Sudan Pictures + Q about diffuser

[Christian]

Hi

I'm a new member to the group and fairly new to UW-photography (I'm really a writer).

My equipment is a MMIIEX with dual YS 60, 20 & 16 mm WA lenses.

Here are some pictures I took last spring in the sudanese Red Sea (I'm going back in 2 weeks). I've scanned them myself, so they might appear a bit dark (I'm not very good at Photoshop). If possible, please turn up (adjust) the light balance on your screen:

http://212.209.187.118/sudan/thumb.asp

These pictures were taken with a single YS 60 and the 20 mm lens, Kodak Gold 400 ISO and Fuji Reala 100 ISO. The extra strobe and the 16 mm lens that I have purchased will hopefully help me getting some more creative freedom and slightly better results. I will also try using slides this time; Fuji Provia 100F and Fuji Velvia 50.

Q: What are your experiences with the diffuser when it comes to making the light warmer? According to the tech. spec. diffusers should lower the temperature 300-400 degrees, will this make a big difference?

Also, what do you guys think of the filters that Sea & Sea sells for 20 mm and 16 mm lenses? Will they make a difference, or does a proper lighting solve the problem better? To me it seems like a filter would not do the sharpness of the image any favours.

Cheers

Christian, Stockholm

 

[vicky]

And so many fish! Amazing. Can you tell us some more on the dives? How did you get there, etc?

 

[Christian]

Thank's for your kind words Vicky.


Here are some information about sudanese diving:

Sudan has the greatest diversity of spieces in the entire Red Sea and thanks to under developed fishing, quantity is excellent as well. Actually, Sudan also was the first country in the world to ban spearfishing. Something that has made large groupers common allover. There are no big population areas along the coast line and there are no rivers running out to sea, so viz is usually good. About 1500 divers visit Sudan each year (compared to Egypts 500.000).

The waters are very deep close to the coastline, since the african trench passes here. Only a short boatride from Port Sudan harbour and the depth is 1000 meters (3000 ft). The reefs you dive stretches up from the abyss, therefore big, pelagic fish is everyday routine.

On reefs like Sha'ab Rumi and Sanganeb you can see it all. Besides all the obvious fish you can find in a Red Sea fish guide, I have personally seen schools of hammerhead sharks, silvertips, several spieces of reef sharks, manta rays and once, a whale shark! The last mentioned is however luck. It happens only a couple of times each year in these waters. Mentioned reefs are ideal for UW-photography. Both have moderately deep, current swept plateaus stretching out from the main reef into the open ocean. As any experienced diver will understand, this is marine life mekka.

North of Port Sudan you'll find the Mesharifa Channel. In the right time of year (autumn) mantas' gather here to mate. It is possible to see 25-30 manta rays in one dive.

Close by you will find Angarosh (Um El Kurush) which could be translated to The Mother of Sharks. It is a narrow pillar rising some 700 meters (2100 ft) from the seabed, reaching the surface. Silvertip sharks reside here as well as schooling hammerheads. Sometimes oceanic whitetip sharks (carcharhinus longimanus) visit the reef.

Just outside Port Sudan you will find the WWII wreck s/s Umbrea. An italian freighter that was scuttled by its own captain in a war intrigue. She is 150 m long (450 ft) and very intact. There are plenty of easy penetration, she is fairly shallow and full of life. Some say it is the most beatiful wreck to dive in the world.

Sudan is also historical in diving circles. Dr. Hans Hass made his first expedition to Sudan in the early 50's and Jacques Cousteau conducted his underwater habitat experiment, Conshelf, II on Sha'ab Rumi in 1963, where he also shot Le Mond Sans Soleil. It is possible to dive the remains of the underwater village.

Sudan is a very poor country, civil war has been raging in the southern parts for more than two decades. However the people are nice and welcoming.

You can travel to Port Sudan from Cairo with Sudan Air. It is a weekly flight that departs Saturday. This flight is not possible to book through a travel agency, it has to be handled by an agent in Port Sudan. It's fairly reliable. Last year we had a six hour delay - patient is important if you want to enjoy a trip in this part of the world. The cost for the flight is US$ 400.

Liveaboards are the only option.

Usually you will need a group of at least 8 divers to charter a ship for a week or two. There are a couple european operators that organize trips to Sudan. One is herr Klaus Melzer in Munich. He helped me and my group last year and has been sending divers to Sudan for 25 years. His company is SpirSub:
www.spirosub.com
British based Diving World also arranges dive trips to Sudan. Sometimes you can join groups as an individual.

