tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60320543405707375232011-11-27T23:36:01.032ZUnderwater photography, marine life and scuba diving.Adminnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2541100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-24655737326907426752011-02-05T20:11:00.006Z2011-02-05T20:20:58.070Z

I have been running this blog in parallel with a Facebook page for a few months but from now on, the blog will continue on Facebook only. It's easier to interact on FB and also easier to manage the blog. So if you're not already following on Facebook, you can do so at this link:http://www.facebook.com/home.php?src=fftb#!/SublimeScubaPhotographyThere are quite a few posts to catch up on from

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-51381320481881641712010-12-12T17:26:00.002Z2010-12-12T18:03:52.855Z

It's been a few weeks since I've posted as I've been in the Caribbean, in Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles. I got several dives in - the water was warm and the marine life flourishing. I would say Curacao was typical Caribbean reef diving, with lots of colourful reefs and lots of interesting creatures. Most dives were fairly shallow so you could rack up a lot of bottom time.Here is a photo

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-21613758356138878712010-11-07T16:36:00.001Z2010-11-07T16:38:13.136Z

It was a fine November day at St Abbs yesterday. Still and bright, though chilly out of the sun. The water temperature is still 11C so not too cold as yet. We had two dives, the first at a new site to us, called Fold Buss. It is fascinating to compare the different topographies and the new site had a different look and feel to our usual St Abbs haunts, probably as it was further out in open sea

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-68921467208353076412010-10-31T17:50:00.002Z2010-10-31T17:53:56.612Z

Well, a sobering day at St Abbs. We were fortunate and had two lovely dives. We went out about 9.30am for a two tank dive and returned around 1.15pm. Just after we were onshore, a shout went up for a diver in trouble and soon after the RAF rescue helicopter arrived to winch the injured diver up and fly him to Aberdeen hyperbaric chamber. These incidents always give you funny feelings but you also

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-5963524272530974762010-10-31T12:10:00.002Z2010-10-31T12:10:00.723Z

This is a spiny squat lobster from Loch Fyne last weekend. It is dumpier than the long-clawed squat lobster and much shyer. Commonly, spiny squat lobsters hang upside down under crevices and they are not often see out and about. This one, however, was obviously feeling brave. Though it did retreat very quickly - in fact it was backing off as I took the picture. The spiny squats have amazing

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-33501058750568260782010-10-30T16:47:00.003+01:002010-10-30T16:50:50.529+01:00

Loch Fyne was stunning last weekend. The weather was great and so was the diving. There was lots of life, most of it in the 12-18m range. But you can get underwater images even shallower - just below the surface, as these two reflections show. The first is a lion's mane jellyfish (upside down) and the other is some kelp.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-61514862616953583942010-10-17T17:45:00.002+01:002010-10-17T17:49:42.040+01:00

Discarded rubbish sometimes provides a shelter for creatures underwater. In these photos hermit crabs and a long clawed squat lobster are making good use of vehicle tyres which have been dumped in Loch Fyne.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-31920834615760303582010-10-10T17:32:00.001+01:002010-10-10T17:35:55.978+01:00

Two nice, long and interesting dives today at Loch Fyne. Weather was fine and the visibility was good - bright and clear conditions underwater. Although we went to 30m on both dives, at this site the most interesting stuff is often in the shallows, from 10m upwards, in the rocky reefs which are teeming. This photo shows a Lion's Mane Jellyfish, which is a quite stunning sight drifting in clear

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-77617877461523023122010-10-03T22:12:00.002+01:002010-10-03T22:14:55.289+01:00

I came across this sea stickleback in Loch Long at the end of the dive in just 15 feet of water on Friday. Sea sticklebacks are shy little fish who like to hide amongst the kelp so I was pleased to snatch this image of him out in the open.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-33516966620309377252010-09-12T20:32:00.002+01:002010-09-12T20:35:33.416+01:00

We saw a strange thing today on a dive at St Abbs - what looked like a "smoking" edible crab. The first picture below is an edible crab taken this afternoon; the second picture is of another crab taken a bit later on the dive. You might notice that there is what looks like a puff of smoke coming from around its mouth. I have no idea what it was doing but it seemed to be blowing something out!

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-85781829288221326032010-09-05T20:51:00.003+01:002010-09-05T20:55:24.711+01:00

Back to the east coast today, to St Abbs.It was a lovely day though a south easterly wind made the boat journey to the dive sites interesting! I took my 10-17mm and my 100mm lenses and used one on the first dive and the other on the second. So here are a mix of wide angle and macro: first a portrait of my buddy, then a macro of the face of a plaice, then a lovely nudibranch, Janolus cristatus (

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-8792479445539682702010-08-29T18:24:00.003+01:002010-08-29T18:28:12.868+01:00

Rays are frustrating creatures to photograph.We saw two today at Loch Fyne. The first one wasn't buried in the sand, which was good; however, it decided that it didn't want to face the camera and it rotated on the spot as we tried to get a nice portrait! Ray number two was more co-operative with getting its portrait taken; unfortunately, it was buried under lots of sand! Oh, well ... maybe next

