How to take pics at night?

[gt2003]

I thought I had all my questions answered but theres always one more. I leave for Cozumel in 1 week and 44 minutes. I've not done a night dive before but we are planning to do a shore dive at night, probably 30 feet max depth. Is there anything different I need to do for the pics? Or, since its my first night dive should I leave the camera and just enjoy the scenery? I'm kinda hesitant to leave it because I hear so many stories of the huge amount of sea creatures that come out at night. But, don't want to make any mistakes. Give me your thoughts/feedback. I appreciate the input. Greg

 

[louisianadiver]

Hi, Greg. Night is an exciting time for photography. However, it can be a bit disorienting at first, and it might be a good idea to make a few night dives without a camera before trying to take advantage of the photo ops. You will need 2 lights, primary and backup, and if you bring a camera it's easier if you devise a way to mount a light on your camera/housing or strobe to keep your hands free. The mounted light must be easy to remove and replace with your backup in case the light fails. Most night photography is macro, so be set up for that. You can get morays, lobsters, octos, etc. with a 1:3 setup or wider, and the feeding corals plus other smaller stuff look best at 1:2 or 1:1. You will be diving close to the reef, and your buoyancy must be perfect. Navigation is critical, and the use of marker strobes is recommended to keep you oriented to the exit point. You'll need a yoke light (I like the battery powered sticks better than cyalume), and I recommend that you carry an extra yoke light or marker strobe to place on your safety sausage in the event that you must surface away from the exit point. Learn your dive buddy's yoke light, and also learn what kind of fins your buddy is wearing. If several divers are in the water, it's easiest to keep track of your buddy by keeping track of his/her fins without blinding anybody with your light. Be conservative and have fun. Most first time night divers are hooked after the first dive.

 

[Gilligan]

In addition to everything louisiana diver said you will have to use a light on your subjects so that your camera lens can focus. Some folks have posted that a red lens on a dive light worked best as it did not freak out the marine life. I have no personal experience with that.
Regardless of what type of light you use, you need to rig it to your camera setup so that you can tip it, drop it on a short leash, or some method, so that the light is not in the photo while working the camera shutter with your other hand.
I would get that setup down before you take the trip.

 

[Dee]

Ditto what LD and Gilligan said!

 

[azcaddman]

I cheat (in a way) I use 2 Ikelite strobes, with built in modeling lights, they serve as dive lights, and focusing lights for the camera (oh yeah, strobes for the pictures too)

 

[gt2003]

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to err on the side of safety and just enjoy my first few night dives for what they are, no camera included. Maybe I'll dare to venture into the night world with a camera next trip or so but for now I'll take pics during the day dives and kick back and enjoy the night ones. I appreciate all the help and will post a few pics once I get back. Thanks again, Greg