Underwater photography Galapagos

[finn3]

Hello!

I'm planning about doing a galapagos diving trip this or next year. I want to join a liveaboard in September or October. So there will be whale sharks but also rougher seas and not best visibility I suppose.

I have a Sony rx 100va and fantasea housing. So far I used this with a wet wide angle lens in raja ampat and Bali.... with mediocre success.. I know for the best photos you need strobes.
Unfortunately I can't really imagine buying strobes.
For one it's just too much to carry around, since I never do dive only trips, but will also do other things and am usually backpacking.
The other thing is, it seems too annoying underwater to deal with that much stuff also. Especially with strong currents like in galapagos when you just hold onto rocks, I feel like it will not be easy.


So I wanted to ask about experiences about underwater photography with or without strobes in galapagos. Since most things to photograph are big there and not too close, maybe strobes are also less relevant there?

I also had the idea to use the camera for stills and put a go pro on top for just filming along all the time, while focusing on doing the stills with the camera. Does someone have experience with this?

Thanks so much for hearing from your experiences and tips!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I mounted a GoPro on top of my housing while also attempting to get still photos using strobes at the Galapagos. Due to currents and the rules of our guides, I was not happy with my results. We were told to stay behind the guides, which meant we could not get close enough for a shot unless an animal came close enough, which was rare. We were aboard the Galapagos Master. I don't know if the other liveaboards have the same rules.

 

[Johnoly]

and not best visibility I suppose.
So I wanted to ask about experiences about underwater photography with or without strobes in galapagos.

Just 1 opinion from doing a summer trip to GoPo and others will have input.

It's the big animals that get all the excitement and most of the time they are 15ft or more away from the divers. That puts them pretty far outside the range of small economical strobe flash distance. And then like you said above, the viz is full of plankton food so backscatter is wicked like a great shot below that was ruined by it. Others on our boat told me to turn off my strobe and adjust my settings in raw format. It was a huge quality improvement on the big moving targets and no-recycle time waiting for a flash. It was just fire away 2 dozen picts and sort them out later for a keeper.

But there are spots and dives on your GoPo trip that will be subjects within strobe range. But I went on the trip for 'Mr Bigs' and got my fill. It's a bucket list trip and you'll be glad you went.

 

[finn3]

I mounted a GoPro on top of my housing while also attempting to get still photos using strobes at the Galapagos. Due to currents and the rules of our guides, I was not happy with my results. We were told to stay behind the guides, which meant we could not get close enough for a shot unless an animal came close enough, which was rare. We were aboard the Galapagos Master. I don't know if the other liveaboards have the same rules.

Thank you for sharing your experience. So how was the handling with the GoPro on top of the camera? Did you just film all the time and then concentrate more on the stills with camera? Did you use red filters or special lens for the GoPro?

Just 1 opinion from doing a summer trip to GoPo and others will have input.

It's the big animals that get all the excitement and most of the time they are 15ft or more away from the divers. That puts them pretty far outside the range of small economical strobe flash distance. And then like you said above, the viz is full of plankton food so backscatter is wicked like a great shot below that was ruined by it. Others on our boat told me to turn off my strobe and adjust my settings in raw format. It was a huge quality improvement on the big moving targets and no-recycle time waiting for a flash. It was just fire away 2 dozen picts and sort them out later for a keeper.

But there are spots and dives on your GoPo trip that will be subjects within strobe range. But I went on the trip for 'Mr Bigs' and got my fill. It's a bucket list trip and you'll be glad you went.

Thank you too for your reply. So you also think for the big stuff strobes usually don't really help in Galapagos, right? I would also focus more on the bigger ones..

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I didn't use any filters. I recorded video whenever I wasn't trying for stills. I didn't want shaky video.

 

[David Haas]

I went to Galapagos 20 years ago (!!!!!!!)

Back then you could do a live-aboard that also offered some land walking tours plus get you up to Wolf and Darwin islands.

At the time I had the first Canon Digital Rebel SLR, a 6.3 megapixel camera.....I mostly used my 18-55mm "kit" lens. The Canon's 1.6X cropped APS-C sensor gave me about a 28 - 90mm focal length lens behind a dome port. This proved a pretty good range as others have said sometimes the big stuff doesn't let you get close, etc.

I also had a Sigma 15mm Fisheye (FULL FRAME Fisheye Lens, wider than a rectilinear lens 15mm X 1.6X ) I used it behind the same 6" dome port and was much easier leaving my port sealed the whole trip. I only shot one wide beam strobe (Ikelite DS125 on TTL.) and swimming this bulk in currents I sure never wished for dual strobes!

Today I only shoot compacts (Canon G7X II in Fantasea housing. ) I can pop an AIR lens on restoring my camera's 24mm widest focal length. This allows me the 24-100mm focal length on my compact as the AIR lens floats and I simply slide it on my forearm with a lanyard.

I ditched tray and arm(s) now using a single Inon S220 strobe mounted in my housing's Cold Shoe.

Light and small one flash needs less batteries (I take 8 NiMH Eneloops for the strobe.) It's served me well recently diving Raja Ampat Nov. 2023 and Maldives Feb. 2024. (Search for some posted pics on Scubaboard.)

With today's camera's delivering high ISO capability and software color correction Apps, etc. you could likely shoot a lot with just ambient light. Taking one small strobe on my rig isn't too much trouble so I usually take it every dive even if I end up shooting ambient light images.

I just purchased a short 4" tubular Inon Extension to my Inon Shoe Base II for a bit more height and articulation. Will try it out in Bali May 6-17.

Below are photos 20 year old ambient or just one strobe. I think you'd enjoy easier dives with a simple set up as the diving is challenging (!!!!!!)

Enjoy!

David Haas
Stow OH

 

[David Haas]

 

[David Haas]