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-68517131221964093422010-08-22T17:50:00.001+01:002010-08-22T17:54:34.348+01:00

For a change, I took my Tokina 10-17mm lens into the water today for a bit of practice. Lots of underwater photographers have this lens and rave about it but I need a lot more hours with it before I think of as my default lens in UK waters. This is not a reflection on the lens, more a reflection on the photographer! My workhorse lens, which I use on 9 out of 10 dives, is a Canon 17-85 which I

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-86612716911899281172010-08-08T19:32:00.002+01:002010-08-08T19:35:38.590+01:00

It was a special day today at St Abbs - more for what we saw at the surface than what we saw underwater. For the first time, I saw a minke whale breaking the surface of the water and diving down. Quite a thrill! No pictures, alas, because it was over before we realised it.However, the fish were out in force today and here are three different characters from West Hurkar and Black Carr dive sites:

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-23062930100789152792010-08-01T17:42:00.003+01:002010-08-01T17:45:50.041+01:00

St Abbs today was lovely - sunny, warm and calm. I had a camera malfunction on the first dive so got no shots. Anyhow the second dive made up for it as I got some nice shots of an octopus, which unlike the one the other week, wasn't hiding!

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-91101453533176684472010-07-25T16:09:00.002+01:002010-07-25T21:19:06.853+01:00

One of the general rules of underwater photography is not to shoot your subjects from above. Rather, it is preferred to get to the level of your subject or to shoot from below. It's not always possible or easy, though, to get into the ideal shooting position; and sometimes you just need to break the rules for a good shot. I took this image of a fireworks anemone the other week at Loch Fyne.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-36122675077376272922010-07-18T13:12:00.005+01:002010-07-18T13:16:31.105+01:00

I often think divers miss more than they see, for marine critters are very skilled at hiding. Yesterday at St Abbs we came across a couple of different ways of hiding: firstly, there is hiding in plain sight, like the flounder in the photo which is blending perfectly into the rock; then there is getting yourself a hiding place which is inaccessible, like the sleeping octopus in the second photo (

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-53882017077954865482010-07-14T08:19:00.004+01:002010-07-14T08:25:01.503+01:00

We came across this Little Cuttlefish yesterday in Loch Fyne, at around 27m. It was about 5-6cm long and very endearing. It's only the second time I've seen Little Cuttlefish so a lovely moment.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-9736609833009955862010-07-11T20:50:00.003+01:002010-07-11T20:54:46.774+01:00

We saw 8 wolf fish today over 2 dives at St Abbs, which is the most I've seen on individual dives. Alas, most of them were far back in holes so photos weren't successful; one, however, at Black Carr (always an excellent dive) was being more sociable.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-69803825653735975652010-07-08T16:01:00.003+01:002010-07-08T16:05:05.137+01:00

I have a couple of photos in this month's BBC Wildlife magazine. One is of a snake pipefish, which has been used to illustrate a feature on rock-pooling; the other is of a grey seal (and my fin), which is used as part of a feature article on snorkelling in the UK. It's a good issue for underwater photos; as well as the feature on snorkelling, there is a photo portfolio of coral reefs by Alex

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-24356101111950821242010-07-07T21:16:00.003+01:002010-07-07T21:19:28.193+01:00

We came across this whopper of a spiny starfish today in Loch Fyne. To give you an idea of its size, the sea urchin to the left on the rock is about the size of a clenched fist. Spiny starfish can measure up to around 80cm in diameter and they have spines on each of their 5 legs. They're voracious predators and, like all starfish, can regenerate their limbs if they lose one.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-91683017464410000362010-07-07T18:13:00.003+01:002010-07-07T18:17:15.527+01:00

If you have an iphone, there is a nifty free application you can get from the London Diving Chamber. It is quite basic but includes a dive log, a decompression chamber locator, an A-Z of dive medicine and a few checklists. As well as depth and time of dive, the log has sections to record: weight, exposure suit, air in/out, gas/mix, surface conditions, visibility, air and water temperature, buddy

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-22318432270740266952010-07-06T17:22:00.004+01:002010-07-06T17:35:40.512+01:00

We had two excellent dives at St Abbs on Sunday, the first at Black Carr and the second at West Hurkar. Over both dives we saw 4 wolf fish, which St Abbs is renowned for, all at around only 20-22m. The short video/photoshow below shows two different fish. The one in the video footage was feeding on brittle stars and was uncommonly confident, coming out of its crevice to try and snatch a snack.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-85678110746248631142010-06-27T11:42:00.006+01:002010-06-27T11:48:56.611+01:00

Fireworks anemones are a fantastic site, particularly if there is a current. We came across a swathe of tube anemones yesterday in Loch Fyne, including some fireworks anemones and here are a few shots. The first is a fireworks, the second and third are othertypes of tube anemone. These anemones are usually found below 20m and almost always on fine, silty bottoms, which means you have to be

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-71791777617532849242010-06-25T08:07:00.003+01:002010-06-25T08:11:37.044+01:00

On last weekend's dives, there were some massive moon jellyfish floating around. But there were also lots which had fallen prey to other critters .... so mixed fortunes. These two photos show what I mean. In the first, my buddy looks on admiringly, in the second, a long-clawed squat lobster tucks into a small moon jellyfish. That's underwater life!

