggie, but these dive sites we all dive see thousand of divers there year in year out. If every other person moved stuff, then yes it is a biggie, it's a major biggie for the marine life there.

One of the sites I dive has had a Tiger tail seahorse on the same spot for 4 years. I've seen it photographed on a daily basis by many customers for all that time. I've seen clients with less than desirable buoyancy kick up the sand and corals surrounding it. It's heartbreaking. I won't even mention its presence to people unless their buoyancy is excellent. We have to take responsibility for our actions and their impact.

This year at the start of the season the seahorse isn't there anymore. Maybe it just died of natural causes but I'm secretly hoping it's moved elsewhere and nobody ever finds him again!

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