DIVE LOG AUSTRALASIA FEB 2026

Underwater photography part 4 Photographing wrecks Text and photos by Mike Scotland I have been blessed with having dived wrecks in Scapa Flow, Chuuk Lagoon, the Solomon Islands, The Great Barrier Reef, NSW, Palau, the Coolodge and more. Most of the wrecks, that I dive on, lie in places where water is a filthy, greeny-brown colour. All wrecks are filled with fine sediment that will turn into a dense cloud of dust at the slightest touch. These deadly dust clouds usually create zero visibility in seconds and are a serious danger. They are a major hazard for underwater photographers.

John makes friends with a wobbegong at 45 m on the Tuggerah.

Sydney’s Historical wrecks Sydney is fortunate to have a number of historical shipwrecks to dive on. Typically, they lie at 45 to 50 m depth. I will focus on one to describe its challenges and some challenges to overcome. The Tuggerah My favourite local wreck here in Sydney is the coal ship, the Tuggerah. This collier was one of the so called ‘sixty milers’ transporting coal from Newcastle and Wollongong to Sydney to fuel for the building of our great Australian nation. She sank in 1919. There are quite a few historic wrecks on this ‘magic’ sea lane curve, most are in depths of around fifty

Too many dive buddies have really bad buoyancy and no matter how much they apologise after the dive, the fact remains that sorry is never enough after kicking up the sediment inside the hold of the Toa Maru, totally ruining the photos of those three ships lamps. Billowing clouds of rust and silt fill the view on that once in a lifetime experience after you have travelled to the remotest and most far-flung wreck by that selfish, mindless, careless diver. Wrecks are hard to photograph even without that dog of a dive buddy! Anybody who can get good wreck shots is doing extremely well. Many creatures are nervous and swim so fast making them a real challenge. But wrecks have their own unique challenges to overcome. I am going to discuss a few wrecks and the photographic challenges they provide.

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Dive Log Australasia #416 February ’26

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