Welcome Emma to the Brethren-Advanced Open Water Diver

Welcome to the Brethren Emma--a newly certified Advanced Open Water Diver

Cap’n Paul bestowing C-card to Emma

Emma, a nurse from London, came to Pemuteran only to dive Temple Garden; but she leaves as an Advanced Open Water diver. Here are some photos from her course and training.

Advanced Open Water course, Temple Garden, Pemuteran, Bali, Indonesia

Captain Paul is going through the deep dive skills with Emma at 33 metres at Temple Garden

 

Temple Garden, Pemuteran, Bali, Indonesia, underwater statue

Emma ready to meditate or maybe she’s just narc’d next to a statue at Temple Garden

 

Underwater Cave, Menjangan, Bali, Indonesia, Abdul

Emma likes the tiny critter that Abdul showed her

 

Underwater Cave, Menjangan, Bali, Indonesia

Emma expertly hovering next to a colorful orange sponge in Menjangan

Shore Dive at Mucky Pirates Bay with Brethren David

Brethren David wanted to check out the amazing shore dive at Mucky Pirates Bay here in Pemuteran, so we enlisted dive guide Edy to find some unusual macro subjects for our cameras. We were definitely not disappointed.

David–be sure to send us some of YOUR photos to post on the website!

Mucky Pirates Bay, Pemuteran, Bali, Indonesia

This fangblenny found a home in a discarded piece of PVC pipe

 

Mucky Pirates Bay, Pemuteran, Bali, Indonesia

This shy moray eel wouldn’t venture out of his hole

 

Mucky Pirates Bay, Pemuteran, Bali, Indonesia

I tried to move in for a close-up of the eye, but he dashed back into his hole in a cloud of sand

 

Mucky Pirates Bay, Pemuteran, Bali, Indonesia

This juvenile lionfish was TINY–thanks to Edy for finding this little gem

 

Mucky Pirates Bay, Pemuteran, Bali, Indonesia

Lots of pipefish on this dive

 

 

Photo Wench Dives Mucky Pirates Bay

Kat Ramage, shore diving, Mucky Pirates Bay, Pemuteran, Bali, Indonesia, Sea Rovers

The photo wench takes her new camera for her first shore dive at Mucky Pirates Bay

 

After being sick for most of May, I was excited to take my new camera for my first dive to Mucky Pirates Bay with Abdul from Sea Rovers. We enjoyed a very leisurely 120 minute dive checking out the residents below the pier and out to the moorings. Here is some of what we saw.

Pipefish, Pemuteran, Bali, Mucky Pirates Bay, shore dive, Sea Rovers

Friendly pipefish

 

Nudibranch, Pemuteran, Bali, Mucky Pirates Bay, shore dive, Sea Rovers

You don’t always get to see under the skirt of a nudibranch

 

Lionfish, Pemuteran, Bali, Mucky Pirates Bay, shore dive, Sea Rovers

This lionfish was too big for my lens, so I got a closeup of his face

 

Scorpionfish, Pemuteran, Bali, Mucky Pirates Bay, shore dive, Sea Rovers

I thought Abdul pointed me to a clump of sand until I looked at it with the 10x diopter–a TINY scorpionfish

 

False clownfish, Pemuteran, Bali, Mucky Pirates Bay, shore dive, Sea Rovers

Who doesn’t love Nemo? There’s a nice anemone with false clownfish at 6-7 meters so it’s a great place for your safety stop

 

The Photo Wench’s New Camera–1st try at supermacro

Bubble coral with cleaner shrimp

Here’s a small bubble coral with a cleaner shrimp

 

Cleaner shrimp on bubble coral supermacro

Same shrimp with 10x adapter

On that first macro dive the other day, I also hoped to find a few subjects that would allow me to get close enough to use the Subsea 10x adapter. This shrimp and a couple of nudibranchs were cooperative as I tried to figure out just how close I needed to get to focus the lens (note–REAL close). I used this big lens on my previous camera system, but it was really awkward and inconvenient.  I had to take it out of my wetsuit pocket, screw it onto the port, shoot (assuming the subject was still there), and then stow it away again in my pocket when I was finished. My new system has the Nauticam flip adapter so I can just swing it into place when I want to use it–MUCH easier! I will definitely be using it a lot more in the future. Here are a few more comparisons:

Nudibranch (Phylidiella pustulosa)

Phylidiella nudibranch and tunicates

Phylidiella nudibranch supermacro

Same nudibranch with 10x adapter

 

Nudibranch (Glossodoris rufomarginata)

White-margined nudibranch crawling in the sand

Nudibranch (Glossodoris rufomarginata) supermacro

Same guy with 10X subsea adapter

 

I’ve been land-locked for the past few days with an annoyingly ill-timed head cold–Arrrrggggg!!! Hopefully I’ll be back in the water soon capturing memories of Sea Rovers Pirates and visiting Brethren enjoying their dives, as well as shooting images of the amazing undersea life from Menjangan and Pemuteran Bay. Stay tuned…

The photo wench’s new camera–1st try at wide angle

New camera system assembled

It’s better than Christmas and my birthday put together

With my new Olympus OM-D E5 Mark II system assembled, the first objective was to try some wide angle shots. The dramatic walls of Menjangan (sites Dreamland and Pos II Belok Kiri) would be the camera’s baptism, and the trusty pirate crew at Sea Rovers eyed this new camera with much skepticism–not sure they had seen a system this large (and heavy) in awhile. But as always, they smiled and provided their trademark great service as they carried the massive load onto the boat.

Shooting wide angle is really challenging for me. My previous system didn’t have a true wide angle lens and therefore didn’t take great scenic shots. Now I had to dig into the recesses of my memory to remember wide angle basics–find a specific subject within the lushness of the reef, balance the strobe light with the sunlight, and shoot upward. Can’t say I did a great job, but I can no longer blame the camera for any less-than-stellar results.

In the next post, I’ll share the first macro and supermacro images taken with the new camera.

Lush sea fans growing on the wall at Dreamland

This was the first subject I tried to shoot.

 

Red whip coral at Dreamland

Red whip coral always makes a stunning subject.

 

Orange sponge Pos II Belok Kiri

There were orange sponges everywhere on Pos II Belok Kiri

 

Anemone in the shallows at Dreamland

I loved the beautiful red underside of this anemone and the clouds overhead

 

 

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