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Trips for 2010

Sat, Jan 16th, 2010  |   Featured, Places, Adventures, Trips, Workshops 3 Comments

It’s been a while since I’ve updated my Upcoming Trips page, largely because I’ve been travelling so much that it’s been difficult for me to hammer out logistical details and communicate with relevant counter-parties.

The year-end quiet period has given me some time to (just barely) catch up, so here’s a long overdue update of some of my trips for the near future, set out in chronological order. (I’m doing my best to keep my Upcoming Trips page updated, so bookmark that page if you want to check back later for more trips.)

The Night Safari Lembeh (27 Feb-6 Mar): I’ll be heading to Kasawari Lembeh Resort again soon, this time for the primary purpose of checking out the night life. As far as I know, this Night Safari trip is the first-ever organised effort to focus on diving at night in the Lembeh Strait. It’ll be fascinating(!) to see what happens late at night, when most (sane) people are asleep.

bobtail squidIn addition to David and Sanah from Scubacam, Aey and Mean from FiNS will be on this trip…and Eric Cheng will be joining as well a few days into the trip. If you’re looking for advice about photography or how to prepare your images for print, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better-informed or nicer group of people.

There are still a few spots left for this trip, so click here to drop David and Sanah an email to sign up! More details here.

Humpback Whale Acoustic Research in Tonga (29 Jul – 7 Aug): In addition to the trips I have scheduled to swim with humpback whales in August this year, I’ve been working with a marine acoustics researcher friend of mine to try to set up a long-term study of humpback whale acoustics.

john potterBy way of background, my friend Dr. John Potter is a brilliant acoustics researcher who has studied underwater acoustics and marine mammals for over 20 years, pioneering techniques and a new understanding of how marine mammals use sound and how they’re affected by man-made sound in the ocean. John is a frequent consultant to sonar companies, navies, governments and NGOs concerned about the acoustic impact on the marine environment. Basically…he knows his stuff. In fact, he was the marine acoustics expert featured in the movie The Cove.

I first met John when he was the head of the Acoustic Research Laboratory at the National University of Singapore, which he started back in 1996. Among the interesting things he shared with me was an amazing video that he and other PhD friends put together showing the source, directionality and strength of humpback singer song in Hawaiian waters…a short sample of which is below:

Though it may not be immediately obvious, this is ground-breaking stuff. By using rebreathers, video cameras, audio recorders and distance measuring devices, John and the other researchers were able to construct this real-time representation of where a humpback’s sound comes from, how strong it is (in decibels) at various distances, and also the directionality of sound.

Cool, eh? (Actually, even more cool is the fact that John et al were the ones in the water on rebreathers gathering data first-hand!)

After several years of brainstorming and planning, we’re ready to try undertaking a new project in Tonga. We won’t be using rebreathers, but we will be pursuing new insights into the characteristics and behaviour of humpback whale singers.

The basic idea is to use a cross-disciplinary approach of combining data in the form of photos, video, high-frequency (i.e., whale-safe) ranging systems, and custom-designed hydrophone arrays to measure singer size, record their songs and other social sounds, and try to discern whether there are any meaningful correlations between songs and whales.

Our intention is to consider basic but as-yet unanswered questions such as whether bigger whales sing louder than smaller ones, whether some whales have deeper voices than others, what role if any age plays in song structure and singing behaviour, etc.

In other words, John and I would like to combine my knowledge of the whales in Tonga with his acoustics expertise to achieve something meaningful.

humpback singer

In order to undertake this project without having to beg for funds, we’re asking for help from people who’d like to take part in this research effort by joining us for a few days on the water, aboard John’s 52ft (on deck) yacht Jocara, which is now based in Tonga (yes, he relocated his boat to Tonga in 2007 in part as preparation for this), managed and operated by our mutual friend Christy.

We’re hoping to kick off this effort with two back-to-back trips in 2010:

Trip 1: 29 Jul – 2 Aug (4 nights aboard Jocara)
Trip 2: 3 Aug – 7 Aug (4 nights aboard Jocara)

To cover operating costs, we’re looking for four people on each of the trips, with cost/ person at US$1250. This includes everything while on the boat, as well as discussions that John will lead about marine mammal acoustics, and marine mammal photography advice/ discussions about humpbacks in Tonga from me (excludes accommodation, meals, etc. off the boat, and air travel).

While this isn’t going to be as intensive a photography-oriented trip as the others I have planned, we will get into the water at every opportunity, and we will be taking photos and recording video.

If you’re interested in learning more about humpback whales and helping out with cutting-edge acoustics study of whale song, please contact me via my contact form.

To be honest, this is a departure from the type of trip I usually do, but it’s something that I believe will be worthwhile over the long-run in expanding our knowledge about these graceful marine mammals.

As with the humpback whale calf-count that I started a couple of years ago, John and I will make every effort to share via the internet any insights we gather, and we look forward to feedback and contributions from all interested parties.

Sperm Whales, Ogasawara (early-mid October): Following on the incredible success of last year’s inaugural trip to Ogasawara, I’m planning another visit to Ogasawara in October this year.

Among the highlights of last year’s trip, we photographed and video-ed a group of female sperm whales eating a giant squid and possibly teaching the calf in the group how to hunt for squid (which means this year…we’ll have to photograph a giant squid engaged in a life-or-death struggle with a sperm whale!)

sperm whale with giant squid

On a separate occasion, I swam down and recovered a 351cm segment of a giant squid feeding arm. We also found leftover deep-water octopus parts, swam with dolphins and encountered Bryde’s whales. Come to think of it, we were quite busy!

