What Mysteries Lie Beneath the Surface in Underwater Photography?

Borek · Sep 5, 2011

Gear:

Diver:

Pictures:

(no idea yet what the white thing is, I don't even know if it is a plant or an animal)

(sponge - Ircinia muscarum?)

(Anemonia sulcata AKA Snakelocks anemone)

(Anemonia sulcata AKA Snakelocks anemone)

(sponge - Verongia aerophoba)

(yellow - Verongia aerophoba, black sponge on the right - Ircinia muscarum, brown - some other sponge, orange - something else; can be a sponge as well)

(Echinaster sepositus - but could be it is Marthasterias glacialis, they are similar in size and both can be red)

So, where is the fish?

(Scorpaena porcus?)

Starfish was at about 20 feet - correction for refraction taken into account. Everything else was closer to the surface.

I had some problems. With just fins, mask and snorkel it is extremely difficult to fight buoyancy, and using slow idiot camera doesn't help - it takes ages before focusing ends, in the meantime I was already in completely different position. Sometimes I could catch some rock, but it is not necessarily the best idea - some of them are razor sharp. Add to that fact that in shallow water it is too bright to see the screen correctly, so it is hard to find out if camera is ready to take the picture, or not. Finally, I couldn't spend as much time in the water as I wanted to. For the first week I was fighting larynx and/or vocal cords infection, I lost my voice for three days, so decided to not even try to enter water. Next week weather was rather lousy - warm enough, but many clouds, so there was not enough light under water.

But during the last week I had a lot of fun in the water

Andy Resnick · Sep 5, 2011

Borek said:

But during the last week I had a lot of fun in the water

Indeed!

lisab · Sep 5, 2011

Fantastic - I'm envious! Is that salt water?

Borek · Sep 6, 2011

Yes, salt water, in Adriatic, on the coast of Hvar island, somewhere close to Vrboska and Jelsa. These are not very rich waters in terms of marine life, rather poor mans version of coral reef - still, can be nice.

I still plan to post vacation pictures, but it takes time, and I am busy with other things.

Borek · Aug 13, 2012

So, this year I was again in the same place, slightly better prepared (which means 1 mm neoprene wetsuit and 3 kg of lead).

Have I told you this idiot-camera shots video as well?

sourlemon · Sep 21, 2012

oh wow. I'm so jealous. The picture looks great! I can't believe you found the fish in the rocks. I didn't realize there was one there until I read the text.

drizzle · Sep 28, 2012

That's really exciting! Looks like a lot of fun. :)
Beautiful!

Borek · May 8, 2013

Ultimate adventure - wreck diving

Greg Bernhardt · May 15, 2013

Looking at your photo Borek, I am surprised you can get a good seal on your mask. I always have to shave.

Borek · May 15, 2013

I am surprised too. Somehow, it works good enough.

Evo · May 15, 2013

Somehow I missed this thread, great pictures Borek! I think all PF'ers should post pictures of themselves wearing snorkles, I have one posted.

dlgoff · May 15, 2013

Borek said:

I am surprised too. Somehow, it works good enough.

When I use to do a lot of fresh water SCUBA diving, there was hardly any water pressure force on my mask. It just "floated" on my face. What little water that happened to leak in was easily discharged by an exhale through the nose.

Thomas1989 · May 20, 2013

Wonderful pictures Borek!

The ocean gives me the creeps for sure, but I'd love to give this a try myself someday.

I especially love the photo of the wreck, do you know anything of the history behind it? I've been exploring derelict buildings and ghost towns for years, I guess you could say it's the dry land equivalent. Might post my photographs shortly.

Borek · May 20, 2013

The "wreck" is just a cheap inflatable boat resting at 20 feet (or even less)

Thomas1989 · May 20, 2013

The "wreck" is just a cheap inflatable boat resting at 20 feet (or even less)

Ah... rofl :shy:

And here I was expecting remains of a U-Boat or something, haha. I'm fascinated by wrecks and anything similar. I'm not sure where you live, so you might not of heard of it... but I've dreamed of diving at Bala Lake in Wales since I was a kid. There is a submerged village there, including the remains of the church and adjoining graveyard, houses, even the old roads are apparently visible. You can find old clay pipes and pottery fragments washed up on the shore on a good day!

davenn · May 22, 2013

When I went to Cairns city NE Queensland State of Australia for the total solar eclipse last November.
I also did some reef diving on the Great Barrier Reef. just a few pics ...