Presented in collaboration with Nature’s Best Photography magazine
The ocean is our passion, our muse and our inspiration. DAN Members travel the globe to experience and celebrate the beauty that is the sea. Many choose to document their adventures through the art of photography, and in this, our first Alert Diver Ocean Views Photo Contest, we take great pride in sharing their collective vision.
On the following pages we present the winners and highly regarded contenders from a contest that garnered more than 10,000 image entries taken both above and below the surface of the sea. The level of excellence was astonishing. The diversity of vision was staggering. The miles traveled and hours spent underwater in quest of these images was incalculable. We salute your accomplishment, and we take great pride knowing DAN is here for you during all of your dive travels.
In a time when we are all keenly aware of the ecological challenges facing our global marine environment, we are proud to honor the magnificence of the sea as seen through our members’ eyes. It is only with a visual record of how much is so very worthy of preservation that we can dedicate ourselves to conservation and enlightened stewardship of the sea and its creatures.
First Place
Subject: Humpback Whale, Herring Gulls and Northern Sand Lances, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Gloucester, Mass. (photo at top)
Photographer: Bryce Flynn, Woburn, Mass.
The Story: “Each season, my wife, Anna, and I embark on trips aboard whale-watching vessels to tour Stellwagen Bank. Late spring offers the best views of bubble and lunge feeding. Often, flocks of gulls give advance warning that a whale is coming to the surface, driving a school of sand lances ahead of it. This humpback uses its lower jaw to strain the fish off the surface as gulls dart in to snatch their own meals, sometimes right out of the whale’s open mouth.”
Camera: Canon EOS 50D, EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens; 1.4x teleconverter; 1/800 sec at f/5.0; ISO 200
Second Place
Subject: Great Barracuda, Witu Islands, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea
Photographer: Yeang H. Ch’ng, New York, N.Y.
The Story: “A 4-foot-long barracuda displayed typical inquisitiveness as it loitered under my dive boat throughout the evening. Here the fish is visible flashing past me, with the sky and the lights of my boat seen above.”
Camera: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III; EF 16-35mm lens; 1/5 sec at f/9; ISO 1250; Seacam housing; Inon Z240 strobes (2)
Third Place
Subject: Glasseye Snapper, Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain
Photographer: Eduardo Acevedo, Los Realejos,Tenerife, Spain
The Story: “An air bubble formed inside an underwater cave offered a perfect, mirror-like reflection of this resting fish. It took nearly an hour to get the right composition.”
Camera: Canon EOS 5D; 100mm lens; 1/250 sec at f/29; ISO 100; Ikelite 125 strobes (2); Seacam 5D housing
Fourth Place
Subject: Leatherback Sea Turtle, Playa Grande, Costa Rica
Photographer: Jason Bradley, Monterey, Calif.
The Story: “This hatchling is one of many being guided toward the ocean by conservationists on this remote beach in Costa Rica. Leatherback turtles are critically endangered in the eastern Pacific, and this young turtle is a symbol of hope for their future.”
Camera: Nikon D2X; 12-24mm lens; Nikon SB-800 flash; 1/100 sec at f/5.6; Singh Ray 3-stop hard edge graduated neutral density filter; hand-held
Fifth Place
Subject: Dwarf Minke Whale, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Photographer: Steffen Binke, Mooroobool, Australia
The Story: “Moments after its eyes came up out of the water’s surface for a ‘spyhop,’ this whale slowly descended in my direction for a closer look at me. Working without a strobe at about 7 a.m. in the morning, I was only about 6 feet away when made this image — I am sure I could hear his heartbeat and his breathing.”
Camera: Nikon D200; Tokina 10-17mm fisheye lens at 13mm; 1/400 sec at f/7.1; ISO 200; Ikelite 125 strobes (2); Aquatic housing
Sixth Place
Subject: Kilauea Volcano
Photographer: Peter Lik, Las Vegas, Nev.