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-1840528251264274862010-06-19T21:38:00.003+01:002010-06-19T21:46:22.004+01:00

Yes, you read that right! We have sharks and rays here, too. And today in Loch Fyne they were a plenty. Here are some images of a dogfish and a thornback ray.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-5647426803200253252010-06-05T19:19:00.002+01:002010-06-05T19:27:22.153+01:00

The Canon 100mm lens on my Canon 7D is very challenging to use in low light/visibility on manual settings. So next time I take the 100mm into the water I am going to experiment with high ISO. Usually, I have ISO set at 160 but today I took these 2 photos of frogs in the garden pond with the ISO at 2000. The noise level is nowhere near what I was expecting so it will be interesting to see how

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-28658071031363488452010-05-30T18:17:00.006+01:002010-05-30T18:21:24.544+01:00

We had two relaxing dives in Loch Goil today. It is not an area we dive very often but it is nice for a change of scene. One strange creature we came across was the sea cucumber. It looks a bit like a miniature tree, which catches prey in its arm "branches" then pops the food into its mouth at the top of its trunk (the middle front arm in the photo is doing just that). They are queer looking

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-87265110164139210292010-05-23T18:53:00.001+01:002010-05-23T18:54:54.987+01:00

The physics and theory behind underwater photography is quite interesting. What you don't really appreciate until you see if for yourself is the fact that the behaviour of light underwater means that colours get "lost" from the light spectrum the deeper you go, with reds the first casualties. What this means is that unless you use artificial light (ie strobe/flash) to put back the natural

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-16277704331071481332010-05-16T22:36:00.005+01:002010-05-16T22:39:51.197+01:00

I posted a video of a bright red male lumpsucker the other week. Today at St Abbs we came across a female. As you can see, she is very dull compared to the male. She was sitting in thick kelp and then moved onto a rock briefly before taking shelter again. There's a bit of backscatter in the picture as there were lots of particles in the water. I can't help but think that in the close-up she

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-13418046888546772192010-05-15T09:36:00.003+01:002010-05-15T09:41:36.515+01:00

This is one from a dive last week in Loch Long. Visibility was quite poor but it is always an interesting dive as there are lots of conger eels at very shallow depths. The one in this photo was at 9m. I have a soft spot for congers. They're really very docile (if not provoked) and can actually be quite curious and engaging. This one was emerging from his lair under a large boulder to check me

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-37473526735565834262010-05-09T15:32:00.003+01:002010-05-09T15:36:24.355+01:00

Here are a few photos of Norway Lobster (Dublin Bay Prawn, scampi) which were taken at around 29m in Loch Fyne today. Norway Lobsters usually hide away in their burrows but there was one which was out and about trying to chase me away. The one in the burrow was a bit more shy and retreated just after I took the photo.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-62817091999349221632010-05-03T17:31:00.003+01:002010-05-03T17:42:58.933+01:00

Today we came across a relatively uncommon sight, a lumpsucker. They are usually deep water fish but they come into the shallows to breed. Once the eggs are laid, the female returns to the deep and the male guards the eggs for several weeks. The short video below shows the male fanning fresh water, too. His breeding colours are a spectacular red, which you can see in the stills at the start and

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-42025194992035261552010-05-02T18:45:00.003+01:002010-05-02T18:48:35.975+01:00

This is a spider crab, thus named for obvious reasons. Spider crabs tend to be very shy and usually creep away at the first hint of a diver. They are also often covered with stuff which gives then great camouflage. This one, however, was sitting out in the open and was relatively clean. It was taken in Loch Fyne at around 16m.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-76480708420693725492010-04-25T17:51:00.004+01:002010-04-25T20:04:53.725+01:00

Today I went into the water with a 100mm lens, which is something I don't do very often. The 100mm is a difficult lens to use in Scottish waters because it doesn't perform well in low light and its minimum focusing distance is 31cm (which doesn't sound much but is a lot when visibility is rubbish, as it was today, and there are lots of particles floating around in the water). Anyway, I was

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-66088110350396918262010-04-18T22:28:00.004+01:002010-04-18T22:37:53.981+01:00

Spring is well and truly here above and below water. Today diving at Loch Fyne, we came across lots of baby critters. In these photos are: 1) a tiny long clawed squat lobster sitting in a scallop shell (where a sea squirt has taken root). Fully grown squat lobsters would be about the size of the squirt (excluding the long claws);2) a baby scallop sitting underneath the goby's chin. To give you an

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-34251963904650479492010-04-17T17:10:00.003+01:002010-04-17T17:44:19.805+01:00

Having good sea legs is handy of you're a diver. And the more you dive from boats, the better your sea legs become. This video was taken last weekend from shore as we were out at sea. While it felt a bit bumpy at times, I had no sense that it was as choppy as it looks on film. So the moral of the story is .... dive, dive, dive. The more you do it, the more practised you become and a bit of swell