While in Ogasawara, I also realised that it’s possible to ID sperm whales by markings on their lower ventral areas, and I subsequently compiled a summary of nine individual whales that we encountered. I’m hoping to build on this ID catalog over time, working with the local whale watching authorities to see if we can document repeat visits to the area by these enigmatic cetaceans.

The exact trip dates depend on the ferry schedule between Tokyo and Ogasawara. Last year, the ferry schedule was only announced in July, and the trip was from 8 to 19 October (though I had a good idea of the probable schedule a few weeks prior to the official announcement).

Also, the exact cost depends upon the class of berth aboard the ferry, the number of people on the trip, and the number of days we’re out on the water…so participation in this trip requires a measure of flexibility. A reasonable estimate is Yen 600,000-700,000/ person for 8-9 days on the water.

Yes, I realise that’s not terribly specific…but that’s the nature of the situation, and it’s totally worth the effort and pain-in-the-rear factor when you’re face-to-face with sperm whales. Just ask any of the people who were with me this year!

If you’re interested in going to Ogasawara in early- to mid-October to look for sperm whales, please contact me via my contact form.

The Night Safari Ambon (7-16 Nov): Yes, yes…I’m obsessed with night life this year. After helping to plan the Night Safari Lembeh trip, I realised that the conditions in Ambon are ideal for a Night Safari type of excursion as well.

First, Maluku Divers have just recently opened their new resort, which is located right atop the best muck dive sites in Ambon. This means access to dive sites is easy…and night diving is possible/ practical in the area for the first time in many years.

Second, the new resort was designed and built by my good friend Yos, who coincidentally designed and built Kasawari-Lembeh Resort as well. Yos is a diver himself, and he has really good taste, so I have no doubt that the accommodations and facilities at the new resort in Ambon will be as nice and photographer-friendly as at Kasawari-Lembeh Resort.

And finally, the critter life in Ambon harbour is simply amazing! Need I say more?

giant frogfish

I’m arranging The Night Safari Ambon in conjunction with Eric Cheng and Wetpixel, so there will no doubt be lots of experienced underwater photographers on the trip with lots of stories and advice to share. If you’re interested in joining this adventure, please refer to the trip summary below:

Trip: The Night Safari Ambon

Trip Leaders: Eric Cheng and Tony Wu

Host: Maluku Divers

Dates/ Diving Schedule: Arrive 7 November 2010, depart on 16 November.

The planned diving schedule comprising 21 dives is:

7 November: Arrive/ set up cameras
8 -9 November: Normal day-diving schedule
10 November: Transition schedule: 14:30; 17:30; 20:30
11-13 November: Night schedule: 17:30; 20:30; 23:30
14 November: Transition schedule: 14:30; 17:30; 20:30
15 November: Off-gas/ Optional land tour (separate cost)
16 November: Depart

Diving Style: Ambon has a combination of reef and muck diving. For this trip, we will be concentrating on muck/ critter diving, and we will devote much of the trip to diving in the evening and night. Although the resort is situated at the best critter sites, we will dive from boats. The dive sites are located inside Ambon bay, and most of the time, we will be diving in relatively shallow water.

Because we will be diving a lot at night, you will need to bring adequate lighting. A minimum of two torches (three would be better) plus lots of batteries would be a good idea.

Also, while the muck sites are sheltered and shallow, there can be strong current at times. Our night dives will be concentrated during the period between new moon and first quarter moon, so in theory, the current will not be strong.

However, you never know with Mother Nature, so we’ll need to be flexible and adapt to prevailing conditions.

For a better idea of what Ambon is like, see:
http://www.vuvox.com/collage/detail/0b194b887

Also, this is a PDF of an article about Ambon. The text is in Japanese, but the photos will give you more of an idea of what kind of marine life to expect.
http://www.tonywublog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/ambon.pdf

Finally, the dive sites we will be diving are where the newly described Maluku frogfish (Histiophryne psychedelica) has been found. We will, of course, hope to see this elusive fish, but to date, only a handful of these animals have been spotted, so please manage your expectations accordingly.

Accommodation: Twin-share rooms at the newly completed Maluku Divers dive resort, which is located at the prime muck dive sites at Laha. All rooms have hot water and aircon, as well as two editing desks with charging stations for batteries. The resort is equipped with back-up generators, so we’ll be insulated from power outages on the island. There is no Nitrox available at this time.

Meals are Indonesian fare, primarily comprising fresh fish and seasonal vegetables. If you have any special dietary requirements, please inform us well in advance so the resort can try to accommodate. Please bear in mind that Ambon is a remote location and some things are not always readily available.

Cost/ Person: US$2,495

Deposit/ Person: US$1,000 to confirm

Balance: Balance of payment due 1 July 2010.

Contact Person for booking: Dan Baldocchi

Getting There: There are regular flights to Ambon from Bali, Manado and Jakarta on Lion Air and Batavia Air. While it is possible to make reservations yourself, it’s best to let the resort handle domestic flight reservations, coordinated through Dan Baldocchi. Domestic itineraries and prices generally firm up within three months of the date concerned, so expect that final itineraries will become clear around mid-August.

Power Supply: Power in Indonesia is 230V/ 50Hz. There are charging stations in the cabins and in the dedicated camera room. Plug shape is recessed two-prong, Type F on this page: http://users.telenet.be/worldstandards/electricity.htm

Please note: 110V is not available.

Sperm Whale IDs

Sat, Oct 31st, 2009  |   Featured, Marine Life, Places, Adventures, Video, Multimedia 3 Comments

It’s been about a week since I got back from photographing sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in Ogasawara with friends Eric Cheng, Douglas and Emily Seifert, and Julia Sumerling.

