Guadalupe White Shark Trip

It looks like there are a few of us here that are going to Guadalupe this year and a bunch more going next year on the Wetpixel sponsored trip to Guadalupe. Since I booked my trip 6 months ago I have been working out what I will be packing and how I plan to shoot so that my DSLR needs are covered and I won't be wishing for something I left behind. I am curious to know what others are bringing and how you plan to shoot?

My basic set up will be my housed DSLR, 17-40mm zoom lens and 1 Inon Z220 strobe w/diffuser for a little fill light. Shoot at lowest ISO while keeping my shutter at least 125th to freeze movement, manual with appropriate aperture for the camera to shark distance, manually select power on the strobe.

I would also like to experiment with a panning shot, sharp shark with blurry background.

My full equipment list:

I will be on a Guadalupe trip in October and plan to use one strobe. I will pack two so I have a backup. Here is a list of gear that I plan on bringing:

1 Housing w/ spare orings

2 strobes w/ spare orings

2 DSLR bodies, one as back up and for topside shots.

6 - 2gig memory cards (I plan to download nightly to a laptop and external HD)

17-40mm zoom will most likely be my primary lens

15mm FE plan to use on at least one dive to get cage divers w/ shark shots

100mm Macro - In case no sharks show up I can shoot krill or what ever small creatures live in the water at 6 feet

Bunch of other lenses for topside shots

3 - camera batteries

4 - sets of rechargeable 2300mhr batteries for my strobes

8 - sets of alkaline batteries for my strobes as a backup

Laptop

External 80gig HD for backing up to.

Now I wonder if I am missing something?

Keith

Forget the macro. They won't let you out of the cage.

You won't need a dry suit. The water there in Oct. is warm. I didn't get any chill on a hour dive with a 1/4" wet suit.

Is your trip all still shooters? There were video people on my trip and they objected to us using strobes. I wish I was prepared to raise a stink about that.

Patience; both of my trips we had great luck but they went back the following year and had to wait until the last day to get sharks.

Forget the macro.

I use a dry suit -- prefer it to getting wet all the time. Bring both dry and wet, if you can.

Bring strobes. They can try to separate or time video vs. still shooters.

Bring a warm jacket in case it's cold, topside. Also bring 15mm full-frame fisheye, if you have one.

I agre with Dave: macro isn't useful there.

Well here is my list, we leave on Sunday. As you will see I believe in “better to have and not need than need and not haveâ€.

2xD100 Bodies

Laptop and 20gig Flashtrax

3x2gig cards, 1x1gig card

10.5mm, 12-24mm, 17-35mm for cage

24-85mm, 80-200mm, topside

2xSea&Sea 350 strobes, use one but need to have other charging

2xSea&Sea 90DX strobes, will only use one but need a backup

Alex’s Magic filters for all lenses. Will be first time using so will experiment later in the trip. URPRO SWCY 77mm filter, same

Dry Suit, wetsuit

Lots of batteries and two of everything else

Nice to hear that some feel the water is “warmâ€. The wife wears 7mm in 80 degree water so she is renting a Dry Suit!

What do people suggest as a “cage strategy†? My wife if a non-photog, so I see this as an advantage. I was planning on sitting down with our cage mates and suggesting we switch ends of the cage each rotation and then the buddy pairs can decide who gets the outside corner. Or possibly have the buddy pairs switch ends ½ hour into each session. Is this possible or is it too much of a hassle?

Cage strategy....hmm I'm hoping that toward the end of the trip some folks will sit out their turn due to exhaustion after 3 or 4 days. Those of us that want to can either get more prime spots or just have fewer folks in the cage, but we will see. I like the idea of getting to know your cage mates and work out a plan so that everyone gets the shots they want whether shooting video or still.

Forget the macro.

 

I agre with Dave: macro isn't useful there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I guess no one got my sarcasim with the macro lens

I went to S. Australia once to shoot white sharks (sorry white pointers). One of our guys was the head of underwater photography program at a prominent photography college.

I mention this because his comment that the best lens to get full frame shots of a white shark was the 28 mm lens on his F3.

