East Timor: July 23 - Colorful Walls of Atauro Island

[SeaYoda]

Thanks for another fine dive, and in color too !

 

[calypsonick]

Really nice shots. I love the colours you are getting.
The pictures in the Atauro island gallery are also very nice.
Is your camera able to synchronize the flash with 1/1000 shutter speed? This is really great to make a nice black background like you do. With my camera I can not do more than 1/250.

Thanks Azotomix. My strobe operates via fiberoptic triggered by the internal flash, so it is not aware of the camera settings and I just keep adjusting depending on what the playback shows me. As for your shutter speed, have you tried the smaller aperatures to see if you can get the darker background ?

 

[Azotomix]

Thanks Azotomix. My strobe operates via fiberoptic triggered by the internal flash, so it is not aware of the camera settings and I just keep adjusting depending on what the playback shows me. As for your shutter speed, have you tried the smaller aperatures to see if you can get the darker background ?

Ciao Nick!!
Also my external strobe works via fibre optic cable. Having the Inon D 2000 I work always with S-TTL so I set the internal strobe with the minimum power in order to save battery.

I didn’t have the opportunity to shoot a lot especially in manual mode. Most of my shots are with aperture priority mode. The couple of time I shoot with a small aperture my shot was really to dark. I think I was not working properly with the external strobe.

Lately I have read a couple of books, l’ Essential Guide to Digital Uwater Photography,

The Essential Underwater Photography: A Guide To Creative Techniques And Key Equipment

Jim Church's Essential Guide to Composition : A Simplified Approach to Taking Better Underwater Pictures.
so for my next trip I will try to apply what I read and also working in manual. Strobe however always with S-TTL.

Hope to see some improvements.

 

[calypsonick]

Very nice shots keep those normal angles (soft coral) coming. With the sharp focus, fine detail and knock out colors, what type of add on lens did you use?

Dive Safe

f3nikon, thanks. I didn't see your question earlier, sorry. These shots were taken with no add on lens. I just use the camera with its fixed lens.

 

[ssra30]

Hmmm, 1.5H flight from Denpasar. That's not too difficult to get to. What time does the flight leave Denpasar? I think from Bangkok, I won't get to Denpasar until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. I just hating commuting from Bangkok as I almost always have to end up staying over night somewhere along the way even for just a few hours flight

Btw, I love that comb jellyfish thingy, never saw one like it.

 

[Wolverine]

Thanks, wolverine. Hong Kong - Denpasar is about 4 hours and Denpasar- Dili is 1.5 hours. You coming?

Hmmmmm End of year.. planning for a trip... either Dili or Lembeh.. tough tough choices.. :34:

wish i could do both...

 

[ssra30]

Hmmmmm End of year.. planning for a trip... either Dili or Lembeh.. tough tough choices.. :34:

wish i could do both...

For what it's worth, Lembeh diving is year round but Nov-Dec is wet season there so viz is a bit worse (not that it is great usually, when I was there, viz was 10-15m at best) and water a bit colder, 28C last week, 25-26C in September, dunno about Dec period.

 

[Wolverine]

For what it's worth, Lembeh diving is year round but Nov-Dec is wet season there so viz is a bit worse (not that it is great usually, when I was there, viz was 10-15m at best) and water a bit colder, 28C last week, 25-26C in September, dunno about Dec period.

Have been to Bunaken in November and temperature is ok (compared to positively freezing in Puerto Galera in March! 22 deg c!).. thinking about revisiting Bunaken again with proper equipment (last time I had no strobe) but Dili really looks interesting.. probably a fair bit of virgin diving as well. Decisions, decisions...

 

[calypsonick]

Wolverine and ssra30,

East Timor water temps rarely go below 26 C and the viz is usually good because North shore topography (steep slope into a deep trench) results in little wave action. Also, currents are not as frequent or as strong as off of Bunaken.

The only hitch - there is only one flight a day to Dili and it leaves Denpasar at 9am. This means you usually have to spend the night there.

Come, we'll show you around.