Guest echeng Posted October 9, 2006 I just spent a week diving the Galapagos and experienced the best whale shark and hammerhead shark encounters I’ve ever had. Am here in Ecuador with Ken Weemhoff (sole booking agent of the Deep Blue), Matt Moreno (member here on WP, but never posts), Dan Baldocchi (L&M), Berkley White (Backscatter), Lawrence Groth (Great White Adventures), Steve Rosenberg (author of a dive book on Galapagos) and a few more industry types (dive shop owners from Texas). As always, Antonio Moreano, our Galapagos guide, was AWESOME. He's my favorite guide in the Galapagos. More later... whale shark (Rhincodon typus) and divers at darwin’s arch, galapagos school of scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) darwin’s arch, galapagos school of scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) darwin’s arch, galapagos Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
loftus 42 Posted October 10, 2006 Wow, the viz looks amazing. Hope it's like that when I go there in June! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Starbuck 0 Posted October 10, 2006 Wow! That whale shark photo is amazing....the Viz does look amazing.. M. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan 57 Posted October 10, 2006 I got them warmed up for you guys... I was on Aggressor 1 the Sept 28th- Oct 5th. Silkies were a little scarce, though, weren't they? Saw a smallish tiger at Darwin, picture only good enough to tell what it is Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xtremediver 0 Posted October 10, 2006 WOW, I saw 2 in Roatan at Christmas, but not as close as you were. T B) hat shot is fantastic Eric. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brycegroark 0 Posted October 10, 2006 Real nice, Eric. Thanks for showing - would you mind posting the exposure for those shots? The whale shark is incredible. Aloha Bryce Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jbonehoss 0 Posted October 10, 2006 Oh man, I have not seen a nice clean blue (awesome lighting) WS photo like that from Galapagos. I gotta get me some of that! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Arnon_Ayal 1 Posted October 10, 2006 Looks you have great time there, hope to see the usual full report soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wagsy 0 Posted October 10, 2006 Hey I reconize that Floppy Shark Nar only kidding. Wow Eric you have done it again with amazing pics from you trips. Cool Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex_Mustard 0 Posted October 10, 2006 Wowzers! Great stuff, Eric. All three are fabulous. Alex Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest echeng Posted October 10, 2006 Thanks, guys, for the nice words. Our second dive at darwin was the best I'd ever had. The sun was out, and the water the clearest I've seen. Near the end of the dive, a whale shark showed up at the surface and swam directly at us over and over again. She opened her mouth repeatedly (not feeding, but something else) and made physical contact with a few of us! The guides speculate that she wanted to be scratched; in the past they've had whale sharks lifting pangas out of the water in an attempt to get some scratching... Also managed to get really close to a couple huge school of hammerheads, both shooting stills and video. Steve Rosenberg and I stayed at the darwin platform while the others went on. Coincidentally, after the group left, the sharks swam right up to us. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmyates 5 Posted October 10, 2006 Fantastic shots, Eric. That first one is one of the best, clearest photos of a whale shark I've ever seen! Can't wait to see more! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
james 0 Posted October 10, 2006 I second that! That first shot and the second (never seen so many hanmmers in one photos) are stunning. I see that you've moved your watermark to the middle of the whale-shark photo - good thinking. Cheers James Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CeeDave 0 Posted October 10, 2006 The viz is stunning, and the shots are better -- perfect exposure and comp. Never seen it like that at Galapagos or Cocos, in many trips -- once had it that good at Malpelo. The viz wasn't as good this summer at Cocos(and the photo is much less impressive, 'cept for the sunball from 100 ft), but there are lots of chances to see lots of sharks at any of these places. I have a lot to learn, but reckon this shot conveys the pure numbers pretty well (snotty looking stuff in the water is gazillions of small jellyfish, and yes they did sting): D70 / 16mm / ISO200 / f11 & 1/500 / Alcyone, Cocos, Costa Rica Cheers, Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest echeng Posted October 11, 2006 Real nice, Eric. Thanks for showing - would you mind posting the exposure for those shots? The whale shark is incredible. Hi, Bryce - The whale shark shot has had the bottom blue cropped out of it (but no cropping from the other borders). EXIF info for the whale shark shot: File: 061004_113617_echeng6357.cr2 File size: 13.2MB Image Serial Number: 000-6357 Image counter: 32292 Camera Model: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II Camera serial number: 0000303652 Firmware: Firmware Version 1.1.4 Owner: Eric H Cheng Date/Time: 2006:10:04 11:36:17 Shutter speed: 1/125 sec Aperture: 6.3 Exposure mode: Manual Flash: Off Metering mode: Evaluative Drive mode: Single frame shooting ISO: 200 Lens: 16 to 35mm Focal length: 17mm AF mode: AI Servo AF Image size: 4992 x 3328 Image quality: Raw White balance: Auto Color matrix 1: sRGB natural-looking hue and chroma Color space: sRGB Saturation: Normal Contrast: 0 Sharpness level: 0 Tone: Normal Custom Functions: CFn 2: No exposure without CF card CFn 4: Shutter release: AE lock; AE button: AF CFn 8: Top LCD panel: ISO, Back LCD panel: Remaining shots CFn 15: 2nd-curtain flash synchronization CFn 18: Hold Assist button