So I would think in terms of that equivalent focal length when I am shooting.

I didn't see it mentioned but are you only bringing one UW housing? If so you might want to bring a second one or maybe (gasp) a Nikonos. It is good to have a backup camera but if you only have one housing you could be in trouble. Especially if you have only one dome port. I have seen dome ports cracked when a camera fell off the table on several of my last dive trips.

So I would think in terms of that equivalent focal length when I am shooting.

 

I didn't see it mentioned but are you only bringing one UW housing? If so you might want to bring a second one or maybe (gasp) a Nikonos.  It is good to have a backup camera but if you only have one housing you could be in trouble. Especially if you have only one dome port. I have seen dome ports cracked when a camera fell off the table on several of my last dive trips.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm shooting with a 1DsII so I won't have to worry about equivalent focal length, the 17-40mm should do well for coverage. As for a backup housing...I wish but I have tremendous faith in my Seacam and will be careful not to drop it, maybe duct tape it to the camera table

Keith - I haven't been to Guadalupe since 2003, and obviously the photo gear I carry now is different than it was then. But you might get some good prep tips out of:

http://www.stephenfrink.com/sf-reports/2003guadalupe/

Incidentally, that was the first time I used a Canon EODS1Ds in a Seacam housing and the resolution on those files precipitated my migration to the 1DsMKII I use now. You should be very happy with your results there. Good luck!

Steve

Thanks Steve for the info! I already memorized your article 6 months ago when I booked my trip...

Having just got back from this weekends trip on the Searcher with Great White Adventures here's my $0.02.

Equipment - I took the bare minimum, D70, Ike Housing and DS125 Strobe, and 12-24mm 2*1 gig cards and laptop. My GF had her C7070 and Sea & Sea strobe and 2 1 gig cards. There were some people that seemed to have all of the equipment they had ever owned and I'm sure they used most of it at one point or another!!

Before you go Check, Check and double check that you have everything you need, fortunatly I decided to put my housing together before we left the dock, good job as I discovered I'd left my bag of spare O rings at home and didn't have one for the lens port. A short jog to Point Loma camera store sorted that out, but delayed the boat by 30 minutes and I sure felt like a complete dumb@ss.

I wish I'd taken my 18-70 so I could get some close up shots and also a decent top side lens but I wanted to travel as light as possible.

I didn't get to try the magic filters as I was simply too stoked to be in the cage and didn't want to complicate things. This was also my first photgraphy trip and I was working on the keep it simple philosophy.

Sharks - We had sharks from day one, a lot of sharks, it was only the last day that the action was a bit short although we still had company, they were being a bit lazy.

Cages - 4 people can be a bit crowded in the cages, my cage buddies were quite cooperative for the trip and we each took it in turns for the corners. The Video guys didn't complain about strobes. You only really need one strobe for fill in and try and have it on a short arm otherwise it will get knocked. By day 3 the rotations had thinned out a bit through exhaustion so there we times when there was only 2 people in the cage.

Searcher has a "deep" 3rd cage at 20 feet which is well worth getting in, you get a completely different perspective from there.

Wetsuits - I hired a 7mm full suit with a hood, the first day I didn't use the hood but by the end I was begginning to wish I had a dry suit, an hour in the cage not moving much in 70 degree water for 3 days and you start to feel the cold.

Boat - Searcher and the crew were great, we never went hungry, they have a good wine and beer selection. Cabins are small but you only ever sleep in them, although if you can I'd try and avoid the bow cabins which can be a bit bouncey if the see is rough on the crossings. The main saloon has plenty of room, good choice of DVD's and they set aside a table as a charging station, which can be a bit crowded. Make sure your equipment is marked to avoid any confusion.

The camera tables at the stern have a high lip and are quite secure, although I bought my camera into my cabin when it got really rough. The crossing conditions were OK 6-8 feet there and 10 feet back although I would take sea sickness remedies, even one of the hardiest sailors (charter boat captain) got sick and rechristened St-Heave....

I'll post some pics once I've sorted the wheat from the chaff!

UncleFred