Cenotes - please help

[cos]

Will be diving the cenotes in a few weeks and need some tips. Camera is a Nikonos 5 with one strobe. Dove last year and shot 3 rolls of 36 exposure with not one decent shot. Any advice for shooting in the Mexican Cenotes? Help is appreciated.

 

[oly5050user]

take a photo course?

 

[Diver Lori]

Will be diving the cenotes in a few weeks and need some tips. Camera is a Nikonos 5 with one strobe. Dove last year and shot 3 rolls of 36 exposure with not one decent shot. Any advice for shooting in the Mexican Cenotes? Help is appreciated.

You will be strictly shooting by the guide number of the flash unit since inside the cave there is no ambient light to consider. Time to break out the manual for your strobe and make a guide number grid and tape it to the side of the strobe.

I took this picture with the method above and a slave mounted strobe on my buddy with a separate sensor. You may just be able to see it in his right hand. He's got a Goodman handle on his hand, but in his palm he has an Ikelite slave sensor for the Ikelite 200 mounted on his back. I won the cover of the NSSCDS 2006 Calendar with this picture. He and I have several more within the calendar. I used a 15mm lens, with 100 speed professional slide film and the normal shutter setting of 1/30 or 1/60 for flash. Your aperature is dependent on your distance as it relates to your guide number and depth of field.

 

[cos]

Thanks, much appreciated. They don't teach that in the photo course. Great shot by the way

 

[Diver Lori]

Thank you. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[oly5050user]

Thanks, much appreciated. They don't teach that in the photo course. Great shot by the way

find out what the guide # is for the iso of the film you are using and the strobe that you have..Divide the distance that the strobe /camera is from subject..that is approx. the f stop to use..shutter speed for nik 5 is 1/90 sec..leave shutter dial on "a" for the camera would syncronize with strobe at that setting and your ttl (if using a ttl strobe) would also help if a little off.. Oh and I teach that in a photo course that I give..

 

[Diver Lori]

Why didn't you just say that the first time, rather than being rude?

 

[jvdk01]

This photo is awesome. Is the light on the floor of the cave reflected off the roof, or is there a third strobe.

 

[Diver Lori]

Thank you very much.

No 3rd strobe. The ceiling, walls and floors have "snow" on them. The flakes of particulate flutter down like snow from the percolation. It's really cool. It's all reflection as there are only 2 strobes. The first being my SB105 on my Nik5, the second a Ikelite 200 slave mounted between the two tanks on my buddy's back. He's got a slave sensor in his hand, cable running under his wings back to the strobe. So yes, it's reflection.

This is the Madonna Passage in the Temple of Doom, Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

 

[azcaddman]

ahh, temple of doom.. great dive, wife won't go back untill they install an elevator though

with just 1 strobe, i'd recomend using the 28mm lens with your nik V, at least in the cave section.

I've had good results using 400iso Fuji Provia slide film, pushed to 1600 (and processed accordingly at a pro photo lab.. don't take it to costco)

28mm lens on N90s - Sac Actun (Grande Centoe) between Cuzah Nah & Cavernas De Los Colmillos

with a wider lens, you'll need more than 1 strobe to light it well in the overhead areas

coming out of basement - room of tears in Carwash (15mm lens FFFE lens -180°, 2 100a strobes)

in the cavern zone areas, you can get by with a wider lens, and just light the subject, balancing with availible light (just like you would for close focus, wide angle, on a reef)

or forget the strobe all together, and shoot silouettes in the cavern zone