There is a lot I want to write about the trip, but as a first priority, I went through my photos and tried to do something that I don’t think anyone else has done/ is doing…ID individual sperm whales using in-water photos.

The somewhat crazy idea came to me because:

(a) My humpback whale calf ID project in Tonga is going well, with interesting revelations and help starting to come in from other people; and

(b) We were fortunate enough to see a lot of whales in the water the first few days we were in Ogasawara, and I noticed that many of the sperm whales have what appear to be unique white markings on their bodies, particularly in the lower abdominal area.

At first, I wasn’t sure if the white markings were unique to the whales in this particular area, or whether all sperm whales have these markings. I’m still not entirely certain (since there aren’t that many in-water images of sperm whales), but after checking Hal Whitehead’s book about sperm whales, a copy of which Julia brought along on the trip, I saw that a few of the images in his book showed whales in other parts of the world with similar markings.

So I decided early on in the trip to try to take as many photos of the undersides of sperm whales as possible, and catalogue our cetacean encounters once I got home.

Here is the result (the video may take a while to download, so give it time to buffer if you have a slow internet connection):

In summary, I was able to identify nine individual whales, all of which I believe to be members of a group of relatively friendly whales…the ones that had the giant squid. There were almost certainly more whales in the group.

What also seemed to emerge from the pattern of encounters is that the whale that we eventually saw with the squid in its mouth may have been the matriarch or leader of this particular group, as she showed up in a large percentage of my photos, meaning she approached us relatively often.

ID-ing sperm whales is a lot more difficult than humpbacks. Humpbacks are surface-active whales, while sperm whales dive down hundreds, even thousands of metres…and they stay down. But still, it is possible to ID them, as this short video demonstrates.

Whether these IDs will come in useful over the long-term or not…only time will tell. If I get a chance to go back, I’m hoping to continue this endeavour, with the objective of seeing if it’s possible to document a consistent population and/ or frequent visitors to the area.

The video above is small, so it’s difficult to read the text. This is a PDF document (11MB) of the slides in the presentation, and this is a bigger Quicktime video file (640×360, 79MB…Do not click this link and try to open in your browser. Right click to download the file only if you have a good internet connection.). There’s also a .mp4 file available via iTunes.

Note: Photographs taken under permit.

Humpback Whale Calf Summary

Sat, Oct 3rd, 2009  |   Featured, Marine Life, Places, Adventures 12 Comments

It’s taken a while (specifically…an estimated 355 hours on/ in the water, plus more than 150 hours to download, tag, sort, look through, and edit photos and notes), but I’ve finally been able to go through all our humpback whale calf images from our 2009 stay in Tonga and compile this summary document.

Summary of humpback whale calfs: 2009, v1 (03 Oct ‘09)
Summary of humpback whale calfs: 2009, v2 (08 Oct ‘09, added two calfs)
Summary of humpback whale calfs: 2009, v3 (28 Oct ‘09, added one calf, whose mother also had a calf in 2008)
Summary of humpback whale calfs: 2009, v4 (06 Nov ‘09, added one calf)

The PDF document is large file (v3: 40 pages, around 12MB), so if you are in a location with limited bandwidth, it may take some time to download.

(In case you’re interested in comparing with the 2008 season, my 2008 summary is here.)

In total, we photo ID-ed 26 calfs in the Vava’u area this year (plus 3 more with the help of other people), compared with 14 in 2008. By all accounts, the 2009 season is a banner year for baby whales in Tonga.

lilo and stitches

The document is a work-in-progress, as I hope that other people will contribute data to augment the list of calfs that we were able to identify. If you have any images and information about additional ID-able calfs, please let me know.

What I’m looking for is (a) images, dates and locations of sightings of calfs not contained in this document, and (b) additional dates and sightings of calfs that are already in this document.

If you send information, please send low-res jpgs. I will only include additional data if I can verify the relevant calf sighting with photographs. It’s too easy to make mistakes based on memory alone.

I know, because I initially mis-identified Daruma (calf #23/ 2009) as Mei Mei (calf #22/ 2009). When you’re in the water, it’s difficult to be 100% accurate with IDs, so it was only during the photo/ video editing process that I realised my mistake.

For the first time, we carried portable GPS units this season, marking the locations of our calf sightings. Here is a map of our ID-ed calf sightings:


View Calf IDs Tonga 2009 in a larger map

And this is a map of calfs we saw, but were unable to ID:


View Unidentified Calfs Tonga 2009 in a larger map

If all goes well, I’ll put together another document during my 2010 stay in Tonga, which I hope will be another year with lots of baby whales.

Humpback Whales Tonga 2010

Tue, Sep 22nd, 2009  |   Featured, Marine Life, Places, Adventures, Trips, Workshops 2 Comments

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are among the most charismatic and well-known of marine mammals. Most everyone has seen images of humpbacks, and many have heard recordings of their haunting songs. Few people, however, have ever seen a humpback, much less been in the water with one.

If you’re looking for an opportunity to swim among these gentle giants, take photo/ video of them, and learn about their behaviour, the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific is one of the few places you can go to do so.

whale

Next year will be my 10th season in Tonga. Over time, I’ve spent dozens of hours in the water with these whales, and I’ve learned a lot about how they behave. With this experience, I’ve taken hundreds of people into the water for high-quality, personal encounters with humpback whales.

For just about everyone, it’s a life-changing experience. Even the most jaded and cynical of people who’ve “been there, done that” come out babbling like little kids after they’ve experienced eye contact with a humpback.

It’s an experience you can’t really put into words. You have to do it to understand. Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate and enjoy everyone’s reactions as much as I do my time in the water with the whales.

