Trip Report Tubbataha 2024

[rmorgan]

Another great one, Dan. The white-tip power slide at 4:50 is cool!

 

[poifromthebag]

Our group of 22 divers diving in Tubbataha Reef from 1st to 7th of June 2024, by chartering Infiniti Liveaboard.

Many of the details info, including itinerary, are provided in the trip video, below. So, please watch the video and I’ll be happy to answer any questions.

May I ask what lighting and camera equipment are you using to capture your video? The lighting and colors seem very vibrant... are you post processing it to balance or using lights?

 

[Dan]

May I ask what lighting and camera equipment are you using to capture your video? The lighting and colors seem very vibrant... are you post processing it to balance or using lights?

I use GoPro 11 with SeaLife Sea Dragon 3000 video light & tray, as shown, below.

One of the GoPro Protune settings for Color, I set it to “vibrant”.

For those scenes without light & low visibility, I edit the white balance, contrast, brightness and color grading with video editor called Shotcut that you can get freely from Shotcut.org. There are tons of Shotcut tutorial videos in YouTube.com that you can learn how to use Shotcut.

 

[Sure Squintsalot]

What made you go to Tubbataha at this time of year and not somewhere in Indonesia?

BTW, nice final product given the simplicity of your set-up.

 

[Dan]

What made you go to Tubbataha at this time of year and not somewhere in Indonesia?

BTW, nice final product given the simplicity of your set-up.

I have never been there & friends invited me to join their group. The same group that went to Visayas Sea 2 years before on the same boat, Infiniti, which I like the boat & crew very much. So, I said let’s go for it!

I have been to Indonesia a lot (> 20 times), even this year would be 3 times. So, a change of scenery is nice.

Yes, GoPro have made quite of improvements. The small form factor makes it possible to film scene where it is impossible to do it by big camera (fast currents, tight spaces, etc.)

The one button release of the SeaLife Sea Dragon video light has also a good thing to have for lighting in a tight spot or moving the light to different angle to avoid back scattering.

 

[dflaher]

What made you go to Tubbataha at this time of year?

When is the best time of year for a Tubbataha LOB, and what are the water temps like?

 

[Centrals]

When is the best time of year for a Tubbataha LOB, and what are the water temps like?

Mid Mar to end of June is the officially opening of the Marine Park.
Best time is from mid Apr to mid May. I had been there 3 times during that period and never been affected by weather.
There is no where to hide from the storm/typhoon.

 

[dflaher]

I just want to know what the water temps are like in Tubbataha in mid-Apr to mid-May

 

[Dan]

I just want to know what the water temps are like in Tubbataha in mid-Apr to mid-May

Google is your friend.

Sea water temperature Tubbataha Reef today | Philippines

Sea water temperature forecast and historical data for Tubbataha Reef. Today's sea surface temperature report. Average monthly sea temperature and surf forecast

seatemperature.info

Average, Minimum, Maximum

 

[Blackcrusader]

no night dives?