MUCK in Khao Lak

the title of this blog entry speaks for itself! Despite being one of the major hub for divers heading to the Similan National Park, Khao Lak is not promoted (as it should!!!) as a "local" destination for avid MACRO underwater photographers.

17 or 22 (it'll be clear later on) different nudis, 10 or 12 different species in 2 or 3 dives over 1 or 2 days (clear now?)

Less than a year ago never would I have guessed that moving to Khao Lak (closer to Similan) would have charmed me away from the crystal clear waters of the park to the often murky waters along its coast...

The only dive site that I knew of and I've been to was the Boonsung wreck (for which I'm still lacking a proper entry in this blog) and I've always been rewarded with cool and unusual findings (compared to Similan or Phuket) such as honeycomb moray eels, various nudibranchs, many lion and scorpion fish, shrimps and crabs and outstanding schools of trevalley and yellowtail snapper.

Let's get to the "dirty business": on the Premchai wreck

Click here for my blog entry

I've generally always see adult specimen like this couple of glossodoris atromarginata

01_glossodoris_atromarginata

02_glossodoris_atromarginata

another favorite of mine is this adult of "cincta" with its colors and the blue edge...

03_glossodoris_cincta

not to mention the "common" risbecia pulchella popping out anywhere on the wreck!

04_risbecia_pulchella

05_risbecia_pulchella

06_two_risbecia_pulchella

not to mention the 2 porcelain anemone crabs on a knob edge anemone at 20m depth and so much more stuff (read my blog entry!!!)   click here ;-)

YET today I'm going to focus on sea slugs...

On the way back from the wreck we decided to do an exploratory dive near the coast...

visibility was bad (between 1 and 3 meters), everything green-ish, sand, few rocks, some garbage...

and then... they all started lining up before our amazed eyes!!!

Hypselodoris Bollandi

07_hypselodoris_bollandi

Hypselodoris Kanga

08_Hypselodoris_Kanga

Chromodoris Preciosa

09_chromodoris_preciosa

Chromodoris Daphne

10_chromodoris_daphne

Another Hypselodoris Kanga!

11_Hypselodoris_Kanga

Red version: Hypselodoris Zebrina!!!

12_Hypselodoris_zebrina

STILL another Kanga!

13_Hypselodoris_Kanga

Cardinella Ornatissima anyone? very very very very tiny subject, I had to use all the magnification power of my wet MACRO lens to get the details.

BTW

THIS is STILL DURING the SAME DIVE!!!!

14_cadlinella_ornatissima

What? Another Zebrina? Oh yes!

15_Hypselodoris_zebrina

Last but not least, a 7cm long Ceratosoma Trilobatum for good measure and to end the dive in glory...

16_ceratosoma_trilobatum

See what I mean by MUCK in Khao Lak?

I was so delighted with this unexpected success that I decided to go there again the following week.
Visibility was even worst this time: 15-70cm!!! we really struggled to separate the milky murky water from the sand, sometimes even bumping our nose into the sandy bottom...

the dive was still worth it during those moments of less particles, which allowed us to spot our sea slugs finding of the day:

Starting with a Chromodoris Fidelis. This one was tiny and moving fast!! a real challenge for my MACRO wet lens in such poor visibility...

17_chromodoris_fidelis

I knew I was back in the same spot as I started spotting the Kangas!!! here's the first of the dive

18_chromodoris_kanga

and here's another one

19_chromodoris_kanga

a new entry: Chromodoris Decora!!! NICE ;-)

20_chromodoris_decora

one of my new top 5 favorite nudis: the Chromodoris Daphne - here moving across a leaf

21_chromodoris_daphne

It was SCREAMING for several shots, this is it from another angle

22_chromodoris_daphne

and last but not least for this last dive of the season 2010-2011 in Khao Lak... one more Chromodoris Preciosa!

23_chromodoris_preciosa

that's it for this season of "MUCK in Khao Lak", can't wait for the next season to come!

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UW Photo Workshop on M/V Oktavia 7-12 April 2011

Hello everybody!
Yes, I'm back from the underwater photo workshop organized on M/V Oktavia around Similan, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock (7-12 April 2011).

Over the 5-day-trip several divers and even a snorkeler participated in this new project of mine.
This has been a Test Run for the next season, I'm planning to make it a regular (monthly?) thing for all the enthusiasts and passionate about under water photography.

Here's the group picture of all the participants of the trip.

Oktavia Liveaboard and Photo Workshop Participants

All of them were on the boat for the cruise while Andy and Martin (fist 2 from left, back row), Mary (first from right with black tanktop), Soren (second from right with green T-shirt), Lanna (happy mother holding her baby), and Guido (he's the one taking this picture, oops!) joined the workshop in order to improve or build from scratch their Diving and UW photography skills.

A part from Guido who was using a 6 years old Sony Cybershot, everyone was using a Canon camera, including (OBVIOUSLY) myself.

First day of the workshop is generally to asses the divers and to allow them to make as many mistakes as possible so that during the review session in the evening everybody can discuss and learn from the results. Of course a brief introduction to basic rules of UW photography is given, YET without going into specific details.

