Ok, so I've been able to budget enough moola for two shooting trips this year, and quite frankly, I'm a bit conflicted. I plan to shoot for video stock and for possible broadcast with a few cable channels I have contacts with, so I need great stuff. I plan to go between next month and mid-November, so keep that in mind in terms of weather and viz. So here's the three spots I've boiled down to, but can't pick two, so maybe you all can help me out:

1.) Roatan - Anthony's Key- in August - Dolphin Dive, good combo of macro and pelagic, new shark dives, possible Whale Sharks

2.) La Paz - in October - Whale Sharks, Hammerheads, Rays, sea lions SHORT FLIGHT!

3.) Fiji - not sure when is best - sharks, pelagics, macro...

So what do you guys think, which two should I pick for great video?

It really does depend upon what marine life you wish to shoot. I've been to most places, not as much as some, and more than most I guess. For large pelagics life, and lots of opportunities to film them, the Cocos Islands, Costa Rica is my choice without question. For macro life, Lembeh Straits, Indonesia beats any of the diving I have done in the Philippines, Thailand, Bali or elsewhere.

I'm leading a trip to do the Southern route in the Red Sea in Nov. 09 and I've been told it is an excellent destination but I have not dove that area before and I will have to wait and see.
My advice, once you have chosen a destination, is to research the place and make sure you are going at the right times to see the life you want.
Steve

I agree with Steve, Cocos for big stuff.... It will blow your mind.

What about Papua New Guinea fair amount of diversity, macro, big stuff and wrecks..

Jon

I've never understood this obsession with "big stuff". I know they are dramatic, and wonderful to watch, but they have little colour are usually out in the blue with little else to see and they are done to death on all satellite and cable channels.

The oceans are full of the most wonderful wildlife in fabulous colours and forms. Dramatic soft corals, huge forests of kelp, thousands of different varieties of fish and crustaceans in all shapes and sizes. The world's coral reefs need to be preserved and we need to film all this variety and show it to those people who are not able to see it for themselves.

For me a pink candy coloured soft coral crab hardly visible against it's living home beats any number of hammerheads passing overhead. The pulsing colours of a flamboyant cuttlefish beats any reef shark flicking it's tail and disappearing around the nearest pinnacle. Even whale sharks are eclipsed by those fabulous soft corals and fans gently waving in the surge of a shallow Caribbean reef.

We don't have to be in the "right place at the right time", as many of the most beautiful things are there all the time just waiting to be filmed and edited into some of the best footage in the world.

OK I will step down from my soapbox.

Roger

Option 2 - La Paz. Check with club cantamar. You will have more oportunities to see great stuff. I been in all of the tree spots. The sea of cortez is my favorite. You can check some pics in my blog (www.diveadventures.blogpot.com). see september 2007, for baja, and february 2008, for roatan. Soory, its in portuguese. But the pics says it all.
please let me know if you need any assistance

all the best,

Cristian Dimitrius
cristian@diveadventures.com.br

Roger,
Clear to me that you've never been to the Cocos between June and Sept. Nothing 'out in the blue'. I'm talking of hundreds of hammers in close on many dives, often within 10ft, literally thousands of white tips so thick you often have to push them away, and on night dives, they are passing through your legs, under your arms and into your port. I'm talking of hundreds of marble rays so close you can pet them if you like, whale sharks now and then that you can dive with as well as mantas, eagle rays and some humongous turtles. I'm talking of jack schools so thick that, if you swim into them, you can't see the water or any of your buddies outside the school. Silver tips in shallow water within 20 feet of you at the cleaning station and so much more. These critters are on almost every dive during the trip. Except for the whale sharks, they are almost guaranteed. That's why I love the Cocos and am going on my 11th trip there this Aug. We have a waiting list a mile long for this trip.
I agree, anytime I go somewhere else and someone gets excited over a white or silver tip somewhere in the blue, I inwardly laugh to myself.
Steve

Hi Steve,

No I haven't been to the Cocos, but the point I was really trying to make is that I have seen many hours of footage on various TV channels from the Cocos and other "Big Stuff" dive sites. Rereynoso is wanting to get some stock video for future broadcast, and I was suggesting that it was perhaps more important to go for the critters that do not feature quite so often on TV, and at the same time spread the word on the protection of our reefs.

Having said that the personal experience of diving with hundreds of these great animals is certainly not to be missed.

Roger

I would not go to Roatan with pelagics in mind!

Most likely no whale shark encounters on Roatan, I am afraid... If you want to see them in the Bay Islands, then go to Utila and hire a captains for the specific reason to find you one. You might have to be patient and hang in there a few days, specifically searching for them. But it is unlikely that this will happen diving from Roatan.

