Well it has been a while since we have been able to blog, but hope to keep you updated more regularly from now on! We make an annual pilgrimage to dive with the Grey Atlantic Seals in the Farne Islands and this year I was without my beloved SLR! Jamie, from African Space, was trying it out on the Sardine Run in South Africa. So I was forced to pick up our backup camera and try it out. It is sad that the Sony NEX-5, in it's shiny Nauticam Housing, only gets used when we have a flood or other camera disasters, so I was going to try to make the best of it. What it can do, that my Nikon D200 certainly cannot, is take video, and if there is one creature that begs to be on the moving screen - it is the seal. Here is a link to my first attempt at filming them:
We charted our favourite skipper, Paul Walker, from Farne Island Divers, who has a super fast RIB, a huge amount of experience, and the know how to get you into just the right location. As our group all had underwater cameras on-board, we limited the group to 8 divers, which gave us loads of room on the boat. The sun shone, the water was flat calm and the visibility was rubbish! All this rain over the last few months has meant that run off from the local rivers reduces the usually clear water to a green mush. But this did not dampen our spirits and nor did it stop the seals from displaying their enquisitive nature and coming to take a look at us.
If you have not already dived with seals, then book onto a boat right now! You can stay in the shallows, even stay at the surface, and if you are patient enough, they will come and bite your fins, grab hold of your camera and play around with you in the water. On surfacing, I glanced up to see where our group was, to make sure we were not holding everyone up, only to find Yo-Han and CJ laughing near the boat, each with a seal sitting on them!
As I said, I was using the Sony NEX-5 and had an INON D2000 strobe for photography and a Light and Motion Sola 1200 light for video. I had the 16mm pancake lens (with occasionally the fish-eye adapter on). The only drawback I found with the camera was the lag in the timing from pressing the shutter button to the camera actually firing.
Nick was also in the water, of course, and was using his usual setup of Nikon D700, Sealux housing, and 3 INON strobes. It it a lovely experience to share. and it is always great to come home and compare images. Now we need to book some more time in the Farne Islands, as well as our seal dive closer to home, Puffin Island. To finish, here is a shot that Nick took showing me, with my camera, and, of course, a seal!
We charted our favourite skipper, Paul Walker, from Farne Island Divers, who has a super fast RIB, a huge amount of experience, and the know how to get you into just the right location. As our group all had underwater cameras on-board, we limited the group to 8 divers, which gave us loads of room on the boat. The sun shone, the water was flat calm and the visibility was rubbish! All this rain over the last few months has meant that run off from the local rivers reduces the usually clear water to a green mush. But this did not dampen our spirits and nor did it stop the seals from displaying their enquisitive nature and coming to take a look at us.
If you have not already dived with seals, then book onto a boat right now! You can stay in the shallows, even stay at the surface, and if you are patient enough, they will come and bite your fins, grab hold of your camera and play around with you in the water. On surfacing, I glanced up to see where our group was, to make sure we were not holding everyone up, only to find Yo-Han and CJ laughing near the boat, each with a seal sitting on them!
As I said, I was using the Sony NEX-5 and had an INON D2000 strobe for photography and a Light and Motion Sola 1200 light for video. I had the 16mm pancake lens (with occasionally the fish-eye adapter on). The only drawback I found with the camera was the lag in the timing from pressing the shutter button to the camera actually firing.
Nick was also in the water, of course, and was using his usual setup of Nikon D700, Sealux housing, and 3 INON strobes. It it a lovely experience to share. and it is always great to come home and compare images. Now we need to book some more time in the Farne Islands, as well as our seal dive closer to home, Puffin Island. To finish, here is a shot that Nick took showing me, with my camera, and, of course, a seal!
