Underwater Photographer of the Year

My image of seahorse at long-snouted seahorse at Studland was recently commended in the Underwater Photographer of the Year. The competition received over 2500 entries  from underwater photographers from 40 countries. The competition has some amazing images, check out the results here: 

http://www.upylondon.com/2015results.aspx

Behind the Shot: Gorging Basking Sharks

A few years ago in June I headed for Sennen Cove, Cornwall, armed with my camera, wide angle lens and underwater housing hoping to get shots of basking sharks. I had been trying to capture a portrait of the world’s second largest shark (which can grow as long as a double decker bus!) for several years. Under the right conditions it is possible to see lots of these sharks aggregated together feeding, but conditions can quickly change and I had on several occasions travelled half way around the country only to be bitterly disappointed.

Sennen Cove is well known for its basking shark sightings and for once my timing was perfect. The cove had been battered by a storm for several days which was quickly followed by warm and settled conditions triggering a large plankton bloom. Around twenty basking sharks were in Sennen cove, unmistakable as their large dorsal fins sliced through the water.

Although Basking sharks are harmless plankton feeders they have still been known to lash out with their tails if startled. One of the best ways to photograph basking sharks with minimal disturbance is to be quietly dropped by kayak in the vicinity of the shark and allow them to get used to your presence. I slipped off the kayak, put my mask and snorkel on and let the current gently drift me into the vicinity of the feeding sharks. Suddenly the dark shadow of a shark only just visible in the green murk appeared briefly before disappearing. Back on the surface I noticed the shark’s fin abruptly change direction. I quickly put my head underwater again. Seconds later its huge gaping mouth appeared out of the blue, heading on a collision course directly towards me. When I pushed the shutter the shark was less than half a metre away from me!

Dive Photo Guide on Over-Unders in Temperate Waters

I was really pleased to be asked by Dive Photo Guide Magazine to produce a techniques article on split level 'over under' photography in temperate environments. The article can be seen here. The article was focused on  highlighting the advantages  and challenges of using the technique around temperate coasts. The article also provides practical tips on getting the most of this technique, particularly in shallow tidal pools which I regularly use for split shots. Dive Photo Guide is a comprehensive underwater photography and videography resource and award-winning website with a  community of over 50,000 underwater photographers and videographers from around the globe.

Split level images in Daily Mail

I got a good selection of split level images in the  Daily Mail this week. Check  them out at this link. The focus of the images was to try and capture a selection of split-level images specifically offshore from popular UK holiday spots as people can sometimes be unaware of the diverse range of marine life just feet from the shore! Hopefully this might inspire people to venture a bit deeper, even if it’s just a couple feet below the surface. 

Over-under (or split-shot) photography is a really useful technique to connect topside viewers with what lies underwater. I chose recognizable coastal features to be shown in the top half of the frame, with the underwater level displaying a less familiar perspective of the coastal zone. The topside portion also shows the viewer that the image was taken just below the surface at an accessible location near the coast rather than a mysterious location miles offshore.

Galapagos Penguins

We really wanted to photograph the Galapagos penguin underwater on a recent trip to the islands. Sadly the species is endangered and is now the rarest penguin in the world and so we didn't want to get our hopes up! While visiting one of the islands called Bartolome we noticed about five penguins feeding offshore around the base of a pinnacle rock. We quickly grabbed our snorkel equipment and swam over to the penguins. Within seconds the penguins were all around us, cutting through the water like torpedoes with jets of bubbles marking their trail.They are slow and clumsy on land but very adept in the water as they propel themselves by using their wings as flippers. The penguins were feeding on small bait balls (fish shoals). Sometimes the fish would shoal around us and so the penguins would swim all around us zig zagging and flipping with incredible agility.

Snorkeling with penguins was one of the highlights of our trip to the Galapagos and I recently gave the Galapagos Conservation Trust permission to use some of my images on their website.

