Socorro Islands and Big Animal Shooting with Michelle Manson
Working through my bucket list one dive trip at a time, I was lucky to cross off a long time trip this month, diving Revillagigedo Islands, better known as the Mexican Galapagos, 4 volcanic islands 390 miles Southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. There are no lush reefs here. This is big animal territory. Big fish, mantas, sharks, dolphins and even whales make their home on these islands. You won’t find a hotel or any signs of civilization here. The islands are accessible only by liveaboard boat. I was so fortunate to be joining the Nautilus Belle Amie dive boat for 10 days. Nikon D7100, Tokina 10-17 mm, ISO 400, 11mm, f/3.5, 1/500th It was time to decide what to take, what to shoot? Big animals meant no macro equipment for this girl which pleased my efficiency-packing little heart, so I was armed with my newly serviced Nauticam NA-D7200 Underwater Housing, my Nikon D7100 with Tokina 10-17 mm lens, and YS-D2 strobes. I headed out to Cabo San Lucas to meet up with my group led by Bradley Photographic. We departed that night with the boat working its way Southwest, total drive time 1 1/2 days. The first full day was packed with talks on dive prep for our adventure. We were briefed on safety, dive procedures, and wildlife expectations. Because of our remote location and possible rough conditions, every diver was equipped with a large safety sausage, marine radio and a dive alert. Way to go Belle Amie! Nikon D7100, Tokina 10-17 mm, ISO 800, 17mm, f/4.5, 1/250th After hearing the dive brief, my shooting plan of attack changed. I decided to go strobeless. Yup, you heard me correctly, strobeless. Now you’re wondering why would I do that? Well, I was seeking out ambient light to highlight the subject and had a plan to convert the photos to black and white to showcase their incredible shapes and markings. With dolphins, sharks and mantas, and this incredibly blue and clear water, I wanted to get up and personal with the animals using the 10-17mm. Nikon D7100, Tokina 10-17 mm, ISO 1600, 12mm, f/3.8, 1/400th After the first couple of dives, I had my settings dialed in. With no strobes, I was going to need a little more sensitive ISO and aperture but I wasn’t sure how fast these suckers would be so I prepared for fast. I ran on mainly an 800 ISO for most of the trip and and kept my aperture as close to F8 as possible. My shutter speed went back and forth between 1/250th and 1/1000th depending on my natural lighting and keeping the ISO no higher than 800 to avoid the grainy shots. I was super happy to have my Backscatter airlock so no worries about any leaks and I loved how streamlined my rig was with no strobes. Being strobeless was great! I didn’t have to worry about where my strobes needed to be, and I got to concentrate on spending time working out my placement for each shot. Nikon D7100, Tokina 10-17 mm, ISO 800,17mm, f/5.6, 1/400th Thank goodness I brought my long freediving fins for keeping up with the mantas. Most of the mantas were happy to accommodate the divers, swimming up to us. In order to keep photographing them, some swimming was required. I focused on shooting from their bellies up to get some silhouettes as well as shooting down on their backs or side shots of their faces with the clear water. I used the bottom topography for a perfect, rugged backdrop. Nikon D7100, Tokina 10-17 mm, ISO 800, 10mm, f/3.5, 1/1250th Fortunately, we had multiple divers in the water with us at all times so I got to shoot some models to show the scale of the manta’s gigantic size. They were inquisitive of us and wanted to have their bellies tickled with our bubbles, so they came right up to us. Nikon D7100, Tokina 10-17 mm, ISO 320, 17mm, f/8, 1/400th On the ride back to Cabo, after checking out my shots, I got what I wanted. Crisp shots with amazing sunlight action that I converted to black and white. Taking the color out of the equation eliminated a distraction and I was able to simplify the shots. Nikon D7100, Tokina 10-17 mm, ISO 800, 17mm, f/6.3, 1/250th All in all, the trip was an amazing photographic experience and I can’t wait to go back! Related PostsComplete Guide For GoPro HERO13 Best Underwater Video & Photo Settings The GoPro HERO 13 Black is the best camera from GoPro to date and is our favorite action camera. The GoPro HERO13 has upgraded battery life for longer shoots, super smooth image stabilization, and a s... Read More Interviews with the Pros: Shooting Subjects Big and Small with Dustin Adamson From humpback whales to nudibranchs, tiger sharks to flamboyant cuttlefish, Dustin Adamson has shot it all. In this interview, Dustin shares key insights on the gear he uses, as well as his process an... Read More Our World Underwater Scholarship Society Paul L. Schutt Photography Internship A few weeks ago, my experience as an underwater photographer had strictly been from behind a GoPro. While I still believe it is one of the best underwater cameras out there, I believed I had reached a... Read More Remote Lighting with Backscatter Hybrid Flash & Mini Flash 2 Underwater Guide One of the standout features of the Hybrid Flash and Mini Flash 2 is Remote Mode. Unlike a simple slave mode, Remote Mode allows for remote triggering and adjustment of power levels on an off-camera H... Read More Backscatter Hybrid Flash - How To & Setup Guide This how-to guide will give you the highlights of the instruction manual in video format. If you’re new to the Hybrid Flash, be sure to check out our comprehensive article on the features of this powe... Read More Documenting Marine Conservation with Edwar Herreño Backscatter pro client and affiliate Edwar Herreno is a marine biologist, technical diving instructor, conservationist, and award-winning freelance underwater photographer and filmmaker. His work has ... Read More ARTICLE KEYWORDS: Socorro Islands and Big Animal Shooting with Michelle Manson