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-64554924221445548772010-04-10T18:12:00.002+01:002010-04-10T18:15:25.982+01:00

Here is a great video shot in the Crystal Caves of Abaco in the Bahamas. You need specialist, advanced training to attempt cave diving and even as an instructor, it is way beyond my qualification and expertise. So I have never dived in a cave. I have, however, dived in caverns in Mexico which was a fantastic experience. In cavern diving, you are never more than 40m away from the surface, which

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-4817187831621483492010-03-21T18:27:00.004Z2010-03-21T18:35:05.023Z

We picked a good weekend for our first trip of the year to St Abbs. We had two good dives, first Anemone Gully for 50 mins and then Black Carr for 45 mins. Surface conditions were excellent and the light and viz weren't bad at all. The water was cold, though, at 5 to 6C - the hands were the first to go! However, after a while they go numb and you don't feel it (or them!) The photo below is of

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-48704408222334337222010-03-15T19:36:00.004Z2010-03-15T20:52:35.358Z

I have a photo article in this month's (April) DIVER magazine which features 4 images (2 of wolf fish, 1 cuckoo ray and 1 brown shrimp). It's part of a series on UK diving to mark the "start" of the season at Easter (though for those of us who dive all year round, the season is continuous).

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-87255064058337051102010-03-14T18:02:00.004Z2010-03-14T18:08:00.366Z

Most times while diving, things go smoothly. Sometimes, like today, a few things go wrong.First up, I had a problem with my dry suit inflator which kept sticking when putting air in and also allowed water in so that I got very wet; second up, I flooded one of my strobes. The battery pack is likely ruined but the strobe head might be saved.However, despite the strobe and suit floods, 2 dives were

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-21157663290950077652010-03-07T16:58:00.004Z2010-03-07T17:05:57.484Z

I have a couple of images in the latest edition of Scottish Wildlife, the magazine of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, celebrating the introduction of legislation to protect and promote the marine environment in Scotland. I have been a supporter SWT for a few years and am featured on their website together with other wildlife photographers. Their website has been revamped, as has the design of

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-537053516938146072010-03-07T16:46:00.004Z2010-03-07T16:49:09.320Z

To celebrate my return to the water after a five week lay-off while my eye recovered from laser surgery ..... a lovely sea horse. It's great to be back in the saddle (even if it was Loch Fyne and not Malta where the sea horse was photographed a couple of years ago).

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-50725174390425575222010-02-21T16:59:00.010Z2010-02-21T17:05:16.982Z

If you're a diver out of the water for a time, there are a range of "dry" courses you can do as you count the days till you're back in scuba! There's Equipment Specialty, Emergency First Reponse (EFR), Enriched Air (Nitrox) Speciality and Oxygen Provider Specialty for starters. It's the same at Instructor level and this weekend I completed my Emergency First Response Instructor course which means

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-27524970957487870882010-02-14T16:53:00.003Z2010-02-14T16:55:52.697Z

A kiss? The camera angle? Picking off a parasite? Since it's Valentine's Day, we're going for the first. This pair of lizard fish were photographed in the Arabian Gulf off the Muscat coast.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-2995601577017778772010-02-13T11:00:00.002Z2010-02-13T11:03:02.801Z

There are lots of different types of starfish in Scottish waters but this is one of the most striking:It's a Red Cushion Star which I came across in Loch Fyne the other week. In all my years diving in Scotland, I've only seen this kind of starfish on a couple of occasions. Until now, the ones I've spotted have been in crevices and under ledges which made getting a picture difficult. However, this

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-21294903170727658472010-02-07T15:18:00.004Z2010-02-07T15:26:20.426Z

I am out of the water for a few weeks as I had laser eye surgery last week. Well, actually, I had the surgery 3 years ago and had a small "enhancement" to one eye last week. This was due to a slight regression in vision from what had been initially corrected to better than 20:20. The enhancement was carried out by the original surgeon free of charge and so far so good. I often see queries about

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-91016140207084055762010-01-31T18:56:00.003Z2010-01-31T19:16:36.953Z

We finally came across a thornback ray today in Loch Fyne - I think. I am being tentative because the last time I saw a ray there, it turned out to be a cuckoo ray. I managed to get a short piece of video footage of the ray. They can be difficult to photograph since they blend in so well with the sea bed and tend to keep slowly moving around. You totally lose your orientation trying to follow

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-7467390276202830202010-01-24T12:08:00.005Z2010-01-24T12:15:06.402Z

We had two excellent dives at Loch Fyne yesterday. Conditions at the surface were calm if a bit foggy, as you can see from the photo below taken at the dive site.Under the surface it was clear and there was lots of life amongst the boulder reefs. We dived to around 30m on both dives and for around 50 minutes each dive. The photo below is of my buddy inspecting some sea loch anemones.The fog

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-30981430741327329692010-01-17T17:29:00.006Z2010-01-24T12:16:19.367Z

