418 Dive Log Australasia JUNE 2026.pdf

Underwater photography at night Text and photos by Mike Scotland L ike many divers, I love photographing on night dives. Many daytime fish come in a bewildering and stunning variety of colours that are often very different to their day colours. However, they are often impossible to get good photos of. At night, you are given the absolute best opportunity to “get the shot.” There are many creatures that are strictly nocturnal especially, Echinoderms, Crustaceans and Gastropods to name a few. After many hundreds of night dives, I have a few pointers to share.

A Steep Head Parrotfish inside its coccoon of coral slime at Matamanoa Honeymoon Island in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji.

descend to the bow. Finally, I arrived at the safety of the hull at about twenty metres. We tried to get low and hope to hell that the shark did not take an interest in us. I went over the side of the wreck onto the deck area for protection from the shark and the overpowering current. Down amongst the holds were some of the biggest Turtles I had ever

On a night dive on the Yongala, in the total darkness, a female Bronze whaler zoomed above my head at warp speed. She zipped in and out of my torch light three times and was gone in a flash. Her speed was nothing less than mind blowing, certainly more than twenty to thirty times faster than my speed. I had struggled against an extremely strong current to get the fifty metres from the boat to the surface buoy marking the descent line onto the Yongala. Then it was a herculean struggle to

see. Four massive Green turtles and a Loggerhead the size of a VW, almostly.

Most of us were low on air after thirty minutes because of the exertion needed to overcome the current.

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Dive Log Australasia #418 JUNE ’26

www.divelog.net.au