Macro Photography in Bonaire?

[Randallr]

Hi, all - I've been to Bonaire twice, enjoyed the experience, but found myself not bowled over by the diving, relative to Saba, Cozumel, or my favorite U.S. site, Blue Heron Bridge. And this prompts my question. I'm most passionate about macro photography, hence my love for BHB in Fla. I have read several times that Bari Reef in Bonaire is one of the best macro sites in this hemisphere. Anyone out there with real macro photography experience and interests who can comment on this for me?

I've stayed at Sand Dollar, and liked it and the dive op, so that alone would make it worth considering. But as I recall the reef, I remember an aquarium experience, but no nudibranchs, slugs, juveniles. Granted, it was a number of years ago, and I wasn't as good at looking. What I want to know is: Would I be happy going down there for a week and diving Bari with a macro lens for two hours a day? (Yeah, I know I can do better in the Philippines, but I do't have time to get there right now.)

Thanks for your guidance! Here's some of my macro work, if you want to see it:
http://randallrothenbergphotography.com/new-gallery/k0p64sbgvelh7uecqasrwpx6m1oeq5

 

[tursiops]

Take a look at Ellen Muller's macro photos frim Bonaire. Bari's rubble pile is good, but the Yellow Submarine and Salt Pier are probably better. Surge is the biggest problem, so having more than one site to go to is helpful.

 

[darook]

Bari Reef is ok but there are better places to find stuff. Besides what was mentioned for macro I like Something Special, Small Wall and 18 Palms. Those are the most reliable for frogfish and seahorses that I have found. You can lay on the sand terrace and find lots of little stuff like jawfish, sailfin blennies etc. If I am doing a specific macro dive skip on going much north or south and just go to about 60' and very slowly work my way back up. That allows you to hang out and the fish to not get spooked by you and eventually come to you. It also encourages shooting up which is a component of most great shots.

 

[cpace]

I have read several times that Bari Reef in Bonaire is one of the best macro sites in this hemisphere.

Huh?

 

[tursiops]

Besides what was mentioned for macro I like Something Special, Small Wall and 18 Palms.

Yes! Something Special and 18 Palm (in the shallws, near the dock and rock piles) are excellent suggestions.

 

[choiahoy]

Definitely Salt Pier, Something Special, and the rubble at Front Porch.

 

[lmorin]

At Sand Dollar, the waterline and about 2-3 ft below along the cliff shorefront has numerous blennies, including Molly Millers, goldline, and others that I have not yet seen. Note that some spots are void, but just a few feet away, there may be many, especially more toward the north of the Sand Dollar frontage where a section of rock has a lot of natural holes. Photography there is usually a real challenge because of the surge that arrives and is immediately reflected from the rock, back toward the channel. It is very difficult to hold a camera steady.

Immediately to the south of the now-greatly eroded old platform for the Green Parrot restaurant, you should be able to find stippled clingfish under the surf line rocks. On the south side of the Dive Friends dock, there are often triplefins on the steps along with pearl blennies. Seen commonly in previous years on the dock pilings, but not last year, were orangespotted, tessellated and seaweed blennies. In the shallows under and around small rocks near the Den Laman shore are dusky and multiple sizes of hairy blennies. Saw a coral scorpionfish in there once, too. It's odd, but I have not found many small things in the aquarium, despite its inviting appearance.

Out on the top of the reef, there are a lot of places to look for other blenny and goby species. The small stuff seems to vary a lot from trip to trip. If you are interested in cardinalfish, there are numerous species on Bari, but it takes a lot of looking to find them and sometimes there just seems to be few.

I second the suggestion of diving Something Special and looking carefully on all the fairly isolated hunks of coral and every underwater object you can find. There's almost always something interesting. Found two purple-crowned sea goddesses and mantis shrimp there last winter

 

[White Chocolate]

I spend most of my diving at home looking for macro sized critters (due to cold, dark waters with regularly limited visibility) and in Bonaire last year I struggled to get out of my usual habits and look at the wide angle reefscapes. We dove all the way from Karpata south to the lighthouse without repeating any dives and I recall seeing plenty of macro subjects on every dive we did. I will say that the shallows and top of the drop offs were the best. There were brittle stars and urchins tucked into EVERY lobe of coral. Anemones were found with multiple species of shrimp on them. Banded Coral Shrimp and Bearded fire worms were regularly seen. Every giant lobe of brain coral had gobies poking out of holes. That’s not to mention the jawfish, garden eels, blennies, juvienile fish of all kinds etc hiding in the sand and fire coral patches in the shallows. I probably spent at least 15 minutes on every dive in the 5 to 10 ft depth range looking at all the neat stuff. It was also a challenge and very rewarding to start looking away from the holes and out at the overall scenes and making some order out of the chaos of swirling species of all kinds of reef fish. I feel if you just head down there without much of a plan and just dive everything and go slow, you will be strongly rewarded.

 

[Paleo]

I've rarely been disappointed at any site. I have a soft spot for Oil slick and there usually spot Cryptic Teardrop Crabs as well as Pederson and Squat Anemone Shrimp. At the end of dives there, interesting critters are sometimes found under the ledge by the ladder. Once got a Speck Claw Decorator Crab barely visible under its load of debris.

Almost anywhere one may come across juvenile Trunkfish, those brightly colored little peas floating around.

The area around Bari reef and Buddy has great stuff. At Bari, on the sand, came across a Shortnose Batfish and while at Buddy was surprised by a Shortfin Pipefish. Slender Filefish seem to be easily seen at Klein dive sites though I've only spotted Pygmy Filefish once at The Invisibles.

My takaway is just to stay curious and spend time watching things unfold around me.

 

[Randallr]

These are so incredibly helpful, I can’t even convey! Thanks to you all. Now just need to work on my schedule.

If there are any macro enthusiasts heading down in early January, give me a shout!