Q: Re Photographing Whale Sharks
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Supershark
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In my experience, whale sharks tend to be scared off by the proximity of the diver in deeper water, in shallower water i have not found the need to use flash at all.
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Flashes are not allowed on Whale Shark snorkeling tours off of Mexico probably for that reason. The Holbox water I swam in with them was murky, but my videos worked ok, for me anyway.
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vladimir
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I have taken photos of a whale shark's eye from about a meter away. It didn't seem to bother him a bit. He and I had an extended encounter, where I swam feverishly alongside the lazily swimming shark between 15 and 5 meters deep. He outpaced me, turned and came back to me and we continued our swim in the other direction. The whole encounter lasted maybe 5 minutes and I was snapping photos the whole time. I ran out of film and air at about the same time. It was at Richelieu Rock in the Surin Islands.
DevonDiver
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A better option would be a wide-angle lens.
Allows photographs to be taken closer...cutting down the water column between lens and subject. In shallow water (which is normally where you will encounter WS), there is no need for flash if you are close enough.
Any color correction required can be performed digitally on an appropriate photo editing software package (i.e. photoshop).
Allows photographs to be taken closer...cutting down the water column between lens and subject. In shallow water (which is normally where you will encounter WS), there is no need for flash if you are close enough.
Any color correction required can be performed digitally on an appropriate photo editing software package (i.e. photoshop).
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I was on a Whale Shark research trip in March. Utila Whale Shark Research
I'm pretty sure the still photographers were asked to turn the flash off.
I'm pretty sure the still photographers were asked to turn the flash off.
SDSCUBA27
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It is against the Honduran approved whale shark encounter protocol to use any type of flash or strobe while photographing whale sharks in Honduran waters.
With the amount of particulate found in the boil or bait ball where whale sharks are most often encountered the flash is actually a distraction for quality photos. The flash causes back scatter.
The Bay Islands of Honduras whale shark encounter protocol can be viewed on the Whale Shark Oceanic Research Centers web site at: wsorc.org
With the amount of particulate found in the boil or bait ball where whale sharks are most often encountered the flash is actually a distraction for quality photos. The flash causes back scatter.
The Bay Islands of Honduras whale shark encounter protocol can be viewed on the Whale Shark Oceanic Research Centers web site at: wsorc.org
George Probst
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At Gladden Spit off of Placencia, Belize, strobes/flashes are also prohibited. I took several shots at around 80' (24 meters) of some adult whale sharks there without a strobe, and they turned out well enough that you could tell they were whale sharks, but the color cast was really deep (there was also a fair amount of distance needed between me and the sharks just to get them within the frame). At the distance I was at, I don't think a strobe would have helped at all.
DandyDon, i also did the Holbox WS tour... although no one said we could not use flashes, we divers agreed to NOT use them. i had read that they were very shy so we all agreed. They are timid creatues and even though they seem to glide effortlessly in the water we had to really pump our legs just to keep up! They really move thru the water. We found several but most did not seem to like our company.... they let us swim in pairs and if one of the 2 in the water got somewhat in front of the WS, they would dive and leave us in the empty ocean. I can only imagine what a flash or strobe would do....
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