This year (2009), I organised a single, seven-day trip for six people from outside Japan (all my other trips are for Japanese travellers). To be honest, I was hesitant about doing this, as coordinating people from around the world and from different cultures poses a much greater logistical challenge than working with groups just from Japan.

In hindsight, I’m really glad I did it though, as I made some really great new friends, and I know that everyone on the trip thoroughly enjoyed this unique experience.

So…for the 2010 humpback whale season in Tonga, I’m going to be a bit more ambitious, and I’m planning two trips, six people per trip:

Trip 1: 14-20 August 2010 Fully Booked
Trip 2: 21 August – 31 August 2010 Fully Booked

If you’re interested in either of these trips, please use my contact form to let me know.

If you’re thinking about it, but aren’t really sure, please look back through my blog archives and read some of the entries from August and September of each year. The Tonga-related posts will give you a better idea of the conditions, what to expect, etc.

I’ll be continuing with the calf count that my friend Takaji and I started in 2008, so if you join one or both of the trips…expect to be put to work looking for baby whales!

Update 05 October: The trips are fully booked. If you’d like to be informed if someone needs to cancel, please drop me a note via my contact form.

One Mom, Two Years, Two Babies

Wed, Aug 19th, 2009  |   Featured, Marine Life, Places, Adventures 5 Comments

Well…it looks like the effort that I put into being methodical about calf observations in Tonga has paid off.

On Tuesday morning, we came across a mother and calf pair near Sisia. The water was murky and skies not so great, but the mom was calm and calf playful. With the limited visibility, we took it slow, giving the whales time to observe us, assess our presence, and finally decide that we were perfectly harmless.

Once settled, mommy rested at or near the surface while the calf swam laps around her, twirled in mid-water, came up for breaths, paused to stare at us, splash and squeal a bit…do general humpback whale calf stuff.

Upon seeing the mother’s tail, I immediately thought, “Hmmm, this looks familiar.”, recalling a fluke that I had seen last year with a calf. “It would be pretty cool if this were the same whale.” I continued in my head as I watched the pair of resting cetaceans. But I’d heard many times that because of the enormous energy investment required to give birth and then raise a calf, humpback whale females are only able to have babies every two to three years.

whale

Nevertheless, the thought kept nagging at me, so as soon as we got back to land, I checked my calf summary PDF file from last year, and sure enough…she was there!

As it turns out, the mother we saw yesterday had a calf during the 2008 season also, which means she’s been here two years in a row and she’s had babies in both years. We photographed mom and baby together in 2008, assigning the name “Scratches” to the baby, because it was easy to identify the mom from the unique scratch-like markings on her tail.

Those same markings gave her away again.

To match the name Scratches, we gave the 2009 baby whale the name “Stitches”. And because the mother is obviously a repeat visitor to these islands, we named her “Lilo” (If you have kids, you’ll recognise the reference to Lilo and Stitch.) in case we see her again in the future.

Of interest, Scratches and Stitches share at least one similarity in appearance. Both have white-edged pectoral fins.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that a repeat-visit to Vava’u by a humpback whale has been photographically documented. I know that there are many anecdotal reports of repeat sightings, but I don’t think there’s been any visual documentation. If I’m wrong and there’s a previous precedent someone knows of, please let me know.

And of course, I’m thrilled beyond words to document that Lilo has had two babies in as many years, just one season after starting to keep a methodical record of calf sightings here…makes the long hours and lost sleep worthwhile.

whale

Soon after getting back to land, I emailed my friend and cetacean expert Dr Adam Pack in Hawaii about whether there’s been previous documentation of a female having two calfs in two consecutive years. According to Adam, he and others have documented a few examples, though the accepted average frequency for humpbacks having babies is two to three years apart between births.

He also pointed out the having two babies in two years might be a good thing, but it also might not. What we don’t know is what happened to Scratches (the 2008 baby). In theory, Lilo should have raised Scratches to the point of independence prior to giving birth to Stitches.

It’s possible that she did, though given the size of Scratches when we photographed mom and baby last year, I’m not so sure there was sufficient time. It’s also possible mom and baby were separated after I saw them, or that something happened to the baby. We’ll probably never know for sure.

And finally, after studying all our images from Tuesday, my friend Takaji Ochi and I believe that Stitches is female. I hope I’m around when Stitches has a baby.

Contemplating Calamari

Mon, Jul 6th, 2009  |   Featured, Marine Life, Places, Adventures 14 Comments

Squid are fascinating.

Their bodies are generally slender and elongated; they have eight arms plus two tentacles; they can manipulate body colour and patterns via chromatophores; they squirt ink as a means of self-defence; they have large, inquisitive eyes; and most of all…they just look weird, like some fantastic figment of a child’s hyperactive imagination.

In case you were wondering, there are something on the order of 300 known species of squid, ranging from the relatively small ones divers come across in shallow waters to gigantic deep-dwelling species that probably spawned age-old legends of vicious man-eating krakens.

A couple of weeks ago, I travelled to the Izu Peninsula in Japan to spend some quality time with one particular type of squid…bigfin reef squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana), known as アオリイカ (aori-ika) in Japanese.

bigfin reef squid

Thinking About Sex
To clarify one thing right upfront…I usually don’t go to the trouble of taking a trip just to see relatively common squid, but this trip is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while.

You see…each spring and summer throughout the waters of the Izu Peninsula, bigfin reef squid gather in large numbers for courtship, mating and egg-laying. The diving community in Japan has documented this phenomenon for many years, so there’s plenty of information available (in Japanese of course) on this annual event.

