UW photography in the Caribbean

[Vigfus]

Greetings,

My friend and I are experienced divers, but have just started with UW photography. We have regular Canon G11/G12 with Inon S-2000 and macro lenses. We have done Asia the last years with Tulamben, Bali and Anilao, Phillipines and are looking towards the Carribean to try something new. We're planning on having two themes (small stuff and bigger stuff), each getting one week.

Q1) Where would you go to find the smaller stuff? We're aware that it won't be Anilao-muck, but shrimps, nudibranchs, crabs etc. just to give you an idea.

Q2) Where would you go to find the bigger stuff? This can be anything from schools of jacks up to mantas/sharks. Pretty much anything that tickles your fancy for a wide angle photo, including healthy corals with sea fans.

It's all down to preferences so we're hoping you would share yours with us. We're planning on heading out for three weeks preferably around October/November depending on when we can expect good visibility. Budget is around USD150/Euro100 per day.

Best Regards,
Vigfus

 

[fisheyeview]

Bonaire is always a good place for small stuff as you can spend a lot of time on subjects as there is unlimited shore diving.

The Blue Heron Bridge in Riviera Beach, Florida is the closest you will come to muck diving.

 

[TightLines]

I second Bonaire for the macro, bigger stuff in the Caribbean is going to be a bit tougher.

 

[Doubler]

Bonaire or BHB would be great for macro. For big stuff you could do a Jim Abernathy charter or Small Hope Bay beach resort on Andros Island and do some of the Shark dives they offer.

 

[bvanant]

Bonaire is interesting since you get lots of time to shoot a subject. Check out the video of some of the smaller creatures of bonaire at
http://www.blueviews.net/assets/videos/bonaire10_rubblerocks_640x360.mov

Alternately, dive with Bill Tewes at St Vincent for seeing some of the more unusual critters of the Caribbean. Bill can find lots of varying critters in the sea grass and other areas around St Vincent but be aware that he can be a bit of a world class curmudgeon.
As for big stuff, one of Jimmy's shark trips is guaranteed to see sharks. Dominica for whales and Belize for whale sharks but very defined seasons and a bit hit or miss.

Bill

 

[Vigfus]

Thanks for the hints and tips guys!

Best Regards,
Vigfus

 

[wkb1340]

Roatan is a good place to see the occasional Whale Shark, but anywhere through the Bay Islands is a macro dream come true. Remember to get the permit if you intend to go into the Cayo Menor area.
Another alternative is Cozumel, I've shot thousands of images just on shore dives there.

 

[Warren_L]

I would also suggest Bonaire for macro photography, however, I was there last in December 2010 and there were some significant issues with the state of the reefs. There were some elevated water temperatures for a period of time in 2010 and that resulted in a lot of coral bleaching. Just about every reef we dove you could see the white of the bleached corals dotting the landscape like snow capped mountains. There was also a significant decline in what we were able to see. Prior to the trip in December 2010, I was there just 9 months earlier in March 2010 and the difference in the health of the reefs was like night and day. We saw much more in March in way of marine life. At this point, not having been there since December last year, I wonder how the reefs are as the damage I witnessed then does not seem likely to recover for a while, maybe years.

 

[Damselfish]

You're getting good tips on Caribbean diving, which is what you asked for - but realize that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the pond. Some of us in the US, especially on the East Coast, are amazed when people with easier access to the Indo-Pacific than us want to go to the Caribbean. Lots of divers in the US would be heading for the Indo-Pacific - where there's greater biodiversity - if it wasn't so expensive and far away for them. They go to the Caribbean because it's closer and cheaper, not better. There are places noted for good Caribbean macro, and places in the Caribbean noted for far better chances of larger animals, but you might not find these places very convenient to travel between.

If I were in Sweden and wanted small and big stuff I'd head someplace like the Maldives where I could get both, and way better diving than the Caribbean.

 

[wkb1340]

Damselfish makes a good point!