Leafy Seadragons - CP5000

[Dave H 0]

I have always wanted to see a Leafy Seadragon - I had seen the pics but I had never been down to South Australia to look for them.

 

So last week a fellow CP5000 user (Aengus M from wetpixel) and myself drove 3500 kms in 6 days to get some Leafy Seadragon shots. We dived at Rapid Bay Jetty - one of the better shore dives in Australia.

 

Was it worth... well I think so

And we were fortunate enough to find two Leafy's together (thanks to some excellent spotting by Mr A Bowie from wetpixel).

 

All the below pics were taken with a CP5000 with the Nikon 19mm wide angle lens on Jan 26th (Australia Day).

 

 

[Dave H 0]

and here's 3 more... They are without a doubt the most majestic animal I have ever seen.

 

 

 

[3@5 0]

green with envy...............jealous................grrrr

that must have been an incredible experience, great shots of a fantastic animal!!!

/paul

[Cybergoldfish 1]

Fantastic Dave!

I agree majestic indeed.

[kdietz 0]

Stunning images..........very nice lighting and good focus

 

2 Thumbs Up!

 

I would be interested in your aperture and shutter speeds on these shots.

 

Karl

[ilanbt 7]

beautiful pictures - majestic indeed.

the picture of the couple is the best.

[Cybergoldfish 1]

BTW: How big were these Dave (20-30cm)?

[jimbo1946 0]

I concur with the other comments, and I'm triple-green with envy!

[yahsemtough 0]

Sweet!! Very nice doubleheader! Great exposure.

[Craig Ruaux 0]

I'm even more envious than everyone else

 

I've never seen a shot with two in frame simultaneously before, lovely stuff. Sadly, I've only ever seen these in aquaria.

[randapex 0]

What's the next color after green??

Beautiful shots, double WOW!

 

Rand

[ascottj 0]

Hello Dave,

 

These images are beautiful. Well done. The black background's are perfect. Please tell Andrew that I would appreciate his help and services as a guide one day soon as well. :-) Just do not tell him that he should start charging big bucks for those services! ;-)

 

Congratulations!

 

Scott

[Simon K. 0]

Absolutly great creatures and very exelent pics!

 

Simon

[davephdv 0]

Great images! I went to Australia a few years back to shoot the dragons and the white sharks. I actually liked shoot the Dragons better and have considered going back to do it again. We were on Kangaroo Island.

 

I was shooting film then and found them tough to shoot. You are to be commended. I love the shot of two. Can't imagine how you got that.

 

I found them impossible to find without a guide. The Weedy Sea Dragons we found on our own.

[Dave H 0]

Thanks for all the comments guys – its always good for the ego to get positive feedback!

 

In regards to a couple of the questions:

Bob – You were spot on. Both Leafies were about 20 – 30cm’s. As they were hanging out together one would assume that one was a male and one was a female but unfortunately it’s very difficult to tell unless the male is carrying eggs.

 

Karl – The camera settings were ISO 100, matrix metering, F8 and I varied the shutter speed from 1/500 to 1/1000. I had both strobes set to 1/4 power

 

Davephdv – I completely agree with you – they are impossible to find unless you know where to look and also what to look for. Without our excellent guide (ABowie) I don't think we would have found them. Now that I have finally seen them I can say that they are without a doubt one of the best things to see in the ocean.

 

I managed to get quite a few shots with both of them – I was fortunate enough that I stayed together whilst 3 of us took turns taking shots from different positions. I think I took about 40 shots in total – I’ve only put the black background pics up as I like the contrast.

 

Cheers,

Dave

[mmb 0]

Amazing animals and very god shots!

 

Congratulations!

[herbko 0]

Fantastic Dave! Who flys direct from San Francisco to South Australia?

[Cybergoldfish 1]

Get in the queue!

[davephdv 0]

If your going I'm onboard.

[ikelite 0]

Dave sure makes ol' ike proud. He also publishes wonderful information on how to do it:

 

http://members.iinet.net.au/~diving/coolpix5000.htm

[davephdv 0]

Two things I would add to the excellent CP5000 instructions. First; get the manual controller. It makes shooting this camera much easier. Second if you can afford an additional strobe get a DS50 or two. Very compact; I prefer them for macro and closeups and they are easy to carry on airplanes.

[Cybergoldfish 1]

OK, I am organising an Oz east coast tour for 05!!!

 

Interested parties email me

[abowie 0]

Hello Dave,

 

These images are beautiful.  Well done.  The black background's are perfect.  Please tell Andrew that I would appreciate his help and services as a guide one day soon as well.  :-)  Just do not tell him that he should start charging big bucks for those services!  ;-)

 

Congratulations!

 

Scott

 

Ah Scott you know I do it for free..

[Gwangi 0]

Ahhhh. The photos make me want to drop everything, get by gears together, jump on the plane to Australia, get Rapid Bay Jetty and take some short my self....