Wrecked in the Red Sea

[AndyT]

I went off to the Red Sea recently on a dive trip - I got there OK, my checked in luggage didn't !! It contained my dive gear plus some other vital bits - like my strobe arms, strobe & focus light batteries, fibre optic cables to trigger the strobes plus my port extensions. I tried to get all of my photo gear into my carry on (Lowepro Vertex 300 AW) but it was already full and heavy at 17 Kg. So I was down to shooting natural light with a lens I have never used before - the 8mm FE. To add insult to injury the lens release button came off my camera 2 days before we left. The good news is that my baggage arrived the day we stopped diving.

I'll stop the violins now, here are some pics. They were taken on the wreck of the Chrisoula K, a Greek cargo vessel that sank in 1981 after running aground on the Sha'ab Abu Nuhas Reef. The cargo was mainly a load of tiles.

All taken at ISO 100, f3.5 and between 1/125 and 1/250

C&C welcome !!

 

[ScubaSteve]

Andy, even with only part of your system the pictures are incredible. I cannot get over how clear the water is. I am very envious. Again, great shots Andy. Thanks for sharing.

 

[JTemple]

Sorry to hear about the luggage, not having all your gear. I know what a disappointment that must have been! But, the pictures are very cool, nice blues! Looks like some great diving. And a huge wreck!

Here's my C&C:
I am wondering if they aren't a bit over-processed? Particularly, over-saturated and over-sharpened? Just a little?

 

[blesi varney]

Wow. And for a lens you've never used before, your photos are awesome. I also love the blues.

 

[AndyT]

Here's my C&C:
I am wondering if they aren't a bit over-processed? Particularly, over-saturated and over-sharpened? Just a little?

Thanks Jennifer !

The only processing I have done to these is WB in ACR (shot in RAW) maybe bumped up the exposure a bit and then levels in PS. No saturation or other colour adjustments. You could be right on the sharpening though.

 

[LBHeyman]

Sorry to hear about your luggage, that stinks. Those pictures are great!

 

[Maggy]

Great pictures! Thanx for sharing!

I'm also stunned over the visibility. Any idea how much it was? And how deep is the wreck?

Must go to the Red Sea in the future. Not that far from here...

 

[AndyT]

Thanks Maggy !!

The viz was around 30m. depth varies from around 25m at the stern to 15m on the deck.

 

[CheddarChick]

Wow really great picts Andy....Make me kinda get a chill about how they got there...

 

[Deefstes]

Bliksem! Those are brilliant pictures. I can't get over the visibility. Sorry to hear about your hassle with the luggage. Whom did you fly with? Name and shame.