Turtle
A turtle swimming inside the reef at San Pedro, Belize
A turtle swimming inside the reef at San Pedro, Belize
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Jun, 2016Views
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Awards
Legendary Award
Winner in Under the Sea Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Turtles Captured Underwater Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Peace on Earth Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
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Behind The Lens
Location
While on a visit to the Island of Ambergris Caye in Belize, Central America, (which I highly recommend both for it's sea front, clear waters and relaxing atmosphere) I took a boat ride to a couple of well known dive spots, the first, Hol Chan Marine Reserve which is a marine protected area that offers lots of coral and a diverse collection of sea life, the second, known as Shark Ray Ally has an abundance of sharks and Rays, this was where I saw the turtle. There are often sightings of the turtles close to the island as well.Time
I took the boat trip to the marine reserve for the afternoon, but we stopped for a short while in the shallow waters of Shark Ray Ally where it was known that these turtles would often passing through. I'm glad I didn't take my mothers advice not to swim on a full stomach as this was just after lunch.Lighting
I only had lighting that can be used on land, I had to make the most of the natural light, but being the water was very shallow and it was near mid day and sunny this was not a problem.Equipment
My equipment for this shot was as basic as you can get, I had never tried underwater photography before, but saw a small digital camera for sale with an underwater case about a month before going to Belize, An SVP DC-1231, so ordered it just in time to take it with me, it was only usable up to 10 meters, but as I was only snorkelling I knew this wouldn't be a problem, the only other equipment I had was my flippers and mask.Inspiration
As soon as I saw the turtle I knew I had to try and capture it (in camera), it was curious about my being in the water, but never quite gave me a chance to get a head on shot, it did offer this view though, and I felt I wouldn't get a better chance. Because of this photo and a few others taken with the same camera, I have since purchased some more advanced underwater kit, but am still waiting for a new opportunity to use it.Editing
I did have to do some post processing, although not a raw file I did have to correct the white balance as well as give it some minor sharpening and crop a small amount from the image.In my camera bag
I nearly always have my own holy trinity of lenses along with my D800, I have both the Tamron 15-30 and 24-70 along with the Nikkor 80-200 As well as those I have a SB600 just in case, and a Sony A6000 with the 16-50 kit lens. I also have a metabones adaptor in case I want to put one of my Nikon fit lenses on that body. I no longer have the camera that took this image. Probably my most used camera is my iphone though, it has the great advantage of always being with me when I need it.Feedback
I am still very new to underwater photography, so can't offer much advice on how to get great images underwater, but I would say you really need to be comfortable with your diving or snorkelling to even stand a chance of getting any decent images. Things look a lot different when you are underwater, and both lighting and colours are not the same as on the surface. As with any activities in water, safety must take priority over all other things.
