Shooting Mantas at night

[RPanick]

I'm going back to Kona next week, and I hope to go out to the Manta night dive again. Any suggestions for how to get good shots on something with a 8+ foot wing span coming in just above your head? I'd like to give them a little consideration and not blast their eyes out with the strobe too, if that makes any sense.

Of course with all the other lights down there, I may just try taking some shots using all the other lights that happen to be on.

 

[friscuba]

There are lots of strobes going off at the manta dive. The thing I would be most concerned with is the length of your strobe arms. We get a number of people with monstrously long strobe arms who can't keep them out of the way of the mantas. This causes its share of collisions, which can't be good for the mantas, and I've seen a number of strobes get ripped right off their trays over time.

You're going to need quite fast film to get decent photos without a strobe unless you use someone elses video lights, and even that requires some luck. Video does seem to pick up things in existing light quite well if you have that available.

Steve

 

[O-ring]

You can probably get them with any of the larger guns from Riffe or JBL...

 

[James connell]

if the bottoms close - set up 3 strobes with remotes on tripods in a triangle around you. strobes should be ~ 6ft from you. i'd use a white card to bounce the camera strobe for heavy diffustion/ trigger. hope you have a 15mm. since you don't say what your camera is i have no setting advice.
if this is to much. i'd get out of the way and shoot it with a wide angle from ~ 6 ft going over someone elses head, should make a good shot. even a single strobe( remorted of course) from the other side (silloette) woukd be a could be a good shot.

 

[blacknet]

Hello,

Come on now, 3 strobes? You forgot the <sarcasm></sarcasm> That was a humor reply indeed, had me laughing real hard.

Ed

 

[TheAvatar]

Don't forget to dress up like an attractive manta to lure the one you want to photograph into the right spot over the 3 fixed strobes. If a rabbit can fool a hunter, you can fool a manta.

 

[Dee]

Blacknet, you and Avatar be sure and hold those white reflector cards just right now, ya hear?

 

[TheAvatar]

Ahhhhh... *crunching carrot* what's up, Dee?
I was just going to use elmers glue to attach white posterboard to the tripods.

 

[Otter]

TheAvatar once bubbled...
Don't forget to dress up like an attractive manta to lure the one you want to photograph into the right spot over the 3 fixed strobes. If a rabbit can fool a hunter, you can fool a manta.

I saw some footage of a guy who put doe scent on him to attract a buck for a photo op. The buck nearly killed him. I don't know if Manta's are more tolerant of being tricked

 

[Otter]

TheAvatar once bubbled...
Ahhhhh... *crunching carrot* what's up, Dee?
I was just going to use elmers glue to attach white posterboard to the tripods.

First you sound like Bugs Bunny and then you say you are going to use Elmer's [Fudd?] glue? hmmm....