419 Dive Log Australasia AUGUST 2026

BUILDING COMPOSITE PHOTOS 2

The Grey Nurse shark nursery at Fish Rock is famous as a photo spot. From Oct to Dec, these young, mostly female Grey Nurse congregate at the North end of Fish Rock Cave. It is therefore a magnet to U/W photographers to get that classic flash fill shark shot. This requires a wide angle lens and good lighting. The best lens is the 16mm Fish Eye lens or similar with its extremely wide field of view. I wanted to capture the sharks in silhouette in the cave opening and some of the many Wobbegong sharks resting on the rocky sea floor. A serious challenge indeed. I set the ISO to 400 and the aperture to f16 to give depth of field and a sharp image. I also wanted a shutter speed of 1/80 sec; slow enough to let in plenty of light. The inside of the cave is pitch black. At any moment, a huge Marble Sting Ray might swim out of the gloom or a couple of Grey Nurse might swim over your shoulder.

Above: Portrait scene Below: Landscape scene

The dark bouldery sea floor was home to seventeen Wobbegongs. Placing a knee of a boulder to steady yourself was not recommended in case the ‘rock’ is soft and grumpy. This photo is a serious challenge. First, fine tuned my buoyancy, then set about taking a the shot. As always, I start with a pre visualised idea of the shot I want in my head. The solution was to move both flashes very high and wide as well as pointing upwards a little. I used two extended arms to position my 5000 Lumen Orca Torch below the housing to illuminate Wobbies on the rocks. Next, you need time! I organised with the dive guide to let me stay there on my own for 30 minutes as I planned to stay put. You need to take a lot of photos here to get one or two that fit the plan. Wobbegongs in the foreground, Sharks in position in the midground and background light. Just wonderful!

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DIVE LOG Australasia #419 - August ‘26

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