Camera SD cards are massive now, and quite cheap. While all this extra data storage space should ensure that you always have room on your card for that magical underwater moment, it also tends to encourage people to adopt a 'spray and pray' approach to their underwater photography endeavors. As someone who leads underwater photography workshops I always urge those who do tend to have a heavy 'trigger finger' to plan their shots a bit more, not only to save themselves time later when organizing their photos, but also to give marine life a break from a rapid fire flash. While I haven't actually spoken to the fish and asked them their true opinions on being photographed, after years of working with a camera in the ocean and witnessing their reoccurring behavior when confronted with a camera, particularly when the flash is engaged, I feel confident when I say they “they don't love it.” It is for this reason that we, the Snorkel Venture guides, have put together this little etiquette guide for photographing marine life. This little guide will not only give some respite to shy marine creatures, but should also help you get a better photo as consider your subject and how might want to approach it so as to get the best shot with the least number of attempts. Large Marine Life: Flash Off Larger marine creatures like turtles and mantas are basically too big to fully illuminate with a flash, particularly if you are using a smaller compact camera. Not only that, but it's quite likely they will quickly disappear into the blue if you start to pester them with a flash. For the best interactions and photos of larger marine life we always suggest using the fish mode on your camera, or a custom white
Camera SD cards are massive now, and quite cheap. While all this extra data storage space should ensure that you always have room on your card for that magical underwater moment, it also tends to encourage people to adopt a ‘spray and pray’ approach to their underwater photography endeavors. As someone who leads underwater photography
Photography workshops, more specifically photography workshops for snorkelers and freedivers, can be extremely the helpful for anyone wanting to improve their underwater images, no matter the skill level or type of camera. These types of tours provide you with constant exposure (no pun intended) to beautiful marine subjects, all while being led and assisted by accomplished underwater photographers. Not only that, with the jaw dropping destinations and luxurious resorts and liveaboards we select specifically for these tours, you can rest assured that it will be the trip of a lifetime and you'll have the photos to prove it. Here's a little look into what a Snorkel Venture snorkeling photography workshop looks like and also what you can expect to learn from one. What is a Snorkeling and Freediving Photography Workshop As the description says, a snorkeling and freedving photography workshop is a photography workshop that caters specifically to snorkelers and freedivers. Snorkel Venture has a select team of professional photographers who are not only accomplished with a camera, but also well versed in the the locations we'll be traveling to and will be your group leader for the duration of the photographic tour. These tours will be based in locations where sea conditions are mild, but also home to some of the world's most beautiful reefs where exciting encounters with some of the ocean's most photogenic marine inhabitants are guaranteed. As with all of our snorkeling safaris, the resorts and liveaboards who will be hosting us are well equipped for tours such as these so you can expect five-star service and accommodations with the added benefit of tailor made camera rooms and media centers. How a Photo Workshop Runs Our photo tours will run in a very similar fashion to our normal snorkel safaris, however, the guide will also be
Photography workshops, more specifically photography workshops for snorkelers and freedivers, can be extremely the helpful for anyone wanting to improve their underwater images, no matter the skill level or type of camera. These types of tours provide you with constant exposure (no pun intended) to beautiful marine subjects, all while being led and assisted by
Here's 5 reasons why I've had a great year leading snorkel tours for Snorkel Venture. Below you'll find a collection of my favorite photos and video segments of my year in 2019. 5. The Reefs Just about every one of our tours we spend a lot of time around reefs and the life that buzzes around these phenomenal underwater structures. Regardless if it's Raja Ampat, Alor, Komodo, or Belize there's nothing like exploring the world's most pristine reefs. 