We asked our contributors to share their favorite underwater images that were taken in darkness during cave dives, wreck dives, night dives or blackwater dives, and they came back with a diverse selection of macro to wide-angle shots featuring a variety of marine life, from flamboyant cuttlefish to juvenile wunderpus to paper nautilus to tiger sharks.
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Here, X-Ray Mag contributors share their chosen images from the tropical waters of Palau, Chuuk Lagoon, Indonesia, Palau, the Philippines, the Egyptian Red Sea, Mexico and Honduras to the subtropical and temperate waters off the US East Coast.
Inside Cenotes and Wrecks
Text and photos by Olga Torrey
The Aeolus, a cable repair and attack cargo ship that was sunk as an artificial reef (Photo 1), has become a popular dive site. The wreck attracts schools of sand tiger sharks, barracudas and amberjacks. Beneath the main stern deck is the “shark room”. It seems dark, primarily due to the shadows of the large hull pieces. When I entered the stern area through the large opening, I noticed a large school of baitfish swimming toward me, forming a torpedo shape. In the center of the school was a sand tiger shark. It was challenging to balance the exposure of this dark scene because of the contrasting highlights of the silvery fish.
Since the cave in Photo 2 had no ambient light, I had to use video lights or slave triggers on strobes for the background. To create this photograph of my dive buddy, Larry Cohen, in Cenote Minotauro, I used two Bigblue video lights pointing upward from the cave floor in the back. I lit the front with my Sea&Sea strobes mounted on my housing.
For the photo of the diver in Cenote Chan Hol (Photo 3), I took a different approach. I used strobes to light the background and the front of the image. I placed two Sea&Sea YS-D1 strobes on each side of my housing, ensuring the diver was well-lit. To add more depth to the cave, I had an assistant strategically hold a Nikon Nikonos Speedlight SB-105 with a slave sensor, pointing it high up on the left side toward the cave area. Another Nikonos SB-105 was attached to the model’s tank, facing backward. This meticulous setup illuminated the background and effectively separated the diver from the back of the cave.
After a heavy rain, the waters of Cenote Carwash (Aktun Ha) take on brown, orange and green hues due to tannic acid washing into the cenote from the mangroves. I seized the opportunity to use this unique coloration (previous page), much like how I employed color gels in the studio. I adjusted my shutter speed and aperture for the correct ambient light exposure, then added strobe light to light the front of the image. Since my viewpoint was from inside the cave looking outward, I noticed that one diver’s light illuminated a small area of the cave. I then decided to turn off my strobes to create a silhouette. Visit: fitimage.nyc
Taking Advantage of Underwater Darkness
Text and photos by John A. Ares
Darkness underwater is common in different circumstances, such as in wreck or night diving. It is easy to take advantage of it photographically by using strobes, video lights or available light.
Every year in the middle of May, around the time of the full moon, squid come to Fort Wetherill in Rhode Island to reproduce (Photo 1). They can be seen both during the day and at night. They are very curious and sometimes approach divers.
A night dive with flamboyant cuttlefish (Photo 2) is one of the top diving attractions in the Indo-Pacific. Being cephalopods, they share the curiosity and intelligence of squids and octopuses. Their outrageous color is typical of creatures that are toxic to eat.
Fish inside wrecks are frequently in the dark. The golden sweepers in Photo 3 were easy to photograph, given the large school, which was around six feet across. The wreck was easy to penetrate, and there were fish present during much of the dive inside. Visit: JohnAres.com
Finding Drama in the Dark
Text and photos by Sheryl Checkman
When we turn out the lights, the drama begins. Whether on a night dive, inside a cave or on a wreck, the images we create in the darkness bring a whole new perspective to underwater photography.
On a recent night dive at the Sahara dive site in the Philippines, a family of anemonefish peeked out from the anemone they called home (Photo 1). The fish and the anemone were lit by my strobe, and the plankton, also caught in the strobe light, looked like colored confetti against the dark night reef.
On the El Águila wreck in Roatan, I found myself photographing the coral and sponge growth on its structure (Photo 2). While my strobe highlighted the colorful growth on the wreck in the foreground, the background showed a diver on the outside, telling a different story. The diver appears to be in darkness, little more than a silhouette, as my strobe light had not reached him.
