Bali Trip Report - Sep/Oct 2014

[Leejnd]

I feel sorry for the critters sometimes in these places. Everybody has a camera now and wants to blast everything they find with the flash. Hold it up. Zap. Next. No real interest or really checking it out, just zap, what's next on the list. My trip to Raja Ampat included a doctor who was picking up nudibranches to look at them (!!!) and then just dropping them in the water column when done. I realized it when I saw one come floating by. Big or small, I marvel at it all. First that I can see this thing I've only seen in books, now in person, and the amazing "technology" these things have with their scales and teeth and eyes, etc. I thought that was everyone's interest until I started actually diving and found there are many reasons people have for diving, not all of which include appreciation of the wildlife.

You know, you make an EXCELLENT point, which in fact was a topic that came up during our Bali trip! I admit I have found myself falling into the pattern of "find the critter, snap the shot, find the next critter...". My husband doesn't bring a camera. After our first couple of dives in Bali, he told me he wants me to do every third dive camera free. He just wants to make sure that I'm not ignoring the wonder and splendor of the underwater world in a frenzied drive to get the shots. And he's right!

So I made a point of doing some dives sans camera. Which is hilariously stressful for me, because I have this fear that THAT is gonna be the dive in which I see some awesome critter that I've been trying to see for years! As it turned out, that didn't happen...I don't think I saw a single thing on my camera-free dives that I hadn't gotten a picture of at some point. But I did get to enjoy some relaxing dives in which the only pictures I took were in my head. And he was right...I'm really glad I did that!

 

[Luko]

I admit I have found myself falling into the pattern of "find the critter, snap the shot, find the next critter...".

A way to tackle these habits is too think about making a good image rather than shooting critters.
Too many photogs, I should mean people usiing a camera underwater, think about documenting critters than capturing a great image.

If you think "image" first you will have to take backgrounds, interestingness or decisive moment into account.
Soon you'll look at the critters for the critters not for an image, and feel the urge to take a photo only when a scene would give a good image independantly of the level of interestingness of the critter.
Best of all when shooting wide angle, this is where you have to be extra careful to get closer to the critters any non photographer would attempt to, ie. getting the most unoticeable into the environment and the less bothering to the animals.

To be honest I see more things with my camera than without, because I take more time. In a way I think I would dive much less if didn't have the project to take good photos.
It's quite difficult to make my guide understand that I am not especially looking for specific critters as I might have already seen most of them, but rather to specific "scenes", sometimes they could interpret as I'm being a grouch (which I am anyway though not especially underwater), so I just click once in a while purposely to content them... the danger is that when the diveguide sees me clicking on a mundane fish in a wonderfully colored environment, he shows me the same uninteresting fish on the whole dive.

 

[Leejnd]

A way to tackle these habits is too think about making a good image rather than shooting critters.
Too many photogs, I should mean people usiing a camera underwater, think about documenting critters than capturing a great image.

Totally agree! I do shoot in wide angle (sometimes...unless I'm feelin' the need for a macro dive), and it definitely forces me to consider the whole image, as well as think about my settings. Changing settings underwater was a challenge for me for a long time, until I got really used to this camera. Now I can do it without even thinking.

I'm with ya about preferring to have a project in mind when I dive. I tend to be a goal-oriented person anyway, and I like having something to *do* underwater rather than just bop around and look at the pretty fishies. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I did enjoy the camera-free dives as well. But the other part I enjoy about taking photos is that I get to process them afterwards. That, to me, can be the real creative part...cropping them just so, adjusting the exposure, luminescence, saturation, etc. to get something that is truly artistic. So for me it extends the whole dive experience far beyond just the dive itself.

LOL about dive guides showing you the same critter over and over! I had a guide once in Bora Bora who saw me spend a whole bunch of time taking shots of some vivid yellow Christmas tree worms which were just in the perfect spot, with the sun up in the corner and brilliant coral surrounding them. I don't have a particular obsession with Christmas tree worms, it was just a really beautiful scene. But he spent the rest of the dive finding every Christmas tree worm he could find to show me!

 

[charlier]

Similar to Leejnd, I agree with Shasta-Man and Luko.

Below, I exaggerate for clarity. With a few notable exceptions, I try to avoid diving with UW photographers - gasp! As I continue to exaggerate, I might ask a photographer about a dive site and their response is macro or wide-angle.

For example, in Misool, fast currents, schools of dogtooth tuna, spanish makerel, trevalley, and pristine coral. Many would be inspired by the underwater beauty. Upon getting in the tender, one photographer mentioned that is was the worst dive of the trip. Why, I asked? Well, he had the wrong lens for his camera and he could not stay still or hooked in for taking photographs. Using topography, one could find numerous sheltered areas on the lee side of coral. At night, many photograhers edited their photos and rarely stepped outside to look around. My wife is a professional photograher, so I have some understanding of photography. But, somtimes I wonder about why some divers only experience the underwater world exclusively thru a lens finder. End of my missive...

FYI, I dive with many experienced divers that take beautiful photographs and videos, they are in a class by themselves and are my notable exceptions. Apologizes if I offended anyone.

Yikes, I just hit the enter button when I should have kept my thoughts to myself.

 

[Shasta_man]

I do race photography and so spend a lot of time looking through the lense at the race. I soon realized that watching everything through that little porthole loses a lot of what else is happening and just focusing on that, I'm not enjoying the race. What's the best way of killing your interest in your favorite thing? Make a job out of it.

I also note that I tend to see more things on the night dives because you just look where the beam of light is rather than the whole area. (my dive light is small to not scare everything away).

 

[Hintermann]

I am going in late September next year and will be based in Padang bai for a week. Diving mainly in Candidasa, Padangbai and Nusa Penida; diving in and around those parts and not going to Tulamben as I went there this June.

The most important point in the OP's report for me is that they did see Mola Mola.

 

[Leejnd]

Shasta-man, I hear ya! That's why my husband convinced me to do at least some dives without my camera, just to enjoy the experience and not be so focused on looking for the shot. Of course none of this is a job to me...I'm a total novice, I just do it for fun, and to experience the majesty and wonder of the underwater world. But I learned that I enjoy diving both with my camera, and without. I did have to kinda get used to NOT having my camera! I was so accustomed to always looking for the shot. On my no-camera dives I found myself focusing more on the total experience, which was very pleasurable.

Hinterman...yes I did, and boy did I! Just be aware that there's no guarantee. I visited Bali back in 2007, right in the heart of Mola Mola season and spent three days diving Nusa Penida -- never saw one. But we did visit Manta Point and I saw rush hour on the Manta Ray highway, so it was all still worth it.

 

[GratefulDiver11]

Leejnd, thanks for the dive report. I'm headed to Bali October 2015. Just booked flights last night. Woohoo! Were there any guide books that you used which were particularly useful or not? I've been relying on the Periplus for planning up until now. TIA.

 

[Leejnd]

Hi GratefulDiver...sorry for the delayed response, New Years festivities and all that. Yes, I had a couple of guide books...I downloaded the Periplus guide to my Kindle, but I learned that without the maps (which you couldn't see on the Kindle version, and for some reason were not expandable) it wasn't nearly as useful. I also bought a hard copy of the Lonely Planet and Eyewitness guidebooks to Bali, both of which I found useful.

I agree that the Periplus has too much information, but I found the history and various essays to be interesting and it gave me something to read during the long and painful anticipation for the trip.

 

[GratefulDiver11]

Happy New Year! Thanks for the post. Good advice about the Periplus Guide. The maps are amazing, so I'll make sure to invest in the paper copy. For Lonely Planet, did the you the general one or the Diving/Snorkeling Bali/Lompoc guide?