My Diving Vids in Bonaire Last Week (Octopus, Bait Ball, Tarpon, Hilma Hooker, Eels)

[PAFirefighter]

My girlfriend and I went to Bonaire last week for an incredible week of diving. She had been there in the past, but this was my first time. This was my first time diving in the ocean since being certified for my OW course back in June of this year. Not only that, but it was also my first time ever leaving the US. I had a brilliant time. We went to Buddy Dive in Bonaire. What a beautiful country, from north to south. I highly recommend it for anyone who has not been!

These are just a FEW of the vids I took. I apologize for any shaky video. Again, this was my first time ever in the ocean diving, so I am very new to the whole underwater world with currents and such. But I LOVE it and am officially addicted... damn.


Sea turtles - two vids of these magnificent creatures...

Boca Slagbaai:
Sea Turtle in Bonaire, Netherland Antilles - in 720 HD! - YouTube

Windsock:
Another Sea Turtle in Windsock in Bonaire - YouTube


Octopus - two vids as well of these guys:

Night diving - inking us - I guess we were too close?
Octopus Inking Us While Night Diving - Buddy Dive Reef, Bonaire - YouTube

Daytime off of Buddy Reef:
Daytime Octopus at Buddy Dive Bonaire - YouTube


The Hilma Hooker - 2 vids:
Diving the Wreck of the Hilma Hooker in Bonaire (1) - YouTube
Tarpon & Barracuda at the Hilma Hooker Ship Wreck in Bonaire - YouTube


Two moray eels:
Two Moray Eels in Bonaire - YouTube


Last and BEST in my opinion. We went to the national park on the north end of the island for a cookout. The site is known as Boca Slagbaai. Great little bar with bar food, pink flamingos abound, and so much more. BEAUTIFUL location. Anyway, long story short... This was my last dive of the day. We hopped out into the water and headed north into the current. The current changed and REALLY started to suck us off of the reef. We kept our calm and were able to stay close. I saw this crazy cloud of bait fish.. known as a "bait ball" I was told. I swam toward it and hovered, taking video. The bait fish began to lift as Tarpon started to swim through. What an incredible sight - I can't believe what I saw and was able to record on video. It was such a fun, entertaining and incredible time. The video is here:
Tarpon Swimming Through a Bait Ball at Boca Slagbaai, Bonaire - 720 HD! - YouTube



All my photos are going to be uploaded to another location - I'll post the link below when I get to it.

 

[PAFirefighter]

This is my setup btw - GoPro Dive housing, Red filter, Intova Imini, custom billet aluminum mount with scope ring:





Here are a few more videos I uploaded last night...

Moray eel:
[video=youtube;nGDs9iP39p0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGDs9iP39p0[/video]


Sea urchin hanging out in some coral - I guess my light scared him a bit if that's possible:
[video=youtube;oM8oIVlHNSM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM8oIVlHNSM[/video]


A peek inside the Hilma Hooker wreck:
[video=youtube;LSsXG1BzwEY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSsXG1BzwEY[/video]

 

[avigulf]

Thanks for the links. Ill guess you will need more lights when filming in dark areas, like inside wrecks. This is the Gopros real challenge.

 

[SFC_Swede]

PAFirefighter...Hail from Bensalem PA. I am very new to the whole video/photography thing while diving. I am heading to St Kitts in less than 3 weeks for my first Caribbean dive trip. I am reading as many posts as I can, but I still dont understand the whole filter thing. I get it for green water, but is a red filter necessary for clear blue water in the Caribbean? I did my research on St Kitts...approx 100ft visibility, and most of the dive sites are in the 25-70 foot range.

I will only go to a deeper dive site if Household 6 (the wife) is doing something else, as she is only OW certified.

Your videos turned out awesome....just hope I get something half as decent. I bought the Hero2 and dive housing. Planning on either buying this

Extend-A-Pole Mono Pod

Or fabricating my own out of PVC and utilizing the handlebar/post adapter I picked up at Best Buy today.

Any input or help would be appreciated

Cheers

 

[Drewpy]

Bonaire is a wonderful place..trust me, like many others you will return!
Glad you had a good time..great diving, great food, great people and a beautiful island!

