Manado 2009: Macro Heaven (and WA too!)


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Gymrat76

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Hi all

Just sharing some shots of my recent dive trip in Bunaken and Lembeh (ear is still blocked!).

01 Porcelain Crab
18PorcelainCrab-vi.jpg



02 Goby Shrimp
17GobyShrimp-vi.jpg



03 Xeno Crab on a Whip
24XenoCrab02-vi.jpg



04 Flamboyant Cuttlefish
33FlamboyantCuttlefish-vi.jpg



05 Cuttlefish
40Cuttlefish-vi.jpg
 

06 Mimic Octopus
35MimicOctopud-vi.jpg



07 Mimic Octopus
36FlightoftheMimic-vi.jpg



08 Turtle WA
61NipplyTurtle-vi.jpg



09 Emperor Shrimp hitching a ride on a Nudi
96NudiwithEmperorShrimp3-vi.jpg



10 Need an ID on this, a kind of angler fish (with the dangling bit in front, or a kind of frogfish?)
98ClownFrogfish2-vi.jpg
 

11 Blue Ring Octopus
89BlueRingOctopus1-vi.jpg



12 Molas Wreck
85MolasWreck9-vi.jpg



13 Molas Wreck
84MolasWreck07-vi.jpg



14 Ribbon Eel
94RibbonEel02-vi.jpg



15 Wall at Bunaken
66WAofWall-vi.jpg
 

Nice shots.

I read you use only the 60mm for the macro shots, how did you achieve the magnification of the emperor shrimp and the porcelain crab?

Where did you stay?
 

Nice shots.

I read you use only the 60mm for the macro shots, how did you achieve the magnification of the emperor shrimp and the porcelain crab?

Where did you stay?

I went as close to the minimum focussing distance as I could (around 3.5 to 4 inches).

We stayed at the Sedona Hotel and dived with Minahasa Divers.
 

Very nice, how deep did you go?
 

Very nice, how deep did you go?

Thanks. Err, on which dive? Most dives were in the 10-20m region. The deepest dive of the trip was the Molas Wreck, where I was at 40m at the bow of the ship
 

I went as close to the minimum focussing distance as I could (around 3.5 to 4 inches).

We stayed at the Sedona Hotel and dived with Minahasa Divers.

Gotcha. I must try to get closer... was using AFS 105 and my emperor shrimp was smaller than yours.

I stayed at La Rascasse, 17-22 July.
 

Gotcha. I must try to get closer... was using AFS 105 and my emperor shrimp was smaller than yours.

I stayed at La Rascasse, 17-22 July.

Yeah, getting the lens as close as possible is good for non-shy subjects like nudis and some shrimps. For other subjects, well, I'm also considering perhaps the 105, but currently still happy with the 60.

I saw the La Rascasse boats on the dives, but don't quite know where it is in relation to Sedona. We didn't venture out from the resort all 7 days we were there, except for the long drive to Lembeh
 

Very nice squid and blue ring shots. :thumbsup: Mimic looks like it got tossed/chased a bit heh. It's a warty frogfish/anglerfish. Scientists i think prefer to call them anglerfish as opposed to frogfish.
 

Great pics! could you share your setup ? :) just went manado not too long ago ... still using my c5050 to shoot ha ha .. ^^"
 

Very nice squid and blue ring shots. :thumbsup: Mimic looks like it got tossed/chased a bit heh. It's a warty frogfish/anglerfish. Scientists i think prefer to call them anglerfish as opposed to frogfish.

Thanks Alvin.. we actually saw the mimic twice at two different sites (one in Minahasa house reef, one in Lembeh). Too bad I didn't see it 'mimic' anything, but still a good find by the DM.

Thanks for the fish ID. So anglerfish = frogfish? But I thought all anglerfish had the dangling bit/bait on the head, and not all frogfishes have it..?
 

Great pics! could you share your setup ? :) just went manado not too long ago ... still using my c5050 to shoot ha ha .. ^^"

Thanks chubbyman... my setup is:

Nikon D90, Ikelite housing
Nikkor 60mm macro lens
Tokina 10-17 for wide angle w/ 8" dome port
Strobes: Ikelite DS-125 & DS-160

Am considering a +5 diopter for close up work in future dives
 

Thanks chubbyman... my setup is:

Nikon D90, Ikelite housing
Nikkor 60mm macro lens
Tokina 10-17 for wide angle w/ 8" dome port
Strobes: Ikelite DS-125 & DS-160

Am considering a +5 diopter for close up work in future dives

cool setup !

I was contemplating moving onto DSLR, i have a lowly 400d at home which i use to shoot my kid .. but whenever come to the housing and strobes. . my wallet always CHUI ! :sweat:

anyway, really nice pictures ! :thumbsup:
 

I stayed at Sedona (May09) and went snorkelling with Minahasa too. Had a good time but did not take any photos underwater!

Can safely say that of the 3 locations I started at in Manado, Sedona is the only one I'd recommend.
 

cool setup !

I was contemplating moving onto DSLR, i have a lowly 400d at home which i use to shoot my kid .. but whenever come to the housing and strobes. . my wallet always CHUI ! :sweat:

anyway, really nice pictures ! :thumbsup:

Hi chubbyman... you can always get a housing second hand for your 400D and strobe too. Start slowly lah. I started off with a Canon G9, Ikelite housing and single strobe. Although the G9 is a great camera, I was instantly poisoned when I used a DSLR underwater for the first time :bsmilie:
 

I stayed at Sedona (May09) and went snorkelling with Minahasa too. Had a good time but did not take any photos underwater!

Can safely say that of the 3 locations I started at in Manado, Sedona is the only one I'd recommend.

Which were the other two places you stayed at?

For me, the dive centre was good, and so was the resort. Only thing I didn't really emjoy was the food during dinnertime, but that's easily solved by room service :bsmilie:
 

Hi chubbyman... you can always get a housing second hand for your 400D and strobe too. Start slowly lah. I started off with a Canon G9, Ikelite housing and single strobe. Although the G9 is a great camera, I was instantly poisoned when I used a DSLR underwater for the first time :bsmilie:

thanks .. yup, thanks for the tip. i use the olympus c5050 and the olympus housing (used since it was first launched, hmm.. that's quite a number of years ago, and it is still working fine!) and i use a ikelite DS50 with the manual controller, no inon lens though ha ha... decent setup i guess, but quite dated already ha ha .. :bsmilie:

I stayed in Minahasa Lagoon, the one right at the end, nice place, and the food good also, went there then realized makan was not buffet styled, but choose from menu (and can choose as much as you can) .... lucky it is full board hahhahah .. if not, sure pay a lot at the rate i was eating :sweat:
 

love the squid shot! :thumbsup:
Mimic looks like it got tossed/chased a bit heh.
Hmm.. do mimics swim upwards away from the ground normally? if not, then its the same "procedure" every time I see a shot like that. I got one too! =X
 

love the squid shot! :thumbsup:
Hmm.. do mimics swim upwards away from the ground normally? if not, then its the same "procedure" every time I see a shot like that. I got one too! =X

Thanks coalfox.. one of my fav shots from the trip too!

Heh. its the same procedure lah... its Manado after all :bsmilie:
 

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