The first of 2010 - long overdue! The snow and ice has pretty much cleared and we are getting back to normal. So it was off to Loch Fyne for a relaxing bimble with a max depth of around 23m. There was plenty to see and the water was a "balmy" 7 degrees centigrade. Below is a photo of a large scorpion fish which was sitting about in the boulder reef.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-27365705262967825242010-01-09T15:01:00.004Z2010-01-09T15:07:05.969Z

No diving yet in 2010 because of snowy roads so I'm reduced to sorting out images. The tedium is sometimes relieved when you come across a photo you'd forgotten about. Here is one of these - the fantastically aggressive and irrepressible velvet swimming crab having a chew on a shore crab.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-232071548098917592010-01-01T13:03:00.004Z2010-01-01T19:03:29.774Z

Happy New Year to one and all. Here's hoping that dive year 2010 is as good as dive year 2009.And in the best tradition, we have prepared a review of 2009 which features most of our blog photo moments.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-3798141445247391792009-12-20T13:58:00.006Z2009-12-20T14:23:17.538Z

It is snowy and icy here today and we are not diving this weekend because the road conditions to our various dive sites are quite difficult. This is a bit of a change from last weekend when we did some shore diving at St Abbs and enjoyed fantastic surface conditions with sun and blue skies. The usual marine critters were around the place, though mostly hiding away in nooks and crannies, like

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-18771770294181473672009-12-19T11:32:00.007Z2009-12-19T11:53:11.229Z

We attended a talk by renowned wildlife cameraman and film-maker Doug Allan this week. Doug's film credits include: Planet Earth, The Life of Mammals, The (incomparable) Blue Planet and (the stupendous) LIFE. Doug shot the memorable sequence of starfish scavenging a dead seal which appeared in the Creatures of the Deep episode of LIFE, a clip of which is here.The talk was organised by Stirling

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-43846203612421535072009-12-09T20:04:00.000Z2009-12-09T20:04:33.030Z

Size and shyness don't always correlate in the marine world. Some of the biggest critters are among the shyest and some of the smallest are among the most bold.Conger eels are large creatures in the context of Scottish waters. And yet, they are mostly very shy and timid when approached by divers. Which is why most pictures you see of them only show them from the neck up! And, frankly, you can be

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-83226988568290110132009-12-06T16:48:00.004Z2009-12-06T16:57:16.509Z

There are three types of squat lobster commonly seen in Scottish waters and they are all pretty nifty when it comes to scurrying away from divers. The long-clawed squat lobster seems to be the most abundant, while the other two are less commonly seen. Not because they are rare but because they hide away in crevices and under ledges and tend to jump back at the slightest disturbance. They also

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-89407113991596789362009-11-29T16:08:00.002Z2009-11-29T16:10:01.205Z

There is plenty life in Scottish waters, even in the winter months. Here is a shot of a common prawn from Loch Long today, which was one of a small group partying under a crevice. They may be "common" prawns but they are also flamboyant - note the yellow and maroon bands on their legs!

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-21046430575773858972009-11-15T17:41:00.005Z2009-11-15T21:22:54.277Z

I have been trying to see a ray for some years without success. I heard tales that they were in Loch Fyne but was beginning to think this was an urban diving myth. However, finally, today I came across one at a site I've dived many, many times before.It was sitting snoozing at the edge of a boulder reef at 17m, wedged in between some rocks in a most inconvenient position for photography purposes

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-74516798832420516542009-11-01T19:12:00.006Z2009-11-01T21:49:45.845Z

It was very wet today, though also very calm. A little rain doesn't spoil a dive but it does make the drive to the dive site quite interesting. Here is a short video of the journey - as you can see, the water was roaring down from the hills good style! Rainforests, waterfalls, wildlife ..... we've got them all in Scotland!

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-89889492900391906582009-10-25T17:29:00.005Z2009-10-25T17:41:48.718Z

Another first for me - cuttlefish in Scottish waters. Loch Fyne to be exact. The only time I had seen cuttlefish before was in Malta on a night dive (one of my images of that cuttlefish appeared in a Diver article about favourite night dives). The one spotted today looked like a juvenile and had obvously been burying in the sand prior to us coming across it (you can see the sand on top of it)

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-27508531677208995122009-10-23T21:29:00.003+01:002009-10-23T22:32:20.275+01:00

We were at Capernwray a couple of months ago and took some video footage of the site and its sights. It's a bit like an underwater scrapyard with lots of boats, planes and helicopters. Marine life is sparse but the trout are full of attitude. Nonetheless, Capernwray is an excellent site for training and practising skills, especially navigation.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-33263033587492177522009-10-14T16:55:00.002+01:002009-10-14T16:59:14.175+01:00

PADI International are using one of my images on one of five postcards being distributed to dive centres to promote UK diving. The campaign is called, Go Diving - Go British. A photo of the postcard, which features a seal on union jack background, is below.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-83247440588089516752009-10-04T15:54:00.005+01:002009-10-04T16:07:10.335+01:00

Observational skills are sometimes overlooked in diving but they are fundamental to the enjoyment of a dive and to successful underwater photography. The more you dive, the better your observational skills become as you start to anticipate what you might see and you increasingly know where to look for critters.A habit I have developed is always to look (at least) twice at a scene because often

