We used to refer to any ISO over 800 as “crazy” because noise (graininess and quality loss) is so visible. It doesn't take a lot of power to expose white at these high ISOs. But this manta is catching the light from dive lights to the left and right. The white bellies are easy to overexpose with flash (TTL and spot metering recommended). This made us wonder if we could just shoot "natural light" - no lights or strobes on our housing - with a full frame mirrorless camera like the Nikon Z7. ![]() Only here this production is a nightly event. Collectively, these lights create the most elaborate lighting system you can imagine, taking dozens of people to power and position. Instead of trying to capture an isolated image of a manta portrait, I wanted to use the ambient light from all of the divers and lighting arrays encircling them. So how to shoot it? Images we researched from this dive site are pretty distinctive. It's the multiple points of light that make the images so interesting and so different from mantas shot during the day. Snorkelers actually get to see more with mantas coming within a few feet of their array, and the bottom arrays laying below them around 40 feet down. Non-divers in your group? The snorkeling experience is just as fun. But this experience is just in the context of walking on one of the boats at Jack’s Diving Locker in pursuit of some cool images. Ideally I’d love to book a private charter and rearrange the lights in different ways for a few hours. The mantas have seen this movie before. They swoop and circle through the pools of light that are now teeming with plankton. Snorkelers hold on to floating light arrays, and divers are settled in the sand around similar arrays on the bottom. The divers and boats are spread out over a very large area. Today there could be 20 boats and 200 divers in the water on a busy night.ĭon't let those numbers dissuade you, they actually have this worked out beautifully. You'll have some time to chat and catch the sunset. It worked great.Īt dusk, there is magic light as the boats gather and the sky colors up. ![]() This led to dive boats going out regularly with fantastic lighting arrays for the sole purpose of attracting the big mantas. And where there's a congregation of wildlife, the dive guides are never far behind. These lights eventually began attracting manta rays that fed on the plankton. Years ago a hotel hung bright lights shining down on the ocean. ![]() Consider blocking out one evening for a unique night dive (or snorkel) experience. If you are heading to Hawaii there's no shortage of things to do above, in, and underwater.
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