Dumaguete Loving

[marpacifica]

Just got back from my second trip to Dumaguete, Philippines, and LOVED it. Also saw lots of critters loving each other -- brain coral spawning (strobes weren't working, dang, so no photos), mandarin fish (see photo) doing the mambo, baby frogfish and tobies, and clownfish eggs galore. It's macro heaven. I could have spent an entire dive in a space no greater than 1 yard/meter square, but because of the dynamics of group diving, had to take quick shots on the go (and I was still the last in the group, as usual).

I've attached some samples, but there's more in my gallery:

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=17314&page=1&sort=1

This was my second extended trip with my new digital SLR setup and I found that I was getting a lot more keepers at the end of the trip. In the beginning I shot like a madman without paying too much attention to f-stops. Tried TTL on the macro but preferred doing everything manually: I preset the focus and found an f-stop/shutter speed that gave me a nice histogram, then adjusted the strobe intensity. I think I got the best results using f-stops between 22 and 32 and speeds of 1/90 or 1/125, which gave some good depth of field and dark backgrounds. Shot everything in RAW mode.

Did 3-4 dives a day, and downloaded during surface intervals to my laptop using the USB coverter that came with my Lexar 40X 1 gig CF card (took about 20 minutes to download a full card, whereas it took twice as long using the USB from the camera). In the evenings I converted the keepers to TIFF, then converted to .jpeg if I had time. One of my hangups with the S2 Raw file converter is that you have to convert first to TIFF -- no direct conversion to .jpeg. This adds an extra step and the TIFF file is huge, about 65 megabytes compared to the 5.6 megabyte RAW file. The full .jpeg is about the same size as the RAW file. After 19 dives and some surface shots, I quickly got close to filling up my 60 gigabyte harddrive so had to delete some of the TIFF files.

I brought a stack of CDs to burn files onto, but found that I didn't have the time to do that. Brought 2 battery chargers that got some full use on them. The chargers and my computer can switch from 120 to 240 volts, which was really convenient. Another thing I learned from previous trips was to bring a surge protector strip that had six outlets on it. Plug that into the one and only (grounded) outlet in the hotel room and I was good to go with the chargers and laptop.

If any of you have a chance to get to the Philippines, I highly recommend Dumaguete. It's a 1 hour flight south of Manila, with two carriers flying twice to three times/day. Stayed at Atlantis Dive Resort. The package for a seaview deluxe room and diving for 5 days was about $700/person, including full breakfast. The chef is a guy from Brooklyn who's a stockbroker refugee who found a new calling backed by training at the Cordon Bleu. Wonderful food, beautiful scenery, some of the best diving I've done, and the sea is rich with critters.

 

[alcina]

Beautiful!

Thanks for the mini-trip report,too.

I really like the tiny clown and the yellow frogfish...

 

[Dee]

Beautimous! That Mandarin fish sure has a cute smile on his/her face!

 

[Gilligan]

All great photos and thanks for the tip on the location and dive resort.

 

[marpacifica]

Thanks, everyone!

Dee, I thought the same thing when I first saw their expressions on my laptop. Their puckered mouths weren't apparent on the camera's LCD. It's funny, but the way they purse their lips looks like some of the critters and humans in the Far Side cartoons.

I'm attaching some topside photos of fishermen. I woke up early one morning, still on Saipan time, and saw two groups of fishermen pulling in a large drag net. I watched as an old man who was missing all his teeth directed the other fishermen, presumably his sons or relatives. He gestured to a boy in a bangka (double outrigger canoe) to keep the net in a particular horseshoe shape. As the net closed, the fishermen began shaking the net from shore to dislodge the fish and concentrate them in a ball. Into an old paint bucket the catch went, mostly a small, silvery-blue fish that looked like an anchovy, and a smattering of wrasses and rabbitfish. The old man plucked one of the anchovy-like fish from the bucket, held it up just long enough for me to take a shot, and plopped it, still wriggling, into his mouth. He swallowed it in one gulp, but I guess he had to because he couldn't chew. That night the fishermen lit a bonfire on the beach to cook some fish and celebrate their bounty. It was magical to witness the fishermen and their ways.

 

[midwestdvr]

Loved your pics and mini report. Will have to visit there next time I go back to the philippines. As for your story about the anchovy-like fish, when I lived there, we used to clean them, mix them up with vinegar and lime and eat them while drinking local drinks. Aahh, brings back memories.

 

[ssra30]

Great pictures. The mandarinfish picture is incredible. I assume the mandarin fish picture was taken at Atlantis's housereef. I spent one whole dive camping out at Atlantis Housereef for mandarin fish in the evening and only managed to get one terrible shot of it.
My divebuddies and I are definitely planning to go back to the Philippines again sometimes later on this year, probably to Peurto Gallera though. We did enjoy our stay at Dumaguette last year very much as well. Love the Atlantis House Reef and El Dorado House Reef.

 

[kdietz]

Very nice images with great lighting!

Which lenses did you use the most for macro? Wide Angle?

Karl

 

[marpacifica]

Midwestdvr, I'll have to try that snack with my San Miguels next time. But I'll pass on the balut....

ssra30, yes the mandarin shots are from the Atlantis house reef. I know what you're talking about when you say that you camped out and got off one lousy shot. That's what happened to me on the first trip. Which is why I went back this time to try to get that elusive shot. It helped a lot that I had no shutter lag compared to my Oly 3000/4000. And this time I had the 105mm with 1.5 crop factor. But I have to admit that the photo I posted is a crop of the original, with some aggressive editing. The original is quite dark. My YS-90DXs didn't put out enough light on a full dump. The mandarinfish were about 4 feet away, and with their dark coloration they just sucked up the light -- the background coral was better exposed they they were. Without the long lens I would have scared off the fish. I had to do 3 dives to get the shot I wanted. The first dive was mostly blurry butt shots, the second dive my strobes didn't work (and I missed the coral spawning, too), and the third time was a charm. It also helped that my girlfriend was pointing out the fish with her light, which gave me just enough time to give a rough focus. It would have been totally frustrating with shutter lag and the slow autofocus of the Oly. You will love your D70 when you finally get it underwater, and I can't wait to see your first shots given that your 5050 shots are always stunning.

 

[justleesa]

Wow, you have some fantastic pictures there. I'm speechless (Ask my mom...that really means something)...