This year I have chartered an ex research vessel called the Ciprea directly from the owners - two italian blokes - together with a group of divers/videographers and photographers. The full name of the agent escapes me, but it was Halim something ... The cost for two weeks full board, 2 dives a day, 1 nightdive a week is normally around US$ 1500 pp, drinkingwater excluded, extra dives US$25. Touristtax is about US$ 200. Adding it all up, it usually comes down to US$ 2600-2800 with flights and overnight in Cairo.

Sudanese visas can be a bit of a hassle. You will need an "invitation" from the tourist authorities in Port Sudan. This is something your agent in Port Sudan arranges for you.

There are something like 12-14 dive yachts in Port Sudan, mostly italian owned. Quite a few of them barely sea worthy. Conditions onboard are spartan but adequate. So if you demand Peter Hughes / Agressor type of service, Sudan is not for you. But if you can cope with the conditions, the reward is one of the most complete, undisturbed underwater environments in the world.

Sometimes liveaboards depart from Egypt and motor all the way down to Port Sudan. I have done this once some years ago, but to the best of my knowledge, there are no boats doing this at present.

 

[buff]

THOSE PHOTOS ARE SO GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am both happy and sad to see that those photos were taken with the same camera that I have. Sad, that I haven't taken ONE photo that good and Happy, that there is so much potential in this camera set up for me to do so one day.

Very creative photo work. I loved those large, sweeping shots of animals makes the sea look so big.

 

[Dee]

Originally posted by Christian
Hi...My equipment is a MMIIEX with dual YS 60, 20 & 16 mm WA lenses.

....These pictures were taken with a single YS 60 and the 20 mm lens, Kodak Gold 400 ISO and Fuji Reala 100 ISO. The extra strobe and the 16 mm lens that I have purchased will hopefully help me getting some more creative freedom and slightly better results. I will also try using slides this time; Fuji Provia 100F and Fuji Velvia 50.

Q: What are your experiences with the diffuser when it comes to making the light warmer? According to the tech. spec. diffusers should lower the temperature 300-400 degrees, will this make a big difference?

Also, what do you guys think of the filters that Sea & Sea sells for 20 mm and 16 mm lenses? Will they make a difference, or does a proper lighting solve the problem better? To me it seems like a filter would not do the sharpness of the image any favours.

Cheers

Christian, Stockholm

I missed this thread...sorry Christian!

Your system is the same as mine. Well, the one I just replaced with digital that is. :mean: On to your questions...

The diffuser never made that big a difference in the warmth of the light. It did soften it when use the macro lenses but for wide angle you don't need it. In fact, you need the full coverage the strobe will give you with those wide angle lenses, especially the 16mm.

Don't waste your money on filters. Your strobe will provide all the light you need to show the natural colors. You mention sharpness. No filters will not help, you need to work on your focus distance for that. Just remember that for every layer of glass ie. add-on lenses, filters, etc., between your subject and the film plane you lose a little optic quality.

If I was going to add anything to what you listed, it would be a second strobe. Even a YS-30 slave strobe will help fill in and soften the shadows produced by the YS-60. And being a macro fanatic, I'd add a 2T macro lens....I rarely dived without mine!

 

[Christian]

Thank's for your reply Dee,

I already have dual strobes (2xYS60 with synccord), but the pictures
on my site were taken with a single strobe.

Also I think you got it wrong with the diffuser, it makes the light
softer, but it also spreads the light more, so from that point of
view it is very good for WA. However it cuts the GN in half, so the
problem that can occur is that the light gets to weak. But I get the
impression that you didn't think the lower light temperature made
any difference in you pictures.

About filters, I don't need extra sharpness. What I'm looking for
is bringing out more of the red colors/making images less bluisg/greenisg.
What I was trying to say, was that I suspected that filters will lower the
sharpness in the images, as you also pointed out.

/christian

 

[Dee]

Originally posted by Christian
Thank's for your reply Dee,

Also I think you got it wrong with the diffuser, it makes the light
softer, but it also spreads the light more, so from that point of
view it is very good for WA. However it cuts the GN in half, so the
problem that can occur is that the light gets to weak. But I get the
impression that you didn't think the lower light temperature made
any difference in you pictures.

You're right. I didn't make myself clear. I meant that even though the light is softer, it's too weak for the coverage you need. I should have read what I wrote! And yes, I didn't find the lower temperature to make much difference.

About filters, I don't need extra sharpness. What I'm looking for is bringing out more of the red colors/making images less bluisg/greenisg.
What I was trying to say, was that I suspected that filters will lower the sharpness in the images, as you also pointed out.

/christian

I experimented with different film brands to influence the colors rather than use filters. Fuji Reala gave me more red, especially for macros. But the biggest cause of the blues was the strobe not reaching far enough such as you see on the edges of wide angle shots. I noticed this the most with the 16mm lens.