I have been there on four trips and will return again!

 

[tilem]

Great videos! Which red filter is this? Didn't know there was already one for the new case.

 

[Belmont]

Please be safe, enjoy photography in paradise for years to come.

The Hilma Hooker at 100ft might have been outside of your training not to mention penetration.

Take care

 

[PAFirefighter]

Here are 2 more videos...

2nd of the Bait Ball & Tarpon at Boca Slagbaai:
2nd Video of Bait Ball & Tarpon in Bonaire - GoPro Hero2 w/ Dive Housing & Red Filter - YouTube

And a frogfish (Must learn to get closer now!):
Frogfish in Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean - GoPro Hero2 w/ Dive Housing & Red Filter - YouTube

Thanks for the links. Ill guess you will need more lights when filming in dark areas, like inside wrecks. This is the Gopros real challenge.

I agree - I just need some more light and I think I'll be good!

PAFirefighter...Hail from Bensalem PA. I am very new to the whole video/photography thing while diving. I am heading to St Kitts in less than 3 weeks for my first Caribbean dive trip. I am reading as many posts as I can, but I still dont understand the whole filter thing. I get it for green water, but is a red filter necessary for clear blue water in the Caribbean? I did my research on St Kitts...approx 100ft visibility, and most of the dive sites are in the 25-70 foot range.

I will only go to a deeper dive site if Household 6 (the wife) is doing something else, as she is only OW certified.

Your videos turned out awesome....just hope I get something half as decent. I bought the Hero2 and dive housing. Planning on either buying this

Extend-A-Pole Mono Pod

Or fabricating my own out of PVC and utilizing the handlebar/post adapter I picked up at Best Buy today.

Any input or help would be appreciated

Cheers

Even in "clear" water there is still a blue hue in photos and videos. The red filter was in use both at the surface and down to depth. It worked great in my opinion. The videos above are in Bonaire, which is in the Caribbean, 50-100' vis. normally, and it worked fine for me having the red filter. I suggest the popup Backscatter filter which I will link below.

Bonaire is a wonderful place..trust me, like many others you will return!
Glad you had a good time..great diving, great food, great people and a beautiful island!

I have been there on four trips and will return again!

I plan to go back again soon! My g/f has been there twice now, but also to Belize and many other places. I want to explore!

Great videos! Which red filter is this? Didn't know there was already one for the new case.

This was a cheapo $14.99 filter here:
Amazon.com: GoPro Dive Housing Red Filter for GoPro Hero 1 Hero 2 Cameras -Color correcting filter for New Dive housing: Camera & Photo

You need to take apart the housing, but I had no problems. Make sure not to get any hair in there, and use latex gloves so you don't get fingerprints on the filter or inside the lens area. If you can wait, go with this filter (I am purchasing it):
Backscatter Flip Magic Filter for GoPro Dive Housing

Please be safe, enjoy photography in paradise for years to come.

The Hilma Hooker at 100ft might have been outside of your training not to mention penetration.

Take care

Thanks for the concern! My girlfriend is AOW, Rescue Diver, etc., and the others who were there with us are Dive Masters & Instructors (Owner of the dive shop here in PA through which the trip was put together).

 

[Belmont]

"Thanks for the concern! My girlfriend is AOW, Rescue Diver, etc., and the others who were there with us are Dive Masters & Instructors (Owner of the dive shop here in PA through which the trip was put together)."

In that case it makes a difference.
Be super cautious when filming, your focus is limited to your camera and subject and you might be unaware of many dangers.
Stay close to your buddies.

Thank you for your contribution, very interesting and informative. It will be useful for me when I finally find the time to visit Bonaire.

 

[PAFirefighter]

The great thing about my GoPro is that I do not have a digital back, or a viewfinder. I literally just have the camera pointed straight and it records most of what's in front of me. Due to this it's not too distracting, especially in an overhead environment.

When you get to visit Bonaire, definitely take a boat dive .. or 10, out to Klein Bonaire, and checkout Washington-Slagbaai National Park (Where Boca Slagbaai and the baitball were located), as well as the southwest side of the island, where the Hooker & Windsock, etc, are located.