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-60787821816771345682009-10-01T20:18:00.005+01:002009-10-01T20:23:19.429+01:00

In case you've ever wondered what dry suit squeeze looks like .... voila. I had been having problems with the valve inflating so I removed the hose. Of course, as you go deeper you have to put air in to prevent squeeze. I did reattach the hose and did put air in but not before I got a nice squeeze. Because of undergarments you don't really feel the squeeze and I had no pain - despite what the

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-79452471174465066102009-09-27T16:50:00.003+01:002009-09-27T16:57:09.160+01:00

I saw more edible crabs today at one of our regular dive sites than I have ever seen. And they were all bruisers! Edible crabs are very large crabs, have massive front pincers - real muscle men - and make easy work of their prey. The one below was tucking into a whelk (bottom picture).There are good reasons why divers shouldn't touch or prod the marine life and one of them is so that you keep all

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-79053138097088099942009-09-26T11:40:00.000+01:002009-09-26T11:41:01.875+01:00

A DSMB (Delayed Surface Marker Buoy) is a vital part of dive kit in the UK and essential when boat diving at places like St Abbs. Basically, you send up a buoy so that the boat can see you when you surface. Buoys also allow traffic to see that divers are below. These pics show a Master Instructor inflating an SMB and then reeling it in. Look and learn!

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-79666856688412928572009-09-20T12:23:00.006+01:002009-09-20T12:44:31.573+01:00

There are octopus in Scotland's waters though I have only ever seen two in several years of diving. The first I saw about 5 years ago, the second a couple of days ago. I saw both at the same St Abbs dive site, Black Carr.This is the most recent one and we came across it sitting out in the open in a patch of sand in about 10m. It was quite small so we think it was a juvenile. The one below is

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-54778316022370042572009-09-17T20:46:00.006+01:002009-09-17T20:56:08.969+01:00

Until today I had only ever seen wolf fish peering out from holes which are usually very awkward to get a camera lens near. However, today at St Abbs we came across this fish just sitting out in the open. As we approached, it took off and swam to the nearest awkward hole - but not before I got a couple of shots. As you can see, they have quite fetching markings and a very long dorsal fin. They

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-45293620303146777362009-09-13T20:57:00.005+01:002009-09-13T21:09:46.444+01:00

We had two good dives today at St Abbs and the first one, at Ebb Carrs, was particularly good, with lots and lots of fish. There is some wreckage at Ebb Carrs of the Alfred Erlandsen, which includes a boiler and lots of beams. The Alfred Erlandsen went down in 1907 and, tragically, all 16 crew perished. Apparently, the sole survivor was a Great Dane (Carro) which was found on the cliffs. The

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-76417669531526603922009-09-10T20:16:00.006+01:002009-09-10T20:35:10.215+01:00

We had a couple of dives yesteday in Loch Leven at a site new to us. The water was clear though it was a bit dark given a layer of rain run-off sitting on the surface of the water plus a cloudy day. However, the dives were interesting and I got a few new fish to add to the library. Here are a ling, a corkwing wrasse and a poor cod.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-388724971969758892009-09-06T20:10:00.005+01:002009-09-06T20:21:10.783+01:00

We didn't make St Abbs today but we did make Loch Fyne and managed a couple of hour long dives. During both of these, we saw numerous dogfish snoozing on the bottom. While some were hidden away in weed, many were out in the open. Dogfish can be exceptionally docile during the day and will sit absolutely still. Here's a short slideshow of a few images from today. Again below about 10m, it was

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-53488148700552805102009-09-05T22:19:00.006+01:002009-09-05T23:29:53.214+01:00

This is what we won't be seeing tomorrow since the St Abbs boat is called off due to adverse conditions and weather. As you can see from the video from the other week, however, there is fantastic colour at St Abbs and great diversity of marine life. Don't ever let anyone tell you Scottish diving is dark, cold and lifeless!

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-79618230724448097762009-09-01T18:57:00.006+01:002009-09-01T19:20:46.181+01:00

Sightings have been reported of whales (minke) in Loch Long at the moment. Obviously, we didn't see any at the weekend otherwise you would have heard all about it! Apparently, this is not a new phenomenom and if you want the evidence, at the bottom of this post is a video posted on YouTube by user G1404 of a humpback whale in Loch Long in 2006. The best bit is at around 1:29 when the whale dives

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-17916034423842670112009-08-30T20:30:00.007+01:002009-08-30T20:49:22.038+01:00

The new lens has got wet. Visibility underwater, however, was extremely poor and it was dim from just below the surface to about 5m and then pretty much black by the time we hit 10m. This is relatively unusual and was caused by a layer of peaty fresh water lying on the surface and stopping the light penetrating. So not ideal conditions in which to test the Tokina 10-17mm. However, this has never

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-6202381180211700292009-08-29T21:46:00.006+01:002009-08-29T22:03:53.399+01:00

