Jounal

Over the past year, images and articles about "Blackwater Diving" have proliferated on social media and in some international specialized publications. This boom might lead us to believe it's something new, but nothing could be further from the truth, as there is evidence that this type of diving began in the mid-80s. This article aims to shed some light on this "obscure" topic, so fascinating for underwater photography: where the best spots are and how to best practice this discipline.

For those less familiar with the subject, we'll start by clarifying what we mean by Blackwater Diving. This term essentially covers night dives conducted in open, deep waters far from the reef. We could say that any spot on the planet with a depth of several hundred meters could be a perfect candidate for this type of dive, as these are the areas where the creatures we're interested in abound, including plankton, ctenophores, cnidarians, pyrosomes, crustaceans, mollusks, and even fish, many of them in their larval or embryonic stages. 

At this point, and despite the fact that we're dealing with pelagic animals, we must be clear that they are essentially creatures only a few millimeters in size, and that when a "large animal" is mentioned in the blackwater environment, it can be as little as three centimeters long. Whatever its dimensions, what we can be sure of is that it will be interesting.

This type of diving requires certain special logistics, starting with the underwater photography equipment itself and ending with the equipment for the boat we'll be using for the dive. We'll begin with the boat's logistics, as we could approach this dive like any other, launching into the water and staying within the desired quota, but it would be unlikely to achieve the expected results. Ideally, these dives should use a small boat, as the group must be small... a tangle of bubbles or a maze of light beams can make the job impossible. And the boat must not stay close to the group, as the divers can be very close to the surface, which poses a risk with the boat's propeller. Wind drift can make it impossible to stay close to the boat.

As a safety feature, we recommend using a luminous buoy (not attached to the boat) to clearly indicate our position. Under this buoy, we will deploy a weighted line. Along its length—every five meters, for example—we will place a flashlight bright enough to be clearly visible from about twenty meters away. This way, we will have a reference point in the blue (or, more accurately, black) both as a meeting point and as a depth limit, since orientation in this environment can be complicated.

 With all of the above in mind, we'll move on to the considerations we should keep in mind regarding our personal equipment. We must bear in mind that we may be surrounded by all kinds of stinging creatures, so a full suit, hood, and even gloves are highly recommended. Weighting, as tight as possible, will ensure we don't "slip" below the marked safety depth, something that can easily happen if we focus all our attention on a small creature that could take us several minutes to photograph, while losing all contact with our dive computer. Lighting on these dives is key, as we won't need to illuminate our entire surroundings; rather, the opposite. Our main flashlight must be very precise, yet powerful enough to allow us to locate—even several meters away—that tiny glimmer on the black surface that we can catch and discover is the most unique creature we could have imagined.

This is where the photography equipment comes into play. It's clear that a macro lens, preferably a 50 or 60 mm, is required to allow us to focus as closely as possible and minimize the amount of water between the subject and our camera, since this space—attracted by the light—can be a veritable gathering of microorganisms that aren't of interest to us and can make focusing and/or taking the photo impossible. The small space between our flashes (preferably two) and the subject is what we should illuminate with a spotlight. And if we add to all of the above an assistant, with a second spotlight, to find the right lighting angle so our camera can "see" the subject better, then everything's perfect. Now all that's left is to take the photo using the usual macro photography techniques; considering close-up lenses can greatly complicate the task, since the lack of support makes focusing very difficult.

With the equipment and the fundamentals of the technique clearly defined, it's time to decide where to do our blackwater dive. As we mentioned earlier, any point in the ocean could be suitable; our personal experience has allowed us to take photos of this type in such unique places as the Arctic , but in the current international scene, there are a limited number of locations that capture the attention of photographers. Kona (Hawaii) seems to be the primary destination for this practice, favored by the extreme depths reached just a short distance from the coast. Moving to the other side of the United States, the Florida area can be an excellent option, more specifically the waters off the coast of Palm Beach and Jupiter; and more recently, Cozumel , in the Mexican Caribbean. From the Americas, we jump to Asia, where significant progress has been made in this type of diving in recent years. Without a doubt, the pioneering destination in Asia for Blackwater diving has been Romblon (Philippines), although in a short time Anilao has been gaining prominence and truly spectacular work is being done, and finally we will highlight Lembeh, which despite being better known for its incredible muck diving is showing that it also offers many possibilities for this photographic discipline.

It must be emphasized that this is a demanding type of diving, requiring a lot of time, since on a single dive we may only be able to locate six or seven animals of interest, and sometimes the concentrations of plankton make the job even more difficult. However, if we persevere and choose our options well, the results can be very rewarding.

THE TOOLS

To be able to carry out any activity that requires a technical component, we need the right tools, otherwise achieving the desired objectives will be very difficult or impossible. In the case of blackwater photography, we must have underwater photography equipment that allows us to take macro photography.

Since long focal lengths require us to stand further away from the subject, it's recommended to opt for a macro lens with an image stabilizer, such as Nikon's 60mm (minimum focusing distance 185mm) versus the 105mm (minimum focusing distance 314mm), even though both are reproduced at a 1:1 scale on land. If your waterproof case allows it, it's very useful to have manual focus or at least the option to lock focus at a set distance.

The flashes—two symmetrical units are recommended—should be powerful, as many of the subjects barely reflect light, and we'll be working with very narrow apertures to achieve the greatest possible depth of field at such short distances. As a lighting system, we'll need a high-powered spotlight, which we'll use to locate the animals. A spotlight or flashlight must also be mounted on the waterproof case, which will serve exclusively to illuminate the field and ensure the camera can focus correctly.