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Woooooow, DK. Really wonderful pics! I can't believe you got that close to the Morays...So what kind of camera did you use?
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Pretty cool, Hawaii was so much better to snorkel in than Puerto Vallarta.
(I know I still need to get certified SCUBA.) I saw a big Manta in Hawaii, awe inspiring and scary at the same time. |
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AWESOME pics! Just great! Thanks for sharing. I now know what to do for a future vacation.
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Wow!!! Thanks for the pics DK!
I didn't know Mantas got that big. I have very limited knowledge of ocean creatures. Very cool!! ...and again...congrats! |
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How does being run into (hit in the back of the head) by a 12-foot manta ray sound to you? Happened to me on a night dive the same day that picture was taken. During the night dive, the mantas come REALLY close, because they want to get close to the dive lights and scoop up the plankton attracted to the lights. I use a VERY simple camera set-up. A regular run-of-the-mill Sony Cybershop digital camera (DSC-P93) which was about $300 when I got it over a year ago, and a cheap underwater housing manufactured by Sony (about $150). This trip I also used a new external strobe (made by SeaLife) but it started malfunctioning on the fourth day of diving, so I stopped using it. |
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Nice man! I went diving off of Kona last year in May. Didn't get to see as much of the wild life as you... no dolphins, no rays, only a couple eels...
.. but diving was just UBER fun! I was in Hawaii for two weeks, and waited until the second week to dive... stupid me. The divemaster I hired to get my certification was cool as hell. Said he'd have taken me to some good areas, and on a couple night dives if I were staying another week. And he would have done it for cheap. I'm gonna have to go back some day. |
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Wicked cool I so dig manta rays !
Although...... I think I'll pass on being broadsided by one in the bean, hahaha Wish I could learn to dive. Thanks for the neat pics. |
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YOu can. What's holding you back? |
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Great pics, Im glad you folks enjoyed your time here. If you were impressed by the sealife and amazing reefs of Hawaii. I recommend The Great Barrier Reef or some of the southern Polynesian islands for a 2nd honeymoon
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We loved it!! We also loved "Killer Tacos" just south of Honokohau harbor. Best burritos I have ever had in my LIFE! Holy smokes that place was good!
We liked the diving a lot, but I'd agree with you. It's not as good as Fiji or the GBR or the Coral Sea. The diversity of species reminded us a lot of Fiji, but there was far less abundance (numbers) of fish than we'd expected. I expect its the result of all the people living on the coast, and the proximity of the reefs to the shore. It's a shame - but we still thought it was awesome! |
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DK I'm interested in hearing more about your U/W digital experiences. I use an old Nikonos IV with a SB-101 strobe, but would like to go digital. How deep have you taken pics with the Sony using the built in flash, and does the reduction in ambiant light cause any issues? Any auto-focus problems with the digital? |
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Awesome pics! Thanks so much for sharing...of course, now I'm jealous.
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I really, really love the convenience of digital, so I would definitely recommend it - even if I am just a relatively new amateur at it myself. I've used the camera in the housing at down to 90ish feet. I believe the Sony housing I've got is rated to 150, but looking back over my dive log, the deepest I've ever taken it is 96 feet. I was pretty happy with the internal flash, which provides a good amount of light for close-ups, even at depth. Obviously as you know, an external strobe (that I recently got - and have used for 6 days of diving - 14 dives) is much better, but I've still taken some good pictures with the built-in flash at reasonable depth. Here are a few examples, taken at about 60-80 feet (in West Palm, Florida). However, while decent pictures are POSSIBLE with the internal flash, I've found that the external strobe definitely helps. Sometimes the pictures with the internal flash can get a washed-out greenish-blue color to them. Luckily, as digital files, it's relatively easy to use software like Photoshop to help to correct color in UW photographs, so that can really help to compensate - and another one of the things I really like about digital. But, obviously the BEST thing is the ability to just take an ass-load of pictures. For instance, the picture of the dragon moray at the top of the page - I took four shots, because I wasn't sure that the auto-focus on the camera was focusing INSIDE the crack he was hiding in, but instead focusing on the sides of the coral. Luckily, with the display on the back of the camera, it shows me where the auto-focus is sampling, so I could just try again until it got it right. However, that is one of the VERY FEW times I have ever had the slightest issue with autofocus underwater, and 99% of the time I just ignore it, and the autofocus works fine (but I figured that shot might be tricky, so I was extra careful). Ultimately, the ease of taking a lot of shots makes this kind of photogrpahy much easier. I used to do a lot of 35mm nature photography, and digital is so liberating in being able to waste "film". I shoot about 80 pictures on a two-dive trip, and then switch memory cards, or upload the images to my laptop, and then wipe the card for the next dives. |
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Thanks DK, you answered a lot of my concerns about digital. Great pics, I'm definately gonna have to look into it. The pics with the internal flash were a lot better than I expected them to be. I can see another benefit to using the internal over external flash in stirred up water- reducing backscatter from suspended particles, I lost a lot of great pics that way . |
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Hehehehe, that's the first thing I thought! |
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Great pictures, Thanks for sharing.
Many years ago I was into diving, but unfortunately the northeast is not a great place to dive, freezing cold and can't see your hand 12" in front of your face. |
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Ah huh. I can google PICs from National Geo and post them too.
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"When you're swimmin' in the deep and an eel bites your cheek, that's a moray............"
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That's genuinely clever! Great shots DK-Prof. You are better at this than you let on. Thanks for sharing your pictures. |
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And you live in FLORIDA !!!! Shame on you! |
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That is amazing quality from that set up |
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