Adriano and Bernie (Tour Leader) giving briefing

One important aspect of UW photography is buoyancy (too often overlooked, YET crucial) together with knowing your camera inside and out (which was a challenge for those who rented it for this event).

Honorable Mention to Lanna with her picture of a diver using white balance

Over 5 days of briefings, slideshows, chatting, tips and tricks, assignments and evening reviews, even those who were not participating in the workshop started being "experts" in composition, light, and subjects' behavior...

Due to the stormy days that preceded the trip, visibility hasn't always been the usual good one (10-15m as opposed to 20-30m). This little draw back made me focus on macro subjects and techniques which are by far my favorites! Here's an example:

Soft Coral detail: 1/500 f 8.0 dual Sea&Sea external strobe + UN x6 MACRO wet lens 

Similan National Park offers a wide range of dive sites from gently sloping sandy reefs to majestic boulders and channels with dramatic topography. Techniques explored during the trip ranged from use of flash versus evaluating white balance, macro, wide, silhouettes and much more...

Flutemouth Fish Silhouette 

Post editing workshop were also provided in order to show that not all "bad pictures" are always bad... a bit of colour saturation enhancement, cropping or just rotating the photo by 90 degrees surprisingly made a difference and improvement.

90 degrees rotation

5 days and 19 dives later, every participant was asked to submit in a friendly contest 2 of their pictures in order to be evaluated by an independent jury (boat owner Mr. Kulan).

I must say that it hasn't been easy for the judge as the pictures taken and submitted were really good, not to mention that some of the participants improved dramatically during the length of the workshop.

Without further ado, let me present the 3 final winning pictures!

In third position, winning an M/V Oktavia polo shirt is this macro shot of Durban Dancing Shrimps from Martin who used a Canon Ixus 95 IS:

Third place: Shrimps 1/60 f2.8, macro + internal flash

In second position, Mr. Soren from Denmark who was using a Canon G10 and won 30% discount on his accommodation in one of the hotels of the Suwan Palm Group with his "Turtle with Diver"

Second Place: Turtle w/diver 1/160 f2.8 internal flash

Finally, in 1st position Mary with her rented Canon G11 who shot this nudibranch and won a 20%discount on her next liveaboard on M/V Oktavia.

First Place: Nudi 1/500 f 4.0 internal flash

Excellent Job everybody! Amazing diving, great pictures and lots of fun!

At the end of the trip, I was asked to do a slideshow of the pictures I took during this workshop.
Here a few of them...
Enjoy!

Partner Shrimp on Pin Cushion Sea Star

Oriental Sweetlips at cleaning station

Turtle and Diver - white balance

Western Clown Fish

Harlequin Shrimp Close Up

Harlequin Shrimp Couple having a snack!

Jelly against sun burst

Anemone Close Up

That's all folks! See you next time for more pictures, diving, wetpixels and what not?

Ciao!

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buoyancy clinic and under water photo orientation

Can a diving pool look like the Indian Ocean?
Well, judge for yourself...

under water photo orientation - diver silhouette

photo orientation wide angle close focus on artificial reef

Another service brought to the divers from your one and only UnderWater Paparazzi: buoyancy clinic and under water photo orientation

Kompas Thailand, the Under Water Photography SPECIALISTS in Southern Thailand, has an artificial reef specifically designed to train divers into underwater photography.

For more info, check their website:

KOMPAS underwater-photography-academy

Tune up your photography skills, improve your buoyancy, learn how to get the most out of your camera!

This workshop takes half a day in the pool and saves you precious bottom time during your holiday dives. Practice makes perfect, dive with confidence and take stunning pictures rather than figuring out the setting of your camera!

Here's an example of a diver with his newly purchased Canon s95

under water photo orientation student practice

and after few hints from his guide (myself obviously), this is one of his best results from this angle. NOT BAD AT ALL!!!

under water photo orientation macro shot 

His girlfriend took the opportunity to practice too

under water photo orientation student practice 2

check her out! forget about the wall in the background, assume it's rock...!!!

under water photo orientation macro shot 2

Anyway, as I was saying at the beginning, this workshop is also about fine tuning your buoyancy for much harder shots. Quite challenging but do rewarding!

buoyancy clinic and under water photo orientation 1

and his (inverted) result

buoyancy clinic and under water photo orientation result 1

this is what anyone who wants to improve their diving skills needs!

buoyancy clinic and under water photo orientation 2

Loads of fun plus lots of photography techniques explained and achieved in no time!

buoyancy clinic and under water photo orientation shot 2

So, prior to your liveaboard, your daytrip, to refresh and improve your skills, to practice your new camera purchase or upgrade, dive into Kompas pool and and get ready for your holyday adventure!

buoyancy clinic and under water photo orientation Kompas Pool

drop me a line at my address

paparazzi@kompasthailand.com

or visit Kompas Web Site for more info or to book your "buoyancy clinic and under water photo orientation".

Kompas underwater photograpy academy

See you soon in the pool!

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