I have a new lens which has yet to be baptised in water. However, I took it out today while I was going about my business and took a few test shots. The lens is a Tokina 10-17mm fisheye which is very popular with underwater photographers of my (virtual) acquaintance. One of its major advantages is that it can focus very close up to the subject (10cm or so) which reduces the amount of water

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-15097092866637640252009-08-26T21:21:00.003+01:002009-08-26T21:53:10.431+01:00

Here is the video short of pollack hunting sand eels at St Abbs (plus a friendly ballan wrasse which insisted on getting in on the act). The site was Anemone Gully and depth was about 13m.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-83430295771185643662009-08-25T07:16:00.000+01:002009-08-26T08:44:58.460+01:00

We've finally taken the plunge(!) and set up a page for Sublime Scuba Photography on Facebook. This will feature photos, videos and other snippets. You can join us by clicking on the badge below.FB.init("6528c43ffae97546f67f714cd2744ef1");Sublime Scuba Photography on Facebook

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-72812467893182121632009-08-24T19:17:00.005+01:002009-08-24T19:23:28.986+01:00

Diving at St Abbs at the weekend was superb as usual. Visibility was excellent and the dive sites were brimming with life.Many St Abbs sites have gullies bordered by large boulders which are covered in all sorts of anemones. The gullies are usually flat, with sandy bottoms and provide a great habitat for sand eels and the shoals of fish which hunt them. It is fascinating to watch the pollack

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-45752946638226397002009-08-16T17:18:00.005+01:002009-08-16T17:35:26.890+01:00

As with many species of animal, in the fish world sometimes one gender is more flamboyant in appearance than the other (and, needless to say, it's usually the preening male of the species!).The dragonet is a good example of this in fish, with the female being a drab brown and the male having lovely turquoise lines. Dragonets like to bury under the gravel with only their eyes showing so you can

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-63427971715708530602009-08-08T17:24:00.007+01:002009-08-08T17:56:25.899+01:00

Have finally got round to downloading the Capernwray videos from the Canon Ixus. Here is the director's cut of the fish. It includes trout, perch and a grainy sturgeon.I have lots more video of the various sunken objects in Capernwray but that will take a bit longer to sort out.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-15861224959106489702009-08-02T22:01:00.005+01:002009-08-02T22:08:56.554+01:00

One thing that Capernwray has that my local salty dives don't have is a range of fresh water fish (obviously!).Perch seem to be the most numerous and there are lots of trout. Something special is the small number of sturgeon - we were lucky enough to come across two, although they were a bit in the distance. Here are a few images from the weekend.Brown trout:Perch:Distant Sturgeon:

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-73076190598501073642009-08-01T18:31:00.005+01:002009-08-01T18:44:43.531+01:00

I dived for the first time at Capernwray today. Capernwray is an inland dive site (and centre), a freshwater filled quarry. It provides excellent conditions and facilities for training dives and contains fresh water fish, like big brown trout, which hang about at 5m, and sturgeon.There are a range of deliberately sunken items, including helicopters, planes, boats and cars. We got in 3 dives and

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-69416836853431479202009-07-24T18:14:00.005+01:002009-07-26T18:33:19.224+01:00

PADI International have supported the staging of my exhibition and I am grateful to them for their sponsorship and promotion of UK diving. They have also given me a wee plug in this month's Sport Diver, with a nice piece publicising the exhibition.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-57076525872169756332009-07-19T19:20:00.005+01:002009-07-19T19:35:21.785+01:00

So we got in the water today. Safe bet on the west coast. We went to Loch Goil and had two lengthy dives, each over an hour. Max depth was around 18m both times and in between we had the customary bacon rolls. As you can see from the images below, it was at times sunny, at times grey. But at all times calm.The site is a sandy, silty bottom with lots of slender sea pens. There is also a wreck of

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-89516430293648338642009-07-18T13:58:00.003+01:002009-07-18T14:03:41.198+01:00

The east coast was blown out today. We were due to be in the water at Dunbar but the sea was too rough for diving, unfortunately. The east coast can often be a risk weather-wise whereas on the west coast you can pretty much always find somewhere sheltered. Guess which coast we're heading to tomorrow?

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-91988184683722623892009-07-17T22:37:00.000+01:002009-07-17T22:37:18.804+01:00

Wolf fish are not the prettiest, it has to be said. I am beginning to get more proficient in spotting them among the crevices but have yet to see one completely out in the open.Wolfies are effective predators and feed on crabs, urchins, whelks and brittle stars. In order to crack the shells of some of these animals, wolf fish have a handy set of teeth and a muscular jaw. Divers are meant to

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-91044656548998121522009-07-13T19:09:00.006+01:002009-07-13T19:39:00.028+01:00

I have an article in this month's (August) Diver magazine. The piece is called The Art of Diving and reviews a dive at Moliniere Bay in Grenada which is home to a unique underwater sculpture park containing works of art by Jason de Caires Taylor.The sculpture park is a really unusual and interesting dive which you should try and do if you're in Grenada. For more information, including some video

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-29867435716082696612009-07-12T16:33:00.001+01:002009-07-12T16:34:21.068+01:00

