DIVE LOG DECEMBER 25 ISSUE 415

It takes a great deal of patience to get a good shot of a Blue Ribbon Eel

Extremely rare shot of a juvenile Regal Angelfish

Sydney’s Tasslesnout or Rock Flathead

Schooling fish

I am a fan of shark feeding. The benefits of close interactions between divers and sharks far outweigh the negatives. Most divers who enjoy shark dives, are passionate about shark conservation. I have seen how the health of reefs can improve dramatically after years of shark feeding to restore the balance of fish populations. It improves the overall health of coral ecosystems noticeably. To get close to Bull sharks and Tigers, you have to attract them in with food. The opposite is also true. Shark dives where sharks are promised in the dive brief are a big letdown when the dive ends without a single shark sighting because there is no food to attract them.

One of my best experiences was a school of Barracuda hovering over the Yongala just on sunrise. The viz was thirty metres and the sea was calm. I was able to get close enough on wide angle to light up the school with flash fill natural light using 16mm on my wide-angle lens. I had to wind up to 800 ISO due to the pre-dawn light. The same applies to schooling Trevally at Mary Island in the Solomons or in Sipidan. This time, try to get sunbeams behind the school and float like driftwood near the school. They will allow you to get closer. The slower you are, the closer they will allow you to approach.

Dirty water.

Feeding the fish

You can try to place strobes a little wider to avoid lighting up the backscatter. But in reality, the dirtier the water, they closer you have to shoot. If it is too dirty, then it is time for hot chocolate. The fact is that there is nothing you can do to avoid backscatter apart from getting closer and closer.

Feeding fish is a good way to get closer interaction with fish. Lots of divers feed Sea Urchins to Blue Gropers. So, the Blue Gropers might follow you around on the dive. I tap on rocks to attract Wrasse and they respond by coming closer, allowing you to get a photo.

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Dive Log Australasia #415 DECEMBER ’25

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