When the water warms up to around 19ºC or so, which usually happens some time around late May to early June, the squid come inshore and into the shallows to do their thing. For whatever reason, the water didn’t warm last year, and there was very little squid mating (at least in the areas that divers frequent), so my friends in Izu were understandably anxious about how this season’s major squid social event would develop.

As it turned out, the warming of local waters took place suddenly, shortly after my earlier visit to Izu in April…which meant squid mating started early this year, with lots and lots of squid.

So it was that I made my way back to Izu, with the sole ambition of being a squid-sex voyeur.

mating squid

My Peeping Tom Experience
All told, I stayed a week in Izu, but due to a convergence of foul weather, sudden fever and equipment problems, I was only able to spend a few dives observing the squid. Despite the seemingly bad luck, I was actually quite fortunate.

I got sick on the days with the worst weather, so I didn’t really miss much. My equipment flubbed up on the days with the worst light and water conditions, so again, I didn’t lose out.

And on the three dives when I had optimal conditions (clear water, cooperative cephalopods, no other divers flailing about and chasing squid away)…my new Canon 5D Mark II worked perfectly and I was completely alert. Plus, I had learned a lot from observing the squid during my earlier dives when I wasn’t able to get any photographs…so by the time all the starfish finally aligned, I was able to nail the shots I wanted.

Here’s a rundown of what I observed and learned:

- In preparation for mating, the squid gather in large groups, usually near or above a site they’ve collectively decided to use for depositing eggs. How they decide on a specific site is beyond me, but it’s common practice for the local fishermen and dive operations to sink a few clumps of tree branches in relatively shallow water (say 15 to 20 metres) just before squid mating season. This provides the squid with convenient nurseries, and divers with predictable access to the squid.

In the two locations where I dived with squid, the trees of choice were Castanopsis cuspidata (in Futo harbour) and bamboo (at Hatsushima). As far as I can tell, there’s no particular reason for the selecting these trees, besides local availability.

group of squid

- The squid appear to engage in much of the courtship, male-to-male aggression, etc. in mid-water, relatively high up in the water column. Once a male and female have paired up, they mate in mid-water and then descend to the egg-laying area together.

- The male protects the female all the time. If another male approaches, the original male becomes visibly agitated and flashes warning colours, communicating obvious irritation. If the intruder persists, both males extend their swimming fins and flare out their legs and tentacles…basically engaging in a visual pissing match. Occasionally, more than two males go at each other…leading to a twisted turmoil of tangled teuthid tentacles.

laying eggs

- Occasionally, the males make physical contact, but it seemed as if the original male usually wins without having to resort to 10-limbed fisticuffs, and the male/ female continue toward the bottom. Once they reach the egg-laying site, the males stands guard over the female while she deposits a bunch of eggs. Though it’s tempting to interpret this as an act of cephalopodic chivalry, it’s probably just the male ensuring that the eggs he fertilised are placed in a safe location without interference.

- One particular amazing talent I saw is the ability of the males to flash “Stay the heck away!” colouration on the half of their bodies facing a potential competitor(s), while simultaneously maintaining a soothing “I love you” white tone on the side of their bodies facing the females (proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that males of all species, even invertebrates, can multi-task).

male squid fighting

- Even though they pair up, the squid seem to move in groups. Mated pairs approached egg-laying locations in waves, and then retreated more-or-less all at the same time. Perhaps they behaved this way in order to have some semblance of safety in numbers. This would make sense, given the abundance of moray eels hidden among the tree branches, ready at a moment’s notice to grab a savoury squid snack, as well as the many brown-lined puffers (Canthigaster rivulata) milling about, darting in to take a small bite out of any squid that wasn’t paying attention.

- The time during which females are busy laying eggs seemed to be prime time for male squid to challenge one another, often with the relevant female appearing to be oblivious to the mad waving of tentacles and angry displays of colour going on behind her. On a few occasions, it seemed as if a female I was watching departed the site with a different male than she’d arrived with (…women…sigh). I couldn’t be completely certain, so that’s something I’ll have to watch out for next time.

- There are apparently two major mating cycles, with the first running from May to late June/ early July, followed by a hiatus during which there’s little or no mating, and then another round of mating in August/ September. I apparently caught the tail-end of the first round, as most of the squid disappeared a few days after I left. The second round doesn’t always take place, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens in a month or two.

trio of squid

- There seems to be some measure of local variation from site to site. For instance, between the two sites I visited (Futo and Hatsushima), the squid at Hatsushima were slightly bigger (perhaps 10-15cm longer for the largest males) and seemingly less cautious around me (though that might have been due to fewer divers being around). There seemed to even be some differences in the squid populations at different tree branch clusters in the same general area. The squid I encountered at the Yoko-iso dive site in Futo were less wary of me than the ones at the Yoko-bama site.

I’m tempted to speculate that each unique sub-population/ sub-aggregation of mating squids develops a temporary group dynamic that determines their sub-population’s behaviour and characteristics, but it would take much more time and methodical observation to establish whether that’s actually the case or not.

laying eggs

- After the squid finish mating, they die, which provides a feast for the moray eels and other scavenger/ predators in the area. This is similar to the “mate and die” reproductive strategy followed by other marine animals, such as salmon and octopuses. The squid don’t just mate once though. As soon as the female lays her eggs, she’s off to mate again. I’m not sure how long this continues, but it goes on for a while.

- Finally, although it’s definitely possible to get close to the squid, it takes time and patience. On my first dive with the squid, another group of divers approached after I’d spent 25 minutes waiting for the squid to get comfortable with me. Just as the nervous cephalopods had accepted me, the other divers rushed in…finning madly, blowing bubbles, snapping away with cameras and mis-aimed strobes. And, of course…the squid vanished into thin water, as any self-respecting cephalopod would do when confronted by a gaggle of stark-raving lunatics.

