WETPIXEL Whalesharks - 2012

[Alex_Mustard 0]

Welcome to Mexico!

 

This is the official thread for the Wetpixel Whaleshark Expedition to Isla Mujeres. Open to all to contribute. I'll also try and add something each day.

 

I've arrived in Mexico for the Wetpixel whaleshark bonanza (hopefully). That starts tomorrow. And signs are good too - it has been a great season for sharks so far (as anyone on Facebook can tell you) - and we met a group of German photographers at the Cenotes yesterday who had just come from Isla Mujeres with tales of great viz and hundreds of sharks every day last week. It is exciting.

 

 

Anyway, a few of us (me, Eleonora, Suzy and Mike) are down here early for a couple of days of cenote diving with Dive Aventuras, thanks to Mario for guiding us. For me it is just a recce trip - to better understand the diving here. I don't yet have my main dome port, nor any remote strobes - but the cenotes are really wonderful. I can't wait to come back here on a dedicated shoot.

 

 

On the first day we visited Chac Mool, which was amazing scenery and I liked all the freshwater creatures too:

 

 

Aargh - having internet connection problems... So this will be brief. Curious locals:

 

 

 

Will flesh it out a little when connection reliable!

 

Alex

[Alex_Mustard 0]

Sorry for the lack of updates. Lack of internet access while travelling.

 

Day Two saw me, Eleo, Suzy and Mike diving again in the Cenotes with Mario from Dive Aventuras. It was a chance to play with the light beams in the Taj-Mahal cenote and then head to Eden, which turned into a fish-fest! Although Eleo and I had to share the only macro lens we brought.

 

Below are some shots of the light beams, taken with Nikon D4 and Sigma 15mm, Nauticam housing and tripod.

 

 

 

I like this one because of the refraction in the rays, I'll be using this in all my talks about dome ports from now on!

 

 

Then off to Eden - which was amazing fro fish, but I was stuck on wide angle. I really liked it though - there were so many cichlids with babies. I love freshwater fish because their life cycles are so different to marine one.

 

Alex - fish sucker

 

Cave at Eden.

 

Cichlids with babies:

 

More cichlids with babies (taken with 60mm, when Eleo lent me her camera for a few mins:

 

In the evening we headed up to Isla Mujeres and met up with the group, who are:

Alex, Eleo, Neil, Catherine, Mike, Suzy, April, Tom, Ryan, Carlos, Brian, Catherine and Jaxie. Hopefully some of them will be posting their thoughts and more importantly images here soon.

 

Alex

[Alex_Mustard 0]

Day Three (or officially Group 1, Day 1).

 

Unbelievable. I see why people go on and on about this place. First morning. Straight out of port into sharks. Captain reckoned 300-400 whale sharks in flat calm, blue seas.

 

I've never seen anything like it. Pictures to follow - hopefully from more of the group.

 

Here is a very brief taster - a vertical of whaleshark with sunrays. Nikon D4, Nikon 16mm, Nauticam housing, Zen 230 dome.

 

And the scene in reception, with everyone on the wi-fi, me, Brian and April (this was taken from the main sofa where most people were)

 

 

Alex

[Steve Williams 0]

Keep them coming Alex!!! Glad you hit the weather. Have a margarita for me.

 

Cheers,

Steve

[ChefDude 0]

Possibly out of order, but here's a shot of the drop in point for the Cenote, Taj Mahal

 

 

Taj Mahal Cenotes by michael_toye, on Flickr

[ChefDude 0]

Day 1, Boat 2 , leaving for the 'Big Fish'

 

 

_MG_9486 by michael_toye, on Flickr

 

Day 1, Suzy

_MG_9494 by michael_toye, on Flickr

Edited August 1, 2012 by ChefDude

[Alex_Mustard 0]

As well as scouring the ocean for whalesharks, we've also been making a dedicated survey of the ice-cream shops in Isla Mujeres for the best quality. Below is one of the dedicated team of experts.

 

 

ISO 6400 on D4, BTW.

 

Alex

[karant 0]

Whale sharks and cenotes......a dream vacation! Ya'll have fun:)

[ChefDude 0]

Day 3 - remember I'm a landscape photographer...

 

 

Whale Shark by michael_toye, on Flickr

[AndyBarker 6]

Hi Mike,

just because you are a top side photographer it does not stop takin great shots have a great time.

Take care.

Andy

[Alex_Mustard 0]

Sorry for the lack of news. Each day is quite samey. Get up, swim all day with 100s of whalesharks, stop when totally exhausted. Eat dinner. Sleep.

 

And, yes, we're completely loving it!

 

Alex

 

Yesterday, Day 3 - we celebrated Swiss Day with Jaxie and Catherine. Must get the photos from Ryan.

 

Alex

[Alex_Mustard 0]

There really is so much to share from this trip - but we've limited time on land and then limited internet access.

 

As well as the sharks, we've had lots of mobula rays too. Small groups mainly - although Neil has the record for the most in a shot. Hopefully he'll share it. Below is one of mine of them from today.

 

 

And here is Eleonora photographing a shark yesterday:

 

 

Alex

[MIKE POWELL 1]

Well done Alex....Awesome shot of the WS with light rays!

 

I just returned and had a blast! Hope you don't mind if I post a pic of mine....never as good as yours of course !!

Edited August 2, 2012 by MIKE POWELL

[MK2 3]

Hope the second group gets some great pics quick as " Ernesto" is a coming.... I have a whale shark tour monday then buttoning down things here in Cozumel as it is expected to arrive wed....

 

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at5.shtml?5-daynl#contents

[Alex_Mustard 0]

The days just keep getting better - more and more sharks. Yesterday they were so dense in the morning that you couldn't focus on shooting one as another would run you down from the opposite direction.

