DIVE LOG DECEMBER 25 ISSUE 415

Once in a blue moon, you will encounter Bicolour Angelfish that allow you to photograph them.

Learn about fish behaviour

enjoy the feeling of total relaxation and slow down so that you can escape the pressures of everyday life.

When photographing fish, your behaviour is similar to that of a predator. You stalk your quarry, try to get closer and closer take your photos. The predator will strike when it is close enough to capture the prey. There is a zone of safety that fish ‘know’ about in which they are safe. Some fish have faster reflexes and trust in their ability to evade capture. For Flasher Wrasse this is 2.5 metres. Most fish are expert at avoiding predators (and underwater photographers.) They have excellent eyesight, incredibly fast reflexes and are always totally vigilant. You get to see the incredible range of tricks they use to survive. More importantly, how effective their ‘bag of tricks’ help them to survive in the most dangerous habitat on earth. However, some fish will allow you to get within a reasonable distance. They are confident in their reflexes to escape the jaws of death or the camera. At the same time, fish are curious. Their behaviour is a compromise between the two extremes. To get the maximum benefit you need to creep in very slowly and take your time. Rushing in will frighten the fish and it will bolt. Some fish might require fifteen minutes or more to calm down enough and get used to your presence. Good underwater photographers have a lot of patience, when it comes to approaching prey. Naturally, one of the great attractions of scuba diving is to

Therein lies the secret to getting good photos.

To overcome this problem to a degree, you can choose a longer lens. After doing twenty trips to the Great Barrier Reef, I purchased a 105mm Micro Nikkor lens. I still remember my first photo of a Clown fish on the first dive from a boat called Reef Explorer. I was able to take a full frame photo from a metre. I did the next nineteen dives with that same lens because it was so novel and exciting to use.

Stunning colours of the tiny Flame Angel fish

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Dive Log Australasia #415 DECEMBER ’25

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