for registered AF point EXIF info for hammerhead school (from side): File: 061006_111512_echeng6491.cr2 File size: 14.4MB Image Serial Number: 000-6491 Image counter: 32426 Camera Model: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II Camera serial number: 0000303652 Firmware: Firmware Version 1.1.4 Owner: Eric H Cheng Date/Time: 2006:10:06 11:15:12 Shutter speed: 1/80 sec Aperture: 6.3 Exposure mode: Manual Flash: Off Metering mode: Evaluative Drive mode: Single frame shooting ISO: 400 Lens: 16 to 35mm Focal length: 16mm AF mode: AI Servo AF Image size: 4992 x 3328 Image quality: Raw White balance: Auto Color matrix 1: sRGB natural-looking hue and chroma Color space: sRGB Saturation: Normal Contrast: 0 Sharpness level: 0 Tone: Normal Custom Functions: CFn 2: No exposure without CF card CFn 4: Shutter release: AE lock; AE button: AF CFn 8: Top LCD panel: ISO, Back LCD panel: Remaining shots CFn 15: 2nd-curtain flash synchronization CFn 18: Hold Assist button for registered AF point EXIF info for hammerheads (from bottom): File: 061006_113519_echeng6553.cr2 File size: 15.5MB Image Serial Number: 000-6553 Image counter: 32488 Camera Model: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II Camera serial number: 0000303652 Firmware: Firmware Version 1.1.4 Owner: Eric H Cheng Date/Time: 2006:10:06 11:35:19 Shutter speed: 1/100 sec Aperture: 10 Exposure mode: Manual Flash: Off Metering mode: Evaluative Drive mode: Single frame shooting ISO: 250 Lens: 16 to 35mm Focal length: 16mm AF mode: AI Servo AF Image size: 4992 x 3328 Image quality: Raw White balance: Auto Color matrix 1: sRGB natural-looking hue and chroma Color space: sRGB Saturation: Normal Contrast: 0 Sharpness level: 0 Tone: Normal Custom Functions: CFn 2: No exposure without CF card CFn 4: Shutter release: AE lock; AE button: AF CFn 8: Top LCD panel: ISO, Back LCD panel: Remaining shots CFn 15: 2nd-curtain flash synchronization CFn 18: Hold Assist button for registered AF point Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brycegroark 0 Posted October 12, 2006 Thanks for that Eric - question - Can you say why you chose the film speeds that you did? I noticed the whale shark at ISO 200 and the hammers at 400 and 250. Sorry to be annoying, but I tend to not change the ISO very much and virtually never to 400 - do you mind telling us your thoughts on those film speeds for the situations? Thanks Bryce Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tie 1 Posted October 12, 2006 Nice shots, all three. The whale shark is perfect (love the composition). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Douglas 16 Posted October 12, 2006 I'm not a photographer but I know a fantastic shot of a whale shark when I see one. Way to go Eric Steve B) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest echeng Posted October 12, 2006 Berkley White and I did an ISO comparison while we were on the boat. I find the Canon 1D series to be excellent, even at higher ISOs -- but at ISO 400, you had better nail your shot. The relatively clean images at ISO 400 don't adjust well if you underexpose. Here's my rationale. I prefer sharp images over soft or blurry ones, and am willing to accept noisier images in exchange. Berk discovered that he can't go past ISO 250 with his D2X underwater and still get results that are acceptable, but he pored over 100% crops of my ISO 400 stuff and was impressed with the look. That middle hammerhead shot was taken at 1/80 f6.3 ISO 400. It should be obvious why I had to go to ISO 400! I'm barely passing, there. 1/80 with slow-moving hammers is ok, and I refuse to open up past 6.3 or so with that crappy Canon 16-35 lens. It's just too soft past 6.3 (and 6.3 is sort of on the edge...). I swam straight into the school and decided to shoot silhouettes. There was no time to change ISO, so I spun the dials and ended up at 1/100 f10. There's a lot of real-time reaction when you suddenly are forced to shoot upward or downward, and changing ISO in real-time is nearly impossible... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeanB 19 Posted October 12, 2006 When I was younger I told my R.E teacher when asked "what do you want to be, if we're reincarnated" I said "when I come back i want to be a dolphin"... Sod that !!! I want to be 'Eric Cheng' You must have gills Eric ? Fantastic Keep it up Dive safe DeanB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest echeng Posted October 12, 2006 I want to be 'Eric Cheng' You must have gills Eric ? If this continues, my expanding ego is going to cause my head to explode! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex_Mustard 0 Posted October 13, 2006 Come on Eric, post some more pix so we can start another round of plaudits. They are simply stunning. Pictures the rest of us can only dream of taking. Douglas Siefert has some of his awesome pix from the Pacific in the current issue of Dive Magazine, under the title of the "world's best shark photographer" (a title given by the magazine, not invented himself). Well I saw Eric's pix on his laptop from the same trip and I have to say that DDS wasn't even the best shark photographer on that boat. Actually I should mention for the sake of Eric's head that I'd still put Seafood slightly ahead because of the quality of his back catalogue, but on the quality of current work you are catching up fast! Alex Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeanB 19 Posted October 13, 2006 WOW !! Now thats with 'Added Mustard'.. A compliment on anyones plate Dive safe DeanB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
synthetic 4 Posted October 17, 2006 Nice stuff. Were you diving air or rebreather? I've heard that a lot of the Galapagos boats do rebreathers, and there are no bubbles in your hammerhead shot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jester 0 Posted October 18, 2006 Fantastic photographs Eric. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