At St Abbs last weekend, I got some images of sea hares for the first time. Sea hares are slugs and probably get their name from their hare-like "ears", which are actually head tentacles. There were quite a few hares about, as well as a fair number of nudibranchs.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-16869580485140675162009-07-09T19:12:00.004+01:002009-07-09T19:24:00.808+01:00

I have a couple of pictures in this month's BBC Wildlife magazine, which is out today. The first is a big spread of a dahlia anemone and the second is a half page lion's mane jellyfish. The images illustrate a feature on summer seashore wildlife.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-16877373984487198552009-07-07T08:37:00.000+01:002009-07-07T08:37:47.357+01:00

My local newspaper, The Stirling Observer, has always been a great supporter of my photographic work and has done a number of features over the last few years. And for the exhibition, they have done another nice centrespread piece. You can read the text here.The Observer comes out twice a week and has won various awards, including Scottish Local Newspaper of the Year.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-79130092707941572902009-07-04T20:42:00.005+01:002009-07-04T20:56:14.176+01:00

St Abbs was a delight today. The weather was fantastic, conditions calm and flat and visibility about 8m. The photo below shows Sea Gull Rock a few hours ago.We dived Skellies and then Black Carr, two sites which rarely disappoint - and today was no different. We saw wolf fish on both dives and on our safety stop we were buzzed by guillemots, which was a first for us. They were really fast,

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-63651257072009423722009-06-29T16:56:00.002+01:002009-06-29T17:02:52.854+01:00

I was interviewed live last Tuesday on BBC Radio Scotland's arts programme Radio Cafe. The interview was conducted by mobile phone from Krakow, where I was on a (non-diving) break. It lasted about 5 minutes and allowed me to talk about the exhibition.If you're quick, you can catch it here on iPlayer. Presenter, Clare English, was very complimentary about the exhibition and said some nice things

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-49838401449588468092009-06-21T22:32:00.000+01:002009-06-21T22:33:13.697+01:00

For those of you across the seas (or over the border), here is a short video showing the exhibition space and some visitors mulling over the photos. For my relatives in Hull, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Devon, Exeter and Bournemouth .... this is not an excuse not to visit! See you all in the coming weeks and months.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-7288528200178920182009-06-20T17:01:00.006+01:002009-06-20T17:10:58.830+01:00

The exhibition finally opened this afternoon. Thanks to all those who came along - the response and interest were terrific. It is very gratifying to hear people's reactions to the photos and to be able to introduce people to the colour and diversity of the underwater world - and to dispel some myths about UK diving.I rarely appear in front of the camera and even more rarely in front of the camera

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-54403972668997298902009-06-17T22:41:00.004+01:002009-06-17T22:47:23.476+01:00

I got a sneak preview of the exhibition yesterday when it was being set up in the gallery before opening time. The layout is looking very good as you can see in these pics.There are another 2 walls' worth of photos plus a cabinet with some underwater photography accoutrements which I haven't seen as yet. A report back will follow.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-90088969044283658172009-06-14T21:53:00.005+01:002009-06-14T22:00:37.601+01:00

St Abbs is well known for its wolf fish and I have seen quite a few there in relatively shallow waters. Seeing them is one thing; getting a decent picture of them is quite another, however, since they choose excellent recesses to take up residence in and mostly you only see their faces peering out.And today was no different. We spotted a wolf fish at around 22m at the Skellies dive site. It

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-91196613959105939322009-06-12T21:30:00.005+01:002009-06-12T21:38:58.664+01:00

Thanks to BSOUP for a nice mention of the exhibition on their website. The news section of the BSOUP website provides a lot of useful information so is a good resource for anyone interested in underwater photographyDiver magazine, too, have carried a short piece in the What's Bubbling section of the current issue. It's good that they support their contributors - so thanks to them, as well.

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-82690443543680482422009-06-07T16:18:00.008+01:002009-06-07T20:59:53.474+01:00

Back from Loch Fyne today with 2 new finds in the can. First off, we have the Dublin Bay Prawn (also known as Norway lobster, langoustine and scampi). I have seen these before but until today hadn't managed a decent picture of one. They tend to be found in quite deep waters and during the day they tend to stay in their burrows, retreating from a diver's light before you can focus on them. However

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-6688094931295035272009-06-05T20:24:00.009+01:002009-06-05T20:41:21.408+01:00

Publicity about the exhibition is popping up all over the place at the moment thanks to the Smith's raft of press releases. Here are a few current examples from: 1 - Museums Galleries Scotland2 - The Official Guide To Stirling/Stirling Summer GuideHe gets about that seal!

Adminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6032054340570737523.post-90570717355173483382009-06-01T21:45:00.006+01:002009-06-01T22:18:48.128+01:00

Flatfish are hard to photograph because they tend to be very skittish. They like to keep their distance from a diver and if you edge nearer, they swim off a bit, too. They also seem to like to swim in a large circle around you rather than away from you. At the weekend I happened to have the video in my hand when I spotted a flatfish and managed to get some footage. Just as I stopped filming the

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