Back from Tubbataha

[Wolverine]

Hi Guys,

I am back from a 4.5day trip to Tubbataha and here are some of the pics from the trip. Lots of reef fish but being full moon, vis was not so good. Almost soupy in fact! and I had my first (and only!) manta encounter. Need to go places where are there more of those beautiful creatures.

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=1749

Pelagics were a little lacking but otherwise the reef was in reasonable condition. Some of the other dive groups saw hammerheads but alas, I was not so lucky.

Will post a detailed dive report later.

 

[clgsamson]

Welcome back Tim and thanks for sharing the pix!

 

[Jason Ooi]

Thanks you for your sharing.
Nice photos

 

[CLA]

Great pics Tim! Was waiting for you to post your pics from Tubbataha. Apparently you had no problem with the settings for blue water shots after all. Did you take most of the pics with or without the strobe? The water doesn't look soupy to me.

 

[Wolverine]

Great pics Tim! Was waiting for you to post your pics from Tubbataha. Apparently you had no problem with the settings for blue water shots after all. Did you take most of the pics with or without the strobe? The water doesn't look soupy to me.

Some I did, when the critters got close enough for it to be effective, others I didn't so as not to introduce backscatter. The vis was down to 20-30ft at some dives, with most around 40ft. Only the first day, which was REALLY calm (I am talking water looking like glass) did the vis get closer to 100ft.

 

[Gilligan]

Great collection of photos. Looks like there was no shortage of reef sharks

 

[Dee]

Very nice! Thanks

 

[Wolverine]

Great collection of photos. Looks like there was no shortage of reef sharks

Haha at least one on every dive, though they are quite shy. Lots of hawksbill turtles as well... but sadly only 1 manta... at least I can say I have seen one..haha. From comments from other divers who have been there before, the pelagic sealife seemed to have decreased. Also there are less reef fish compared with 5yrs ago. From what I can see, it is still teeming, so I can't imagine what it must have been like in the past.

 

[AndyT]

Nice set of images . Would you mind sharing your camera settings (shutter , aperture ) , particulary those for the sharks ? I'm off to the Red Sea in Aug , the water there is much cleaner than we get here so I have no experience to draw from .Really just looking for a starting point .

 

[clgsamson]

Nice set of images . Would you mind sharing your camera settings (shutter , aperture ) , particulary those for the sharks ? I'm off to the Red Sea in Aug , the water there is much cleaner than we get here so I have no experience to draw from .Really just looking for a starting point .

Andrew, you can view the settings (exif data) in Tim's gallery. Just click on the pic you like and the settings will be displayed.