Some Shots from the Philippines

[JackConnick]

I just went on a 12 day trip to visit Atlantis resorts in Puerto Galera and Dumaguete as well as their Azores liveaboard, spending 3 days diving at each for a total of 30 dives. Most of it was macro, but I got bored and managed a few wide angle shots as well.

All were shot with a Nikon D7000 in a Nauticam NA-D7000 housing and 60mm AF or 105VR AFS macro lens and a +5 diopter -- or a Tokina 10-17 behind a Zen 100mm dome. I thought I'd shoot with the Tokina + Kenko 1.4TC more, but just found it wasn't wide enough, or well-suited for the subjects. I also found the 60mm + diopter was the sharpest and best solution, as it allowed me to get very close to the small critters. I really liked the new Nauticam flip-out diopter lens holder, as it made switching to a more moderate length lens very fast and easy.

The diving and hospitality from Atlantis was great and I highly recommend their operations to all.


Blue Ringed Octopus #1 by Pixel Letch, on Flickr
The first dive at Dumaguete yielded not one, but two Blue-Ringed Octos!


White-faced Anemone Shrimp by Pixel Letch, on Flickr
I like the head-on view. This gal was carrying eggs as well.


Crinnod Shrimp by Pixel Letch, on Flickr
I think this is my favorite of the macro I took. Kind of unusual colors.


Tomato Anemonefish w/a by Pixel Letch, on Flickr
One attempt with the Tokina 10-17+ Kenko 1.4


Whale Shark by Pixel Letch, on Flickr
Slurp! We snorkeled with these guys for an hour or so one morning. They were the "tame" ones being fed krill.


School of Jacks by Pixel Letch, on Flickr
Wall of Jacks. Just thousands of fish...

More on Flickr. Enjoy!

Jack

 

[cardog]

Beautiful shots, Jack!

 

[ozziworld]

Great Shots Jack. Love the Flickr set too.

Was wondering what dome+extension you use with the Tokina 10-17/kenko 1.4x. What does it do for the 10-17?

Also, what diopter do you use with the 60mm Macro? I usually see people pair up the 105mm Macro with the diopter.

 

[JackConnick]

I'm using the Zen 100mm dome for the Nauticam. It has a 20mm ext. built into the mount. For the Kenko I use it, and another 20mm extension, along with a longer gear.

It makes the 10-17 into about a 14-24, but as you can see it allows for very close focus, with a wide background. Sp small fish or other subjects can be quite large in the foreground, and sill have a lot of background and surface/sky in the image. You can also then use it for a shark lens as it has more reach.

I distilled my port kit down quite a bit for this trip; the Zen 100mm dome and a Nauticam 60mm macro port and a 20mm ext. allowed me to house 4 lenses. Adding to that a couple of diopters and gears, and I had a very versatile assortment. For Fiji next month I will be taking a large dome as well, I did miss not being able to shoot more wide open with the few wide angle opportunities I had - the Zen needs to be stopped down to f/8 and with the Kenko, maybe a bit more.

I used a +5 FIT diopter on both the 60 & 105. I think it's pretty good for med small critters, I have stacked another +8 at times, or shot with the SubSee +10, but then you are really getting into supermacro. I found the +10 on the 105 on a DX mount to be too much, on a full-frame camera I think it would be about right.

Jack

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

Very nice images Jack and congrats on your new Seacam dealership.

Phil Rudin