Before visiting the Bay Islands I had read all the whaleshark hype. I even had someone tell me they "were so frequent ou could hop on their backs over from Roatan to Utila" and thatsurely I would encounter them. Well, I found that that was in fact not at all the case.

Not to say that it's can't happen - we have whaleshark even here in the USVI - but I would never try to entice anyone to come here for the reason that you might see them, as it is not something that can be promised. However, this winter we had a few come thru as a rare treat. Much nicer to "promise and hype" less and then have happily surprised visitors than visitors that came with false hope and left disppointed.

As for the sharkdive in Roatan (Cara a Cara)... hmmm... The sharks were nice and all, but hardly something to make a docu about - its a feed of a few gray reefshark and when the bucket is empty the sharks are gone. I really had some reservations after the dive about the operation. The dive site is several miles off the shore and the diving was done from one open boat, with no dingy. The current at the site was extremely strong the day I dove it, and others have reported that the current is usually very strong at the site.I would guesstimate 4-5 knots, it was hard to desend with a camera in tow and keep mask on the face (stronger current than I encountered anywhere including Galapagos). The divers were adviced to not under any circumstance loose grip of the downline as you would be carried off with the current in a flash. Sofar so good. However, when I asked about how a swept away diver would be recovered, they told us that the coast guard would be alerted. Well... hmmm... by the time the CG would be there the diver in my opinion would be dangerrously far away, and if this happened when some of the divers had started or already decended, they could not very well take chase as it wouldn't be a good thing to leave divers in the strong current. I just found the operations side of this a bit Mikkimousy.

The far coolest features of Roatan diving to me was the abundance of Groupers and also some interesting cavern diving at the far eastern tip of the island.

I agree with the above, if you want to see Pelagics, go to Cocos or Galapagos or else where you are very likely/certain to have "big" encounters.

Thanks to all, this is helping quite a bit. I made the move and booked with The Cortez Club in La Paz for October, which I'm looking forward to, and I think I might actually be leaning towards Fiji for my August trip, though Papua NG sounds good too.

Marjo, appreciate the heads up on the Whale Sharks and the Shark dive in Roatan. The more I researched it the more I came to that same realization. Looks like I'll have a better chance of Whale Sharks in La Paz.

Steve, been thinking about Cocos, but it might be a bit out of my price range, trying to keep it as close as possible to $3000 total per trip, and can't find anything for under $4000 to Cocos.

Roger, I do love the big stuff, am fascinated by them, but I do agree that we need to shot some of the small stuff as well, which is why I was asking about doing a trip in which I might be able to get a little of both. I know I can get some of the combo in La Paz, and it looks like Fiji is offering that up as well. I'm thinking of going to Beqa Lagoon Resort..anyone been there? Anything better in Fiji, around the same price?

Thanks again to all... marjo, I might be heading out there to shoot next year, any recommendations?
Reuben

Roger...I hear you.. I sure wish there were more of a market for the macro stuff from Lembeh and Southern PNG but...there really isn't. They, for the most part, are only interested in large stuff. I have my first National Geographic show airing in Dec/Jan and it is not for all the great macro work I like to think I've done but for a show on Marlin. -Steve

Steve,
Congrats on the show, very cool! I just sold a small piece to the Travel Channel, less than a minute, and when I was talking to them they expressed the same interest in LARGE creatures. Guess it makes for "more exciting" tv for all those non-divers!

Well, think it's going to be Wananavu... or maybe Puerto Galera... or maybe I'll just drive myself mad trying to decide!!!

So it looks like the big stuff wins again. It is a shame really, as the small stuff is just as beautiful and exciting.

I'm not sure if David Attenborough's "Life in Cold Blood" has hit the US TV channels yet. This is wonderful viewing, and takes the unusual and sometimes ugly and makes it amazing. It brings to Joe public so much more about amphibians and reptiles than any programme I have seen to date. Oh for a budget and equipment like that

Roger

Roger, don't think the "big stuff" has won. Yes, I'm doing La Paz for the "big stuff", but my second trip will be either Fiji or the Philippines for Macro stuff, just bought the Macro flip down for my L&M wide angle so I need to put it to good use. I need, and want, as much diversity in my library as possible, even if only the big stuff sells frequently. I'll post all the stuff I shoot on here. Really looking forward to staying wet and shooting amazing sealife, both big and small.

Thanks again guys!

Hey.. you want to video some "big stuff".. well come visit us here in the Seattle area.. we've got Giant Octopus, that are so large and they sometimes will try to pull your mask off your face, or your regulator out of your mouth, or even will latch onto your housing and play tug-o-war... and we've also got Sea Anemonies that grow about 2 feet tall too!
And we've got great coffee too!
Just kidding

Going to Fiji...Wananavu...thanks again for the tips, guys!

Have fun mate!