 

I was in the water and had about 25 sharks around me in an area of a couple of tennis courts. The whole water surface was churned up with whalesharks. There was more water than sharks. Would have been amazing from the air - hard to capture from the water as a still video - only three sharks in this dull shot:

 

 

We've had amazing days all week and with hours and hours with the sharks ideas are quickly exhausted. Many people have been trying split levels, despite it being slightly choppy - and not ideal conditions - in the middle of the day. But the struggle is not getting the split, but having anything of interest in the above portion of the images. There are no clouds and the only above water subject matter are the boats. So still not found a decent wildlife image as a split:

 

 

It is nice and calm in the mornings, but then there is too much light difference between above and below to get a shot right in camera. Of course it is easily fixed in Photoshop. But when you have whalesharks on tap - it is too tempting to want to get it right in camera.

 

With 100s of passes each day you do struggle to do anything different after a while. And I know that when people do find a fresher image they may not share it online because they are reasonably easy to copy! I have been enjoying the topside shooting too, especially as one of our boats has a tall tuna tower, giving the options of very high or low shots.

 

 

Suzy brought a kite to fly her GoPro, but it just hasn't been windy enough. Which is ironic with the storm Ernesto possibly heading this way. Yes, we're watching the storm track as avidly as the sharks. Not a big storm at all (yet), but a direct pass would spoil a day or two of whalesharking. Fingers crossed for a change in route.

 

Alex

[MK2 3]

Looks like Ernesto is heading south towards Belize.....

[StephenFrink 9]

Alex - is there any thought that some of these whale sharks might have stayed in the Gulf, if the Gulf was the same as before BP? I have no opinion one way or another, beyond curiosity. Just wondering if scientific community has weighed in on why numbers of whale sharks are so high, and localized.

[Alex_Mustard 0]

Pleased to say that Tropical Storm Ernesto looks like its staying away and we'll be out every day on Week 2 as it stands now. Met up with all the group and we're all excited for the morning.

 

Here is a quick vid I shot on Saturday, in between taking photos. Shot with a GoPro (without screen!).

 

[vimeo]46985517[/vimeo]

 

Alex

[loftus 42]

Alex - is there any thought that some of these whale sharks might have stayed in the Gulf, if the Gulf was the same as before BP? I have no opinion one way or another, beyond curiosity. Just wondering if scientific community has weighed in on why numbers of whale sharks are so high, and localized.

Steve; I don't believe this is a new phenomenon, rather just a more recent discovery, at least for the photog community. My understanding this is purely related to the bonito spawning in this area at this time of year. I guess it is possible though that food is more sparse elsewhere than before so they are tending to concentrate more. Be tough to assess without historical data of previous aggregations.

Edited August 6, 2012 by loftus

[johnspierce 25]

I would agree; nothing has really changed in the Whale Shark migration, we just didn't know about it . Apparently scientists have been studying the Holbox/Isla Mujeres migration for about 10 years, but Mexican fisherman have known about it for decades. Since it's kind of out in the middle of nowhere, it's not surprising nobody knew it was an annual occurrence.

 

We went last year and it's one of the coolest things I've ever done. Definitely a bucket list item. Do it before the Mexican Government bans it or starts charging tax on each Whale Shark or something.

 

We should just be glad it's not in American waters, it would probably be a Disneyland ride by now and you would have to rent saddles. Heh....

Edited August 6, 2012 by johnspierce

[Ken Kurtis 20]

Here is a quick vid I shot on Saturday, in between taking photos.

 

How big are they Alex? It looks to me during the last shot where you became a remora, that they're about three body lengths long which would be in the 18-foot range. So it sounds like they're sort of the same size as the juvy/teens that we tend to see this time of the year in the Sea of Cortez around La Paz (but not in these numbers nor with this water clarity).

 

- Ken

[Alex_Mustard 0]

Hi Ken,

 

There definitely a lot bigger/bulkier than the ones off La Paz, but they are mainly in the 18-25ft range - so teenagers. A few males are showing signs of claspers calcifying, but most are young.

 

Alex

[Alex_Mustard 0]

Great first Day of Week 2 with the whalesharks. Loads of sharks again today, but weather a bit rougher. Report to follow. Just wrote one - but internet dropped and I lost it.

 

 

Next couple of days we'll get the worst of the weather from Ernesto. But boats are still in the water and we'll be assessing conditions each morning.

 

I'll also add some more pix and comments from Week 1 - if I get some down time because of the weather.

 

Alex

[tomeyer 3]

Just got back from the first week of the whale shark expedition and I am happy to report that it was one of the best trips I have been on. Having never seen a whale shark before, I can now say I have seen hundreds. It looks like the second week is off to a great start as well from the look of the pictures Alex has posted. A couple of pictures from my time in the water:

 

 

0906untitled006.jpg by tomeyer, on Flickr

 

our intrepid leader Alex

 

 

 

1208untitled050-4.jpg by tomeyer, on Flickr

 

Whale shark Silhouette

 

 

 

1208untitled050-6.jpg by tomeyer, on Flickr

 

Tom

[StephenFrink 9]

Steve; I don't believe this is a new phenomenon, rather just a more recent discovery, at least for the photog community. My understanding this is purely related to the bonito spawning in this area at this time of year. I guess it is possible though that food is more sparse elsewhere than before so they are tending to concentrate more. Be tough to assess without historical data of previous aggregations.

 

Hey Jeff - I know it preceded the 2010 BP event, but the way everyone describes last year and this year, it sounds like the numbers of whale sharks have increased. We know the eyes, and cameras, recording the phenomenon are greater, but by hearsay the numbers are greater too. Did the bonito or the whalesharks get displaced from normal feeding grounds and thereby concentrated? But, you are right. Without baseline data it is idle conjecture.