Telegraph Picture of the Day: Manatee Underwater

One of my underwater manatee shots was picture of the day in the Telegraph this week. The image was taken at Crystal River, Florida. Its an amazing place to view manatees in great visibility conditions. Kings Bay and the headwaters of Crystal River, encompasses more than 70 natural springs which produce a constant flow of 72°F water. Combined with areas of shallow water, the abundance of natural springs provide a winter haven for hundreds of wild manatees. The best time to experience the manatees at the springs is early in the morning as they tend to disperse to the wider area to feed in the afternoon and you also avoid the majority of other tourists. Winter mornings are surprisingly cold in Florida, getting down to only a few degrees Celsius. Once we has stepped out of the warm of the chalet into the frosty dawn conditions, a rapid change into a wetsuits was required! This was defiantly more reminiscent of getting ready for a cold winter surf at one of our local spots in the UK rather than what you expect in the ‘sunshine state’! The manatees were incredibly curious and playful, particularly the young calf's. They would often come right up to our masks and swim all around us, often turning onto their sides for a belly rub!

Behind the Shot: Dusky Dolphins in New Zealand

Some of New Zealand’s most spectacular encounters with large marine animals can be found at a place called Kaikoura on the South Island. The town is located on a small peninsula where steep, snow capped mountains, worthy of any Peter Jackson movie tower imposingly up from the sea. A deepwater canyon that drops to over one kilometre is located only a few miles from the coast. Upwelling of nutrients from the canyon makes this a highly productive region with species more normally seen way offshore such as sperm whales, wandering albatross, blue sharks and large squid occurring much closer inshore. Kaikoura is also one of the few places in the world where you can snorkel with large pods of dusky dolphins, an opportunity not to be missed.

After several days waiting because of unsuitable stormy weather, we finally got the call that the dolphin trip was going ahead. The launching ramp for the trip was about a ten minutes journey from Kaikoura. En route our guide provided us with a little detail about the dusky dolphins and briefed us on how to act around them. We were told that the dusky dolphins can be incredibly inquisitive underwater but only if you keep them interested by making lots of noise and moving around a lot e.g. diving down. The guide explained that ‘if you just float and focus on getting photos they will disappear in seconds!’ The trips use a spotter plane to make it a little easier to locate the dolphins over such a large range. We had good conditions with a glassy sea state and light winds. After about 40 minutes the captain heard over the radio from the plane that a ‘superpod’ (when several smaller pods join together) of over 300 dolphins were moving through the area! The crew of the trip were clearly excited as this news and the boat sped off in the direction of the sighting.

We hurriedly changed into the thick winter wetsuits and snorkel gear. It wasn't long before we could make out the shape of hundreds of large dorsal fins slicing through the water. Once we were ahead of the dolphins the guide bellowed “go, go, everyone in the water”. Chaos ensued for a few seconds with people throwing themselves overboard in all directions. The bubbles slowly disappeared leaving a blanket of green surrounding us. The water was a much colder than at the Poor Knights Islands. We could hear the clicks and squeals of dolphins communicating. I looked into the abyss below and then around me, but could only see my girlfriend who was also frantically looking around. Moments later another group of dolphins from the pod shot towards us out of the murk. This time we changed our tactics and started to dive down and spin around. The dolphins immediately started to respond to our actions, weaving and dodging around us. Taking shots (and grabbing a breath!) had to be awkwardly done at the same time as undertaking the rather comical looking ‘dolphin dance’! Large groups of as many as ten or fifteen curious individuals would check us out, often for several minutes, before dispersing away. Eventually all the dolphins in the pod passed and were left floating around in the current with only the faint sound of the dolphin calls in the distance. We swam back to the boat and clambered back on board, everyone was shivering but ecstatic from the massive adrenalin buzz.

As dolphin swimming and snorkeling becomes increasingly popular and commercial around the world, the experience we had at Kaikoura, like so much of New Zealand felt refreshingly wild and untamed.