Wrapping Up
As always, I owe a debt of gratitude to my friends in Izu who educated me about the squid and helped arrange the logistics of getting to the right places at the right times.

Specifically, Satoshi and Issei took great care of me while I was in Futo, and Shinohara-san escorted me for my first visit to Hatsushima.

group photoAlso, one thing that’s unique to Japan is the close relationship between the fishing and diving communities. There are positive aspects to this symbiosis, as well as some challenges, but in short, having the support and cooperation of the fishing community is essential.

I was fortunate to have the help of Hiroshi-san, who took us out on his fishing boat to the Yoko-iso dive site in Futo. This was critical, as it got me to a relatively isolated school of squid, where I was able to spend all the time I needed to watch, learn and photograph. Thanks Hiroshi-san!

If there’s one regret I have about this experience, it’s that I didn’t have video gear with me. There was so much action and drama, and the squid are so expressive…that there were many times I found myself wishing I had been prepared with video equipment.

Circumstances permitting, I’ll head back again next year to give it another go.

Night Safari

Wed, May 27th, 2009  |   Featured, Trips, Workshops 8 Comments

bobbit wormI suppose this goes without saying, but night dives can be amazing experiences…particularly in critter-filled locations like the Lembeh Strait.

When I was in Lembeh in March, I allocated more time than usual to diving at night. Partially, this was driven by the fact that I was with a bunch of really enthusiastic people who were always up for a night dive, and partially, my schedule was determined by the need to get other things done during the day.

As a result, I saw some incredible stuff.

red octopus

Besides the usual collection of nocturnal creepy-crawlies like bobbit worms, squid, octopuses and the like, I witnessed all sorts of predation, flounders mating, Inimicus scorpionfish mating, crabs mating, shellfish mating, nudibranchs mating, pufferfish mating…you get the idea.

After each action-packed dive, I found myself wondering what it would be like to keep diving through the night. I mean…it’s not like the hunting, mating and other behaviour stopped at the end of our night dives. Nope. The critters of the night just kept on doing what they were doing…and it just killed me that I wasn’t able to go back in.

fish

After the trip, I discussed this with my friends David and Sanah of Scubacam, and Aey and Mean from FiNS Magazine. As a result of my obsession with nightlife, we’ve put together a trip to Lembeh from 27 February to 6 March next year to focus on diving at night…an outing we’ve dubbed The Night Safari 2010.

The objective of the trip is to dive at night, with a heavy emphasis on photography and video. To do this, we’ve again enlisted the cooperation of Kasawari Lembeh Resort, whose owners and staff have agreed to switch over to a night-schedule for this crazy little project.

With its efficient layout, amazing camera room, and dedicated staff, Kasawari is the perfect place to try something like this.

As far as I know, nothing like this has been done before in Lembeh, perhaps because not too many people would like to dive only at night, or perhaps just because no one ever thought of it.

In any event, this trip isn’t for everyone. If the thought of getting in pitch-black water filled with mostly poisonous creepy things that tend to sneak up on you doesn’t make you positively giddy with excitement, then something’s wrong with you then this trip probably isn’t for you.

flathead fish

If the prospect of exploring the dark, mysterious waters of Lembeh ’til the wee hours of the night tickles your fancy, consider joining us for this unique trip. The prospective schedule looks like this:

27 Feb: Singapore-Manado/ 1 evening/ night dive possible
28 Feb: Normal diving schedule
01 Mar: Switch to night schedule: 17:00, 20:00, 23:00
02 Mar: Night schedule: 17:00, 20:00, 23:00
03 Mar: Night schedule: 17:00, 20:00, 23:00
04 Mar: Transition back to normal schedule: 13:00, 16:00, 19:00
05 Mar: Two morning dives: 07:30, 10:30
06 Mar: Manado-Singapore

The basic cost is US$1840/ diver (normal villa) and US$2000/ diver (deluxe villa), excluding airfare. For more details, download this PDF file and/ or email Scubacam with any questions you may have.

Nudibranch Nuance

Thu, May 21st, 2009  |   Equipment, Technique, Featured, Marine Life, Places, Adventures 5 Comments

The week has been totally chaotic…running around Bangkok, meeting friends, attending meetings…and making time for truly important stuff like (lots of) mango with sticky rice.

Things are finally settling down a bit, so I’m going to pick up again with some images from Ambon, starting with a few nudibranchs to illustrate the concept of lighting nuance.

First, take a look at this photo:

nudibranch

It’s an unusual nudibranch (Flabellina bilas), at least for me, since it’s the first time I’ve ever seen one of these. I like this image because the nudibranch is doing something…crawling from one lump of stuff to another, and also because it has funky paddle-like appendages.

The lighting for this picture is pretty standard though: two strobes…one left, one right…nothing terribly innovative. I chose this configuration because it’s safe (i.e., I knew I could nail the shot) and also because I thought the nudibranch was a sufficiently interesting subject without trying for anything particularly creative.

Look what happens, however, when I use hard, directional lighting:

nudibranch

This is a nudibranch (Ceratosoma sinuatum) I’ve seen before (actually, on my first visit to Ambon), so I felt like I should play around a bit and try to do something more than hit it with normal lighting.

If you take a closer look, you’ll see that there’s relatively more light coming from front left than any other direction, thus creating shadows…and also, that the light comes in at a low angle…creating hard, distinct lines.

Think of late afternoon sunlight, and you’ll get the idea.

