Wide Angle Wonder – Part II
It’s an undeniable fact that Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi is the epicenter of the macro world. But here’s a lesser-known fact: This area contains the same wide-angle opportunities that are found throughout Indonesia. Wrecks, reefs, walls and pinnacles slathered with soft corals and riotous color are all easily accessed from Lembeh Resort with the dive center, critters@Lembeh Resort. So go ahead – pack your fisheye lens, and get ready to discover a side of the Strait that’s been hiding right in front of you.
When shooting Wide-Angle in Lembeh Strait don’t forget that you can always ask your guide to model for you. They know how to model and they can direct you towards the more colorful picturesque locations and photo opportunities. For a day of Wide-Angle diving a private guide is highly recommended to get that special shot.
The wreck of the Kapal Indah doesn’t look like any muck dive we’ve ever seen. The structure is completely covered with incredible coral life. – Photo by Allison Vitsky Sallmon
Usually around November through December, you can find harmless jelly fish floating around the the dive sites in Lembeh Strait. The Moon Jelly, the jellyfish shown here, harmlessly floats near the surface squeezing water out of the cavity inside the bell for propulsion. Jellyfish make great subjects for underwater photographers, they don’t move too fast and with a sunburst or other object in the background they can make for interesting wide angle shots. – Photo by Richard Phillipe
Within splashing distance of the resort, we experienced one of the most fabulous wreck dives we’ve ever done, the Mawali. A little bit of current brought out a huge school of glassfish, which swarmed over the structure. Meanwhile, this scorpionfish waited patiently on the prow of the ship for one…false…move. – Photo by Allison Vitsky Sallmon
Although Lembeh is world famous for muck diving or black sand diving, some “subjects” can also be a captured using wide angle lenses. Take this photo for example, with a Coconut octopus hiding in a Nautilus shell. – Photo by cameras@Lembeh, photo pro Sascha Janson
California Dreaming (a world class dive site) may be popular for macro photography, but glance up from the sand, and you’ll realize that the soft coral-covered reefs are among the most beautiful in Indonesia. – Photo by Andrew Sallmon
A day trip to the outside of strait might allow lucky divers to visit Pantai Jiko (located on the backside of Lembeh Island), where the Seuss-like sponge cover stretches as far as the eye can see. – Photo by Allison Vitsky Sallmon
Special thanks go to Andrew Sallmon and Allison Vitsky Sallmon for helping with Wide Angle Wonder. Both Andrew and Allison are professional photojournalist’s who focus their stories and images on marine life, scuba diving and the marine environment. As you see here, they have worked together as a “buddy team”, modeling for one another on many of their wide angle shots. Their work has been published in books and magazine and you can regularly find their stories in Alert Diver Magazine. Read their article, A Well-Rounded Strait more information and to see more of Andrew’s work check out his website at www.seait.com or Allison’s website at www.avitsky.com.
July is just around the corner and we are excited to start working on Eye Spy a Little Eye. We hope you’ll join us as we look at some of our local marine animals most important & complex (sometimes amazingly beautiful) feature – the eye.