The Story: “As we hiked out under the moonlight over the smoldering, crunchy lava, a mate of mine informed me of the story of Pele, the Goddess of Fire in Hawaiian folklore. I can visualize her profile in the upper left of this image as if she is blowing or whispering into the ocean, causing the steam to part on the surface of the water below.”
Camera: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III; 50mm lens; 2 sec at f/11; ISO 50; Gitzo G1549 tripod; Really Right Stuff ballhead
Seventh Place
Subject: Flying Fish
Photographer: Keri Wilk
The Story: “My vessel’s floodlights attract flying fish, which are typically seen gliding over the ocean at high speeds. While on a solo night-snorkel in the open ocean, I was surprised to find this juvenile a few feet below the water’s surface, floating motionless with its ‘wings’ cocked.”
Camera: Nikon D90; 105mm; 1/200 sec at f/18; ISO 200; Nauticam D90 housing; Inon Z240s strobes (2)
Eighth Place
Subject: Polar Bears, Cape Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
Photographer: Alan Zipp, Rockville, Md.
The Story: “In late November, land-locked polar bears gather along the western Hudson Bay to await the formation of Arctic ice so they can return to their seal-hunting grounds for the winter. While waiting, the polar bears often engage in physical contact ranging from fierce sparring to gentle touching. This shot was taken from the back deck of an Arctic tundra buggy following their playful exhibition on the frozen shore of Gordon Point.”
Camera: Nikon D200; 80-400mm AF VR lens; 1/320 sec at f/11; ISO 1000; beanbag
Honorable Mentions
Subject: Grey Seal, North Somercotes, Lincolnshire, England, UK
Photographer: Enrique Aguirre
The Story: “I noticed this individual as I was photographing a group of seals hauled out on a sand bar. Thistle had scratched his face, and this pose made him appear as if he was hiding it in a humorous way.”
Camera: Canon EOS-1Ds; EF 500mm f/4 lens; 1/500 sec at f/4; ISO 100; Gitzo G1325 tripod; RRS BH-55 head; Wimberley Sidekick
Subject: Jellyfish and Shrimp, Eilat, Israel
Photographer: Dany Weinberg, Eilat, Israel
The Story: “As hundreds of jellyfish congregated off Eilat, I decided to spend a couple of dives just a few meters below the surface with the enormous mass of jellyfish. I spotted a pink-purple jellyfish I’d never seen, Pelagia noctiluca, known for the ability to become bioluminescent. Like most jellyfish, Pelagia noctiluca is poisonous, catching and digesting small pelagic crustaceans. I assume the small shrimp hikes a ride on the jelly to avoid being stung and to avoid other predators unwilling to enter the jellyfish tentacles’ range.”
Camera: Nikon D300; Seacam D300 housing; 60mm macro lens, 1/200 sec at f/16, ISO 200; 2X Ikelite DS-125 with diffusers set to half power
Subject: Blue Ribbon Eel, North Sulawesi, Indonesia
Photographer: David Henshaw, Addaia, Menorca, Baleares, Spain
The Story: “This fascinating species is often found in the sandy rubble of Lembeh Strait. It is unusual to find an eel off the reef and on the move. This one was swimming in my direction, perhaps to look for a new habitat, and I had no time to adjust my camera settings or focus — I just fired. It was incredible to see this rare spectacle pass by me; I was at the right place at the right time!”
Camera: Nikon D200; 60mm lens; 1/60 sec at f/6.3; ISO 100; Sea & Sea DX200 housing
Subject: Thorny Seahorses, Red Sea, Eilat, Israel
Photographer: Noam Kortler, Eilat, Israel
The Story: “This pair of seahorses was checking each other out before the female transferred her eggs to the male for him to fertilize and safeguard until giving birth. I was so pleased to witness the rare moment within the coral reef and felt very lucky to be able to take this photograph.”
