Do strobes harm marine life?

[Kim]

That's an interesting point. Most of the photographers I've seen however try to get as still as possible and keep all sedimentation down. This usually makes them exemplary regarding habitat damage.
Are there some other actions the photographers you're seeing doing to wreck the area? Maybe they're just crummy photographers!

That would be my take on this too - it's hard to get a good picture moving around and with loads of stuff floating about. One possible bad thing could be people grabbing hold of corals to steady themselves - I've seen that a few times. Normally though, photographers need good general diving and bouyancy skills to get close without disturbing the life - and to get the shot. There's nothing like an out-of-control diver to scare things away.

 

[Dee]

I agree up to a point with deep6, I've seen photographers total trash anything within fin reach. But I've also seen the same thing from non-photographers. I think it's too broad a claim to apply to all photographers. General assumptions for any group of divers never applies to all.

 

[Aggie Diver]

I concur, stereotypes suck.

So does sediment kicked up when you're trying to take photos. I'll go to the extreme of taking a photo while upside down to avoid banging something living on the bottom.

 

[RebreatherBoy]

Archman,

There is just something about that avatar pumpkin and the way it smiles...just really gives me the creeps.

I can't quite place it, it is a very eery, forboding smile....there is just something really wrong about it I can't quite make out.....

I just get a really bad feeling that it isn't really a pumpkin smiling at me...it is something far worse...something evil...could it be...Satan?!

 

[archman]

It's a coconut painted yellow by one of my SeaCamp students. I'm sure all the satan allusions were intentional...

That's very pretty RebreatherBoy.

 

[RebreatherBoy]

It's a coconut painted yellow by one of my SeaCamp students. I'm sure all the satan allusions were intentional...

That's very pretty RebreatherBoy.

it's a coconut?! Now I REALLY have the willies....everytime I go diving, I am going to wonder if I turn around really quick, will that evil coconut be staring at me with those eyes so full of darkness and impending doom....

Hey, you must have a blast with students being exposing them from a scientific standpoint to the oceans wonders.

I went on a multiday trip to the Channel Islands and Bill Finstadt brought a professional Canon illuminated microscope to look at little critters. Once word caught on we were all hogging eyepiece time seeing really cool things we never say before. It was utterly fascinating.....

 

[UWfilmmaker]

ok everybody!,
heres the skinny from someone who knows.. (i am currently a pro photogropher and film maker and know an awful lot of marine biologists) excessive high light usecan be harmful to the reefs, in many other areas damage is lesser, the problem is that reefs (living & dead corals) are "photo sensitive" in other words the reef can be damaged by certain types of high lights.. ok that was the bad news, heres the good news, since the ocean is a vast place it would take alot of light (un natural light) so unless we light the entire ocean with HMI halogen lighting for a few years, we'll all be ok. let me just say, if your in an area where you dont have to use a strobe just dont, not because its going to damage immediately but excessive use could wreck our reefs in the long run. (sorry for the dreary peice there)
happy diving,
JD
Padi,dive master, photographer,film maker

 

[archman]

I assume UWfimmaker that it's just the live corals that are photosensitive? Ha ha.
I'll have to look that one up. I don't have a clue what the physiological response mechanism to high light is in shallow corals. Maybe after enough strobes or high beams they just get pissed off and dump their algae. I don't recall if it's photosensitity or an internal clock that regulates their diurnal feeding behavior. Most corals as everyone knows feed at night.
Coral bleaching is often blamed on excess light, but usually that's just a side effect of elevated water temperatures in the heat of summer. Ultraviolet exposure is also attributed to bleaching, but I don't think a photo shoot is going to do much in that regard ('cept those National Geographic clowns who shine UV lights to see what colours show up!)

I wanna hear more comments about scaring off fishes!

 

[louisianadiver]

Let's keep things in perspective. I seriously doubt that a camera strobe will cause damage to corals living on a sun-drenched, shallow reef (which is where all corals must live). The bigger picture is that visiting divers give the reef value to local governments, which in turn gives local governments incentives to protect their asset. A million camera strobes will not do the damage of a single raw sewerage dumping organic matter onto a coral reef.

 

[d33ps1x]

Unfortunately though I can't change my numbers. Mind you this is my experience and I am not stereotyping. I never said all photogs. I said almost all.

It's nice to know that you guys are all in that 5 percent! Keep up the good non-destructive work!