The reason I did this (besides just for the sake of having fun) was the background. There’s yellow-orange on the nudibranch, and there’s a similar colour in the background. Shadows and strongly defined lines help to separate the nudibranch from the background…complementing the three-quarter, face-on perspective.

Next is an example of nearly the complete opposite…soft, diffuse lighting:

nudibranch

Why go soft and squishy here? Well…the background was incredibly cluttered, but perhaps more importantly, this is a really ho-hum normal nudibranch (Chromodoris sp.). There are probably a billion (give or take) photos of this and other similar nudibranchs taken with normal lighting. In other words, taking yet another normal photo would pose no challenge and add no value.

Hence soft focus + soft lighting…which gives the photo an ethereal, dreamy quality that makes even this no-so-special nudibranch look nice.

Finally, here’s a nudibranch (Thecacera picta) portrait taken with pinpoint lighting, a technique I’ve been working on for some time now:

nudibranch

The lighting emphasis is almost entirely on the face (specifically the mouth area) of the nudibranch…because this one is feeding. It’s eating the bryozoan or whatever it’s perched upon.

Thecacera nudis aren’t too rare in Indonesia, so applying unique lighting creates a different feel for a relatively common subject. I don’t recall ever seeing a Thecacera portrayed in this manner, so of course, there’s a measure of personal satisfaction involved too.

The message in all this rambling? The quality, as well as the quantity, of light you use significantly affects the way your subjects, and hence your photos, appear.

Learning from Cuttlefish

Sun, May 10th, 2009  |   Featured, Marine Life, Places, Adventures 8 Comments

Back when I first started underwater photography, I remember being told by many people that macro photography is not challenging; that’s it’s easy compared to wide-angle photography; that macro photography is a pursuit for beginners…the strong implication being that real underwater photographers don’t shoot macro much.

I still hear this sentiment from time-to-time, but now I know better.

Of course, macro photography can be relatively easy if you want it to be. Just get close, set your strobes for a proper exposure and press the shutter. You’ll get nice, but often ho-hum, run-of-the-mill results.

But if you know what you’re doing, have a keen eye, and work to exercise your creative skills, macro photography underwater is as challenging, if not more, than any other photographic discipline.

Here are a few examples from Ambon.

First, this is a nice, perfectly acceptable image of a small cuttlefish (about 8cm long, no idea what type it is…anyone know?):

cuttlefish

In fact, it’s a relatively nice cuttlefish portrait (at least I think so), because the cephalopod is doing something with its tentacles, as opposed to just sitting there.

But then again, if you’ve been diving for a long time and have taken hundreds of images of cuttlefish, this photo isn’t anything particularly special, and you’re likely to find hundreds, if not thousands of similar images on the web.

I decided to spend some quality time with cuttlefish on this trip…not for any special reason. There were just a lot of them around, so they were easy to find.

Devoting entire dives to the abundant cuttlefish (as opposed to scouring the reef for rare and unusual critters) allowed me plenty of time to observe their behaviour and apply myself to being creative.

For instance, here’s a shot of a hunting cuttlefish:

cuttlefish

I noticed that many of the cuttlefish I came across had no problem with my hanging around at close quarters. After a short period of checking me out, they went about their normal routines, which often involved snagging little fish and crustaceans.

In the photo above, I decided to go with a shallow depth of field and selective lighting just to hit the eye. I have to confess it was sort of a hail-mary pass (for those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, basically, it was a long shot), but I managed to get my new Inon S-2000 strobe pointed at just the right angle at just the right time.

The rest of the exposure is based on ambient light, hence the pastel-ish tone. The flash froze the action just on the eye area, so the cuttlefish’s eye is tack-sharp, while the body blurs a bit with the motion…exactly what I wanted.

For the data-obsessed, this was shot at f4, ISO100, 1/60, 100mm.

Another interesting thing to note about this image is that I only used one strobe. People often ask: “Should I use one strobe or two?”, and my answer is always: “It depends.”

For those of you who’ve asked and gotten that answer from me…I’m not trying to be difficult, and this is a good example. Using only one strobe in this instance isolated the lighting variables down to (a) ambient and (b) a single artificial light source. It also allowed me to play with my new S-2000 to see what it can do, without any interference from other strobes.

Changing the mood a bit, I went for a darker image here, with the lighting emphasis just on the cuttlefish.

cuttlefish

Notice the “glow” of the cuttlefish, which I achieved by using multiple lights from different angles…four to be precise. We found this particular cuttlefish (actually, a whole bunch of them together) immediately upon descent, and I spent my entire dive with this one in order to nail this image.

Choosing black as the background in this instance was for practical as well as aesthetic reasons. It was relatively dark at the time I took this photo, so trying for a brighter shot would probably have meant using a higher ISO and/ or slower shutter speed than I would’ve liked. Here we’re looking at f10, ISO200, 1/160 with 100mm lens.

Also, the background wasn’t pretty or consistent enough to make for a pleasing backdrop, so it made the most sense to go with black.

The trick here was to illuminate the entire cuttlefish without painting too much light on anything else. Subtle rim-lighting really makes the cuttlefish stand out and look more 3-D than simple front-lighting would have achieved.

Here’s a view of a cuttlefish chomping down on an unfortunate shrimp, whose pleading eyes you can just make out:

cuttlefish

With this situation, I chose to go with a wide-open aperture (f4, with ISO100, 1/160, 100mm) and blur the cuttlefish and its prey into the background. The background was cluttered and would have detracted from the main subject had I opted to go with a smaller aperture and more definition.

As it is, your eye goes to the cuttlefish eye first, then you notice everything else.