Without flashlights, I would have been oblivious to the incredibly large and beautiful stalactites that had formed on the ceiling and walls of Chandelier Cave in Palau (Photo 3). The air pocket in the cave allowed me to photograph the hand of my dive guide reaching up to touch one of the stalactite “fingers”, which reminded me of Michelangelo’s fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Talk about life imitating art!
Darkness also brings out photo opportunities not available during the day. At night, many species that are shy during the day will come out of hiding to feed. On a night dive in Roatan, the beautiful octopus in Photo 4 spread its gelatinous body over the coral, waiting for a meal to swim by. Visit: Instagram.com/SherylCheckman
Dark Places
Text and photos by Larry Cohen
When taking underwater photographs in open water, I always balance the ambient light illuminating the background with strobe lights attached to my camera housing. When shooting in flooded caves, however, there is no ambient light, so I must bring lights for both the background and the subject. I use strobes for the subject and video lights for the background.
For Photo 1, I used two Bigblue video lights mounted on Joby GorillaPods to capture the image of my dive buddy, Olga Torrey, exploring Cenote Minotauro. The GorillaPods had to be carefully placed in order to not cause damage to the cave formation. I set my shutter speed and aperture for the correct video light exposure and adjusted the power on my strobes to match.
I applied the same lighting techniques for the bird’s-eye view of Olga in Cenote Minotauro (Photo 2). According to the rules of photographic composition, one should always point the camera up at the subject. However, this photo is a testament to the fact that rules, even those deeply ingrained in the art, are meant to be challenged and occasionally broken.
Shipwreck interiors are another dark place where I love to dive and create images. I saw the gas mask in Photo 3 lying on machinery when diving on the Fujikawa Maru in Chuuk Lagoon. Although the mask was not human, it symbolized the meaninglessness of war in my mind. I decided not to light up the dark ship interior with video lights and just used my strobes to light the gas mask to create an eerie image. Visit: liquidimagesuw.com
Night Colors
Text and photos by Anita George-Ares, Ph.D.
Night dives can be very rewarding, as one often encounters species that are not seen during the day. Some species hide during the day and are active at night. Parrotfish are an exception, as they are active during the day and sleep at night. I found the beautiful blue and green Bleeker’s parrotfish hiding in the coral during a night dive in North Sulawesi (Photo 1).
I was fortunate to photograph a mating pair of mandarinfish (Photo 2). Mandarinfish emerge from the coral rubble at dusk. Male and female pairs rise in the water column to simultaneously release eggs and sperm. The male is the larger of the two. The beautiful colors of the mandarinfish may serve as a warning that the fish produces a toxic mucus. As if photographing small, moving fish at night was not challenging enough, there were several venomous lionfish around the coral rubble. I repeatedly checked the surrounding area with my dive light to make sure I was not too close to a lionfish.
I took the image of the flying gurnard during a night dive in Dumaguete (Photo 3). The gurnard was walking on the bottom in search of food, which consists of small invertebrates and fish. The strobe lights revealed the many colors of its large pectoral fins, and its eye appeared to glow. Visit: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100016947967639
References: oceanbites.org, oceaninfo.com
Using Shadows to Create Impactful Images
Text and photos by Kate Jonker
There is something exciting about the deep, dark spaces underwater, whether it is the eerie quiet of a cave, the abandoned cabins of a wreck or the surreal stillness of a night dive. In these environments, darkness is not just an absence of light—it is a canvas. It is the stage where light highlights and reveals the star.
In the caves of St. John’s Reef in the Red Sea, natural light filters through crevices, creating surreal beams that slice through the water, highlighting rugged textures on the cavern walls (Photo 1). A single beam can draw the eye to a solitary fish suspended in the gloom, like a spotlight on a stage.
Inside the captain’s stateroom of the SS Thistlegorm wreck (Photo 2), the light from a strobe brings history back to life, revealing barnacle-encrusted ceilings and aged, corroded metal—a fleeting glimpse into the past.
And then there is the magic of night diving. Photo 3 shows a slow-motion capture of a scorpionfish surrounded by a haze of blurred worms illuminated by a dive light. Only at night can you achieve this effect, where motion and stillness coexist, emphasising the scorpionfish’s still, watchful presence against the manic movement of life around it.
