Drift dive photography?

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theblitz1

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Messages
11
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10
Location
Washington State, United States
# of dives
100 - 199
Really appreciate all you veteran divers helping with questions from those of us who only post every couple years. This question has to do with diving in Cozumel. My wife and I normally dive off Hawaii or the Florida Keys, where she really loves to take numerous photos every time she sees a nudibranch, eel, etc.
Of our 125 dives, two have been drift dives, one during a cruise stop in Cozumel. I'd love to spend a week and just dig in and see more dive sites in Cozumel and start to experience Mexico in depth, but she and I are very concerned about my wife enjoying the photography experience. Is the diving such that during at least some of the dives you can take your time taking macro and other small critter photos, or does the current make that frustrating or difficult?
 
Current varies from day to day and site to site and I've had many dives where the current is negligible. Your only issue then is whether the dive is being led by a DM who goes fast or slow. While Cozumel isn't known for its shore diving, some members here have taken some great shots on their shore dives, when you are able to dive on your own, without a marine park guide and take as much time as you like.
 
I'd say the answer has a lot to do with the DM knowing your skill set & believing you'll be able to both know where the rest of the group moved on to while you stayed to take photos AND in thinking you can & will catch up. That takes some time to prove to a DM so unless you find an op that caters to photographers you may miss some opportunities on the first few days of diving while you prove your skills. Fortunately I've done that over the years with the DM's I use but as Marg has said you can't predict what the current will be on any given day at any site.
 
Based on my fairly limited experience (I stopped dragging the camera around a few years ago) and the experience of some of my friends, you can get some good macro shots in a week in Cozumel. Not on every dive, but you will probably get some chances. As MMM says, its depends on the day and the dive and conditions may change during the course of a dive. You just have to change your approach a little and be an opportunistic photographer. When the opportunity presents itself (that is, you have a good photo subject and appropriate conditions), shoot away. For example, even when the current is fairly strong, there will be places to duck behind coral and find a calm spot. Often, those calm spots have great finds, like juvenile spotted drums, juvenile french angels, or big green morays. If the opportunity does not present itself, just go with the flow and enjoy the dive. If your wife absolutely has to take photos to enjoy the dive, she may not be very happy with a week in Cozumel. There aren't too many dives in Cozumel where you can count on spending an hour shooting multiple exposures of macro subjects.
 
Depends on the current which varies greatly. I have had days/weeks where there was very little current and some where it was ripping and even wide angle was near impossible.

Macro can be tough there but at times when the current is very slow or at sites where there is shelter it can be done easily. I have macro photos from sites further south like Colombia and the Palancar sites but I find less macro there than others. The Palancar sites have quite alot of shelter.

I tend to shoot more macro at sites like La Francesa, Dalila and Cedral Pass. These sites have channels and cuts that you can use to criss cross the reef. I don't try macro on sites like Tormentos and some times, Tunich. Northern sites outside the marine park, I only take a "normal" or wide angle due to currents. I have had good luck on Santa Rosa shallows for macro. We will at times take a swim closer into shore looking for seahorses or other small stuff but there can be current. We play it by ear.
There can be good photography at all the sites. Just find spots to hide behind.

As said, in the park, it can depend on your DM. The one I use likes to hunt for things and spots large and small. We go slow but this depends on the group we have.
If we have divers that can't stay close to the bottom then they will move faster and we have to pay attention and catch up. Taking your time in strong current is probably not possible unless you shore dive as you will have to get the group when on a boat dive.
I have dived with DMs who dove fast. Most of these were filling in, or a dive op I don't normally use, and/or some didn't seem to care. Some just dive fast.

For a dive op, I would definitely let them know you want photography and to go slow. Some want the group to stay tight together at all times, or follow the leader and the DM leads through swimthroughs or decides to cut across sand flats to another reef, etc. Make your wants known to them and ask how they do things for photographers.
 
I second the opinion of those saying it depends on the day, the reef, and the divemaster. Your best bet for what you want is to dive with a small operation that caters to the limited group of divers on the boat. I have had very good luck diving with Jeremy Anschel, of Living Underwater. He has a small boat, asks where you want to dive, and does his best to acomodate you. If you have a request such as macro, he will do his best to point out every small critter that lives on the reef. He uses 120 cf steel tanks, which maximizes bottom time and your chances of getting a great shot. There are some other operations that do the same, but I dont have experiences with any others as good.
 
We had a ton of fun on the night dives at Paradiso. Lots of critters to take pictures of, minimal current. For my taste, they were the best dives we did there.
 
I had a DM who loved to cover as much ground as possible, even swimming with the current. On more than one dive I only took two photos. On one dive I only managed to take one. My friends were with another DM who stopped behind the reefs for breathers. Everyone loved Jesus from Scuba Club Cozumel. I had better luck and enjoyed the dives much more on the small house reef in front of the hotel. There wasn't as much to see, but I was able to take my time and get dozens of shots per dive.
ScubaClubCozumel15.jpg


ScubaClubCozumelDay5-5.jpg
 
Really appreciate all you veteran divers helping with questions from those of us who only post every couple years. This question has to do with diving in Cozumel. My wife and I normally dive off Hawaii or the Florida Keys, where she really loves to take numerous photos every time she sees a nudibranch, eel, etc.
Of our 125 dives, two have been drift dives, one during a cruise stop in Cozumel. I'd love to spend a week and just dig in and see more dive sites in Cozumel and start to experience Mexico in depth, but she and I are very concerned about my wife enjoying the photography experience. Is the diving such that during at least some of the dives you can take your time taking macro and other small critter photos, or does the current make that frustrating or difficult?
As others have said, it depends. One site that always delivers photo ops and nearly always has very little current is Colombia Shallows.
 

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