WAKATOBI MARINE NATIONAL PARK, Sulawesi, Indonesia (August 2008)
Another three month stay in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, something of an annual event now, and a further opportunity to photograph the wonderful wildlife and seascapes of the coral reefs fond there. With some of the most diverse reef communities in existence, there is no shortage of subjects for underwater photography. Unfortunately there is a lack of 'big pelagics', as fishing has decimated the shark and turtle population around most of the islands, but many reefs are of exeptional quality and the benthic species are present in abundance.
Visibility is poor around Hoga Island during June-September, limited to only 8-10m, so my photography was aimed much more towards macro subjects. I was lucky enough to spend a couple of dives away from the usual Hoga sites, venturing to Tomia on the reseach liveaboard vessel the Bintang Sedang. This was my first visit to the home of the world famous Wakatobi Divers resort, and the spectacular dive sites found in the area. This gave an opportunity for some wide angle shots as visibility was greatly improved. To see a gallery of my favourite shots from this trip, click here.
Despite the long period of my stay, I only managed around 20 dives with my camera, but I feel they were extremely productive. The Canon 400D in Sea & Sea housing was used on all dives with two Sea & Sea YS-110 strobes. For the majority of dives I used the Canon 60mm Macro lens, although for the three dives around Tomia, where there was better visibility and a large turtle population, the Canon 17-40mm Wide Angle lens was used.