An underwater photograph is just your camera capturing the light from the darkness. The shadows become part of the composition, allowing the light to sculpt the subject. It is this delicate dance of light and darkness that transforms a photo into a story. Visit: katejonker.com
Blackwater Critters
Text and photos by Brandi Mueller
Blackwater night diving brings a whole new meaning to diving in the dark. On one such dive, off the coast of Anilao in the Philippines, the dive boat went offshore to where the seafloor is hundreds of feet deep, and I jumped in to search for the weirdest creatures in the ocean. A floating string of lights dangled from the surface to about 70ft, but the inky blackness of the deep after sunset seemed enveloping.
Once my eyes adjusted, I started to make out things moving, and I had some prize sightings, including a juvenile wonderpus and a paper nautilus. Unique behaviors and relationships can be seen on these dives, such as tiny fish hiding within jellyfish.
My favorite find that night was a jackfish holding a jellyfish in its mouth. I could not fathom why it would do this. Back on the surface, the dive crew told me about the amazing symbiotic relationship in which some jackfish hold jellyfish in their mouths, and they both grow together. The fish feeds partly on the jellyfish and also uses it to sting and stun other prey. In turn, the jellyfish is propelled through the water, allowing it to feed on plankton and stay reasonably safe from other predators. Visit: brandiunderwater.com
Darkness – With a Little Bit of Light
Text and photos by Gary Rose, MD
Most diving is done in shallow water, where there is plenty of light to illuminate the surrounding environment. From time to time, however, we dive into darkness. What is darkness? It can be defined as the partial or almost total absence of light and is often associated with evil, secrecy or gloom.
In Photo 1, looking up from within the storm-created wreck, the eroded steel towers appear to emerge from the darkness, radiating an overwhelming feeling of foreboding. By adding a touch of light from my strobes, a route for escape from this seemingly steel cage is highlighted. The upward cast of the lighting, surrounded by the darkness of the wreck and then ascending into the deep blue above, adds a thrilling sense of 3D.
Very little light reaches this shipwreck lying on the bottom of the sea at 90ft (~27m). When diving dark wrecks in deep water, I always look for a subject to illuminate. In Photo 2, the lemon shark conveniently entered my “negative space”1 at a very effective angle that was complementary to the angle of the wreck. By waiting for the right subject at the right moment, the dark lighting and mood were resolved.
One of the most thrilling experiences a diver can have is diving in the cenotes of Yucatán, Mexico (Photo 3). The cenotes were formed by rainwater that dissolved the surrounding limestone, creating an intricate network of caverns. These caverns are filled with groundwater, which can be freshwater and/or saltwater. Saltwater is of greater density than freshwater and lies beneath it. The border (halocline) between these two layers is clearly defined, as demonstrated by the stunning refraction of sunlight (Snell’s law) at the halocline. Sunbeams enter through small openings or collapses in the ceiling.
Primal fear is an innate fear programmed into our brains, such as the fear of snakes, spiders, loss of autonomy, death, darkness and sharks. Photo 4 embodies the last two fears: a black sea at night, combined with a tremendous tiger shark. Tiger sharks are curious by nature and are attracted to contrasts. On every shark dive, the pre-dive briefing includes advice to wear all black, from head to toe, including a black hood to cover light-colored hair. This photo clearly demonstrates why.
Diving is an activity that requires a large set of skills. Being an underwater photographer demands an even greater expansion of a diver’s skill set. One of these additional skills is the ability to see into the darkness, find your subject, add a little light and press the shutter. Visit: garyrosephotos.com
1 Read about negative space in “A Minimalist Approach” in issue #177.
Drawing Subjects Out of Darkness
Text and photos by Michael Rothschild, MD
If light is the photographer’s friend, what does that make darkness? Yes, it is the absence of light, but dark negative spaces can be extremely effective. Darkness is a useful tool, drawing a subject out of the gloom and emphasizing details painted sparingly with faint, flickering sources of illumination. A candle. The full moon. A lit match. And underwater, the sharp beam of a dive light reveals the hidden treasures of a reef at night, the silty belly of a shipwreck or the treacherous recesses of a cave.
In Photo 1, the diver peers around the corner of a sunken freighter. Daylight is spilling in from his right as his eyes follow the beam of his can light away from the sun. Photo 2 shows an ascending diver following the anchor line, which brightens as it rises to the surface. Photo 3 shows the power of the silhouette—two instantly recognizable shapes framed by a dark cavern inlet. And the diver in Photo 4 is crawling out of the shadows of a giant engine standing 15ft (~4.5m) above the sand, nearly all that is left of a steamship that burned to the waterline just before the end of the 19th century. Visit: dive.rothschilddesign.com