4. Komodo's Mangroves Before I joined Snorkel Venture I used to work on a liveaboard that transitioned between the Raja Ampat and Komodo seasons as they are opposite of each other. In the five years on board, I dreamt of exploring the mangroves that fringed several of the islands in Komodo, but I was just never able to do so as it was a diving boat and the mangroves can only be snorkeled. One I joined Snorkel Venture, and with the help of our friends and Komodo resort we were finally able to make into the mangroves on several of our Komodo Snorkel Venture safaris, and the reward of doing so was well worth the long wait. 3. Local Communities Alor is an extremely special location as it's still really quite off the beaten track as far as tourism is concerned. Not only are the reefs exceptional, but the coastal villages still function more or less as they always have prior to technological advancements. One of the most amazing and unique things to witness in Alor, outside of the mind blowing marine life, are the local fishermen who fish with hand made wooden spears and wood goggles. These well seasoned fishermen will dive down to incredible depths on a single breath to hunt right in front of us. Upon surfacing they graciously
Here’s 5 reasons why I’ve had a great year leading snorkel tours for Snorkel Venture. Below you’ll find a collection of my favorite photos and video segments of my year in 2019. 5. The Reefs Just about every one of our tours we spend a lot of time around reefs and the life that buzzes
Wondering what we mean by critters? Basically, we and everyone else in the snorkel and dive community are applying the broad generalization of “critters” to all the weird and wonderful creatures like frog fish, nudibranchs, octopus, scorpion fish, and moray eels. There's no real qualification for something to be labeled as a critter, they are basically anything that is small, spends most of it's time hiding in the reef, and just doesn't look your traditional fish. What's fascinating about these critters is that there are so many different species within just a single genus. Take octopus for example, in North Sulawesi (critter capital of the world) there are at least ten different species of octopus. Some of these octopus species are hairy, some are as small as your finger nail, some have fluorescent blue spots all over them, and some have the ability to mimic the shape and behavior of other marine creatures like the jellyfish or even sea snakes. Within the frogfish family there are at least another ten unique species, and three-thousand different species of nudibranchs. Basically every type of critter will have many many different variations and it becomes like a scavenger hunt to find them all. As you first begin your critter crusade it may seem a bit frustrating in just being able to find them as most of them are very well camouflaged. Your local guides will always assist though as their eyes are well tuned at deciphering what is reef and what is actually a living animal. As you begin to noticing the shapes, patterns, and the habitats of the different species you'll quickly catch on and start to rely less and less on the guides to find critters for you. For a lot of people this 'hunt' soon becomes an obsession and it
Wondering what we mean by critters? Basically, we and everyone else in the snorkel and dive community are applying the broad generalization of “critters” to all the weird and wonderful creatures like frog fish, nudibranchs, octopus, scorpion fish, and moray eels. There’s no real qualification for something to be labeled as a critter, they are
From the time you click the “Book Tour” button for your desired Snorkel Venture safari to the time you actually head to the airport can seem like ages, particularly if you've booked a tour a year or two out! Rather than just sit there twiddling your thumbs as you wait for that much anticipated date, there's a lot you can to prepare for the tour which will not only help relieve some of those sudden snorkeling urges, but also help you get more out of the tour itself. 4. Research Ok, so you've just booked a tour to a distant island you barely knew existed and presumably you've done a bit of basic research about the area, but that's probably the extent of it if you are like most of us. However, the areas we offer tours to are truly fascinating places, whether it be historical, political, geological, food, or the marine life, there is just so much cool stuff to know about these unique areas. In doing this 'research' it will not only help pass the time but it will no doubt help you enjoy the tour more, not to mention you'll be able to say things like "did you know Indonesia has the same flag as Monaco?" What I'm about to say next may sound a bit like a mom or dad trying to be hip but, research is cool! 3. Gear It's always a good idea to double check all your snorkel and travel gear before you take off. You might know you have a snorkel and mask in the closet but is the rubber skirt around the mask still in good shape or has it dried out and starting to crack? Also, does that wetsuit still fit? As someone who runs these trips for a living I
From the time you click the “Book Tour” button for your desired Snorkel Venture safari to the time you actually head to the airport can seem like ages, particularly if you’ve booked a tour a year or two out! Rather than just sit there twiddling your thumbs as you wait for that much anticipated date,
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