So that’s four different interpretations of the same type of animal at the same location (the Laha dive site area in Ambon), with each image conveying a different impression and message.

I guess my point is that photography is as challenging and difficult as you make it, and that anything…even relatively common subjects…can test your skills and creativity.

Woman of the Sea

Thu, Apr 23rd, 2009  |   Featured, Musings, People, Places, Adventures 8 Comments

Traditions in Japan are dying. Not all of them of course, but enough that much of what I’ve come to know as Japan, and much of what I’ve learned about the country…will be gone before too long.

There aren’t, for instance, many Ama divers left.

Translated literally, Ama (海女) means Women of the Sea. In Japanese tradition, women who worked as Ama free dived for pearls, shellfish, seaweed, octopuses…products of the sea. In some areas, men also did this, but it’s generally been an occupation dominated by women.

Way back when, the Ama dived with minimal gear, but over time, they’ve adopted wetsuits, hookah compressors, scuba tanks and even uniforms in some instances (usually at tourist attractions)…to keep up with the times and maximise productivity.

atsumaru-san

While I was in Izu recently, I met the last Ama in Futo harbour (there are other Ama divers in other areas). The name she goes by is Atsumaru. This is an adaption of her husband’s given name Atsuo. In fact, everyone refers to both of them as Atsumaru-san, even thought their actual family name is Inaba.

To cut a long story short, I was going to accompany Atsumaru-san out for a day of diving…to watch her work, ask questions, learn about the Ama tradition…and to document what I could of this vestige of Japanese culture.

As it turned out, the weather wasn’t cooperative, so we weren’t able to go out on the water, but I did spend an entire morning talking with Atsumaru-san and her husband. Here are some of the things I learned:

  • Atsumaru-san is originally from Mie prefecture. She moved to Izu somewhat over 37 years ago, because the water is deep in Izu. Back home, the water is shallow. In Ama circles, divers who work in deep water get more respect…so she moved to Izu, met her husband, and settled into the life she wanted…that of an Ama.

  • At around 07:00 every morning from the first of April through the end of November, she lights a fire inside a shed on the edge of the harbour. The fire is to warm herself before heading out on the water. She draws hot water from a volcanic spring into a tub too, but as she explained to me: “Fire is the only way to get warm all the way down to your bones.”

  • Her husband drives the boat, and she dives…but only when the weather and water conditions are right. Her husband decides when it’s good to go out. She trusts him completely.

    • atsumaru-san

  • When conditions are right, they head out once in the early morning (after she’s warmed up by the fire), and she dives for around two hours. She wears a wetsuit, gets her air from a hose connected to a compressor on the boat, and uses red cotton gloves on her hands. Cotton makes it easier for her to feel around. Neoprene gloves might be safer and warmer, but it’s difficult to navigate by feel. Following a brief rest (and warming up again) after the first dive, they head out a second time in the late morning for another dive.

  • Lately, she’s been diving only around 1.5 hours instead of two. The water has been unusually cold.

  • The water was unusually warm over the past two years though. Perhaps that’s why there’s so little seaweed around. She’s never seen so little seaweed in her entire diving career here. “It’s troubling. Maybe it’s global warming. Maybe it’s bad for the harvest.”, she observed.

  • She mainly gathers four types of shellfish: sazae (Turbo (Batillus) cornatus), kuro awabi (Nordotis discus, a type of abalone), tokubushi (Suculus diversicolor aquatilis), and shittaka (Don’t know). Atsumaru-san says that there have been fewer and fewer tokubushi and shittaka recently, though she’s not sure why.

  • When she started in Futo harbour, there were 13 people (including herself and her husband) in five groups doing what she’s doing now. Gradually, everyone else has stopped. Now, only the two of them are left.

  • She’s been fortunate. She’s only had one instance when her air supply was cut off. She was close enough to the surface that she just popped up. Other people she knew suffered injuries though. Some died…accidentally struck by the props of the boats they were working on. “I’ve been fortunate.”, she repeated as she looked toward her husband.

    • I never asked Atsumaru-san her age, but I place her at around 60. She’s healthy in every respect and has a wonderful sense of humour, but she’s the first one to admit that her time remaining as an Ama diver is limited.

    atsumaru-san

    As I listened to her stories and asked her questions, I felt an undercurrent of melancholy, particularly as she described the glory days of when all 13 of the local Ama crew got together to talk, rest and relish the fruits of a day’s labour.

    By the time her husband made the call not to risk a day at sea, I had already decided that I need to come back, to spend more time with Atsumaru-san…to dive as deep into the details of her life as she’ll allow, so the stories, adventures and achievements of her life won’t go unrecognised.

    10 Great Places to Eat in Phuket

    Mon, Apr 20th, 2009  |   Featured, Food, Video, Multimedia 4 Comments

    In case it’s not completely obvious, I love the fact that I get to try lots of great food in many of the places I travel to, especially in Asia.

    When I was in Phuket last year, we spent two entire days eating at local food stalls and restaurants…places not on the tourist map.

    This is a short video summary of 10 recommendations for places to try, which goes together with this PDF file that has details of the specific locations and dishes…in case you’re heading over to Phuket.

    Nudibranchs

    Fri, Apr 10th, 2009  |   Featured, Marine Life 2 Comments

    Like most divers, I love looking at nudibranchs. Until a few months ago, however, I wasn’t really taking many photos of them. No particular reason…just mood perhaps, or maybe lack of creative inspiration.

    A little over a year ago, a fellow traveller on one of my trips asked me to take more nudibranch photos. I have, and here are a few sea slug images in a little slideshow video.

    Note: It helps if you press play, then hit pause again and let the video download fully before you watch it.