Camera: Nikon D2X; 60mm lens; 1/100 sec at f/25; ISO 100; Seacam Nikon D2 housing; Nikonos SB105 strobes (2)
Subject: Atlantic Spotted Dolphins, West End, Grand Bahama, Bahamas
Photographer: Andrew Sallmon, San Diego, Calif.
The Story: “At night, the spotted dolphins of Little Bahama Bank move offshore into the Gulf Stream’s deep waters in search of squid. One night, the boat’s captain, Jim Abernethy, spotted a small group of them riding the bow. We stopped the engines, turned on the floodlights and got in the water. Using manual focus and a light attached to the camera, I was able to get this unusual reflective perspective.”
Camera: Canon EOS 5D; EF 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens; 1/200 sec at f/5.6; ISO 200; Sea & Sea DX-5D housing; Sea & Sea YS-250 strobes
Subject: Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola), Baja California, Mexico
Photographer: Phillip Colla, Carlsbad, Calif.
The Story: “The mola mola, or ocean sunfish, is the world’s largest known bony fish (sharks and rays are cartilaginous). At least one has been recorded to weigh an estimated 3,000 pounds, and individuals reaching 11 feet long from fin tip to fin tip have been seen. This ocean sunfish was recruiting fish near drift kelp to clean parasites in the open ocean off Baja California.”
Camera: Nikonos V; Nikonos 20mm; Kodak Lumiere ISO 100 transparency film; 1/250 sec at f/5.6, approximately 10 feet deep with available light only.
Subject: Red Crab Migration, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean
Photographer: Stephen Belcher, Christchurch, New Zealand
The Story: “As many as 100 to 120 million crabs carpet the island in red as they make their way from the rainforest to the coast to mate, marking the largest land migration of any animal on Earth. To take eye-level images involved three weeks of lying on my stomach while wearing knee pads and elbow protectors.”
Camera: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II; 17-40mm f/4 L lens; 1/250 sec at f/10; ISO 400; Canon Speedlite 580 EX; Gitzo tripod; Arca-Swiss ballhead
Subject: Blue-Veined Octopus, Anilao Batangas Pier, Philippines
Photographer: Jeffrey de Guzman, Manila, Philippines
The Story: “The blue-veined octopus is a highly intelligent cephalopod that displays tool-using behavior. It utilizes empty shells as shelter and, perhaps more interestingly, as a means of defense and protection. As I approached with my lights during a night dive, the octopus immediately shut the shell to protect its soft body.”
Camera: Nikon D300; 105mm VR macro lens; 1/320 sec at f/25; ISO 200; Sea and Sea MDX-d300 housing; Inon Z240 strobes (2)
Subject: Crashing Wave, Ha’ena, Kauai, Hawaii
Photographer: Aaron Feinberg, Lawrence, N.Y.
The Story: “When the conditions are right, a special type of wave appears. Occurring very infrequently, it is a result of the backsplash off the cliff connecting with an incoming wave. This causes the incoming wave to pop up, creating fan-like shapes. On this particular day, I waited for hours on the rocks and only once did a wave this large appear. My title for this shot: ‘kaboom!'”
Camera: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II; 70-200mm f/2.8 L lens; 1.4x teleconverter; 1/160 sec at f/8; ISO 100; Manfrotto 458B tripod; Kirk BH-1 ballhead
Subject: Parrotfish, Kuredu House Reef, Maldives
Photographer: Michael Gallagher, London, England, UK
The Story: “While scuba diving at night near Kuredu Island in the Maldives, I encountered this magnificent parrotfish resting among the coral reef. I took only a couple of shots, as I did not want to disturb the fish — nor did I want to draw the attention of any nearby predators.”
Camera: Canon 20D; 60mm macro lens; 1/100 sec f/16; ISO 100; Ikelite underwater housing; single DS125 substrobe set to TTL.
© Alert Diver — Q3 Summer 2010