Uncategorized – Morgan's Ocean Images

Editing Underwater Photos – How 5 Minutes In Lightroom Can Make Yours Worth Showing Off

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If you are reading this for a detailed explanation of how to use Adobe Lightroom or extensive tips on editing, then please wait for my next blog which will cover some aspects in more detail. This is more an explanation of why to even edit in the first place, while trying to show how simple and quick it can be to make huge improvements to your pictures.

Why Do People Still Not Edit???

While away photographing in Indonesia last year, I met many fellow photographers, from complete beginners who had never used a camera to professionals of many years. The pros would normally be using Lightroom, Photoshop, or a combination of both. One thing that is generally agreed upon is that Lightroom was a basic requirement, I don’t like to over edit so I can usually achieve what I want with fairly minimal editing. The beginners to intermediates were the ones who would be wary of editing for various reasons.

Don’t know how (the most common and understandable)
Don’t have the software
Don’t have the time
Prefer unedited photos (some people consider edited pictures unnatural or just like to have them perfect out of the camera)
Don’t do anything with their photos
Don’t shoot in raw

Don’t know how

Any basic editing software can be used to drastically improve an image (raw files are better for this). You don’t have to be an expert to make significant positive changes to your pictures. Once you have learned to import an image, tweaking the white balance and exposure can turn an unusable image into one you are happy to show your friends. That’s just 2 changes that can be done by sliding a bar, you will be amazed at the results. I have had photos in the past that were horribly overexposed due to a full flash at close range, what was a mostly white image was brought back to life and no longer destined for the trashcan.

Don’t have the software

One of the premium or paid for editors is not essential at all, there are many excellent free editors available. While free versions or software that your camera manufacturer may provide may not be as intuitive or have as many tools as a premium editor, it will perform the basics and these are essential.

Don’t have the time

On average, I can have a single photo imported, edited and exported in under 10 minutes. Of course some will take longer or shorter depending on how you want to present them, but basic but very noticeable alterations can be made in minutes. A good couple of hours can take a weeks worth of average shots to the next level, nothing in the grand scheme of things, it really is that simple.

Prefer unedited photos

Okay, this one is down to preference and that’s fine, that is how cameras once were I suppose. I just can’t help but think they are holding their pictures true potential back, now we have the option to improve on various aspects of a photo, why not take advantage of it? Of course the extreme is over editing where a photo can look very different from the original file but that the other end of the scale.

Don’t do anything with their photos

Similar to the above, if you don’t plan on doing anything at all then fine but even if they are for your eyes only, a physical memory, wouldn’t you make it the best it can be?

Don’t shoot raw

I still think many people believe that if you shoot in Jpeg, there is no point editing. Yes, it is more limited, shooting raw allows a lot more data to be manipulated in post processing but there’s still a lot you can do with Jpegs. At the same time, if your camera is able to shoot in raw, do! Even if you don’t plan on editing, having a raw copy of a image you really like would allow you to fine tune it even more.

Before and after with less than a minute spent

Below is 3 examples of how 3 very simple adjustments can completely transform an image. For the following examples I have chosen to use 3 important tools in editing, white balance, exposure and crop.

White Balance

Shot without a filter, you can see it is rather colourless and dull, but it has potential. Under a minute in Adobe Lightroom and the below image is possible

Exposure

While this is a colourful image it is quite dark and underexposed preventing is from really making an in impression

Right away you can see more colour in the background, as well as the pattern on the puffer fish and surrounding coral. Again this was just using the exposure adjustment bar for comparison sake, many images you can use a variety of tools in conjunction to create some amazing images

Cropping

Here I have cropped the image and rotated a little to bring the subject to the forefront, in this case this delightful little cow fish. As you can see the sole focus is now on the fish without the distracting coral from the first image

Give it a go

It pains me when I see pictures uploaded to any media platform where they have could have been so much better with a little time spent. Video too, it’s very easy to colour correct video yet I still see green dull videos that are crying out to be given a more natural look.

I hope some of this may have changed your mind if you do not edit, the best way to get this point across is a clear before and after shot, you might just be amazed. Find some software, import a few photos and see how you get on. It may be a bit daunting at first but after a few adjustments you will begin to see a pattern of what generally works. Happy shooting! (and editing)

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Cocos Island, Scuba Diving In Jurassic Park – Pelagic Paradise

Remember the movie ‘Jurassic Park’? Well, Cocos Island was actually the inspiration behind the fictional Jurassic counterpart ‘Isla Nublar’ If you’ve seen the movie you’ll know that this means cloud forests, a spectacular green mountainous landscape, numerous waterfalls and wonderfully blue water. While it may not have real dinosaurs (sorry to disappoint), it does have…

by morgansoceanimages February 16, 2020

One On One Encounter With A Giant — Morgan’s Ocean Images

One of the things I love most about scuba diving is the opportunity to interact with animals that show signs of intelligence and curiosity. Some special encounters leave me wondering what they are thinking, why are they reacting the way they are, what are they gaining from this social behaviour. In 2018 I had my […]One…

by morgansoceanimages January 29, 2020

One On One Encounter With A Giant

by morgansoceanimages January 28, 2020January 29, 2020

Cocos Island, Scuba Diving In Jurassic Park – Pelagic Paradise

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While it may not have real dinosaurs (sorry to disappoint), it does have some monstrous diving. This was my first liveaboard where I expected more action than anywhere before, and it delivered in spades!

Where and what

Cocos is extremely remote and only accessible by boat, located 550km off the pacific coast of Costa Rica. After leaving the port it’s a good 36 hour sail to reach this extraordinary little island. I’d heard about Cocos but didn’t know much about it until I did my IDC in Costa Rica, where I heard tales of this shark infested Unesco world heritage site. I knew I had to go, by chance I’d chosen to do my course in the same country that would be the portal to one of the best diving spots in the world.

I set about contacting the only 2 operators licensed to take guests to the national park, Undersea Hunter and Aggressor. Due to my flexibility at the time (April 2018) I was able to negotiate an excellent saving with Undersea Hunter, it’s amazing what deal you can get by simply asking. I would leave a few weeks after booking an couldn’t wait to get on board and start the day a and half trip across the pacific. Before departing I did have one minor concern with one of the species I would hopefully be seeing, the Tiger Shark. I had learned that in November 2017, just a few months before I was due to arrive, a woman had been attacked and killed by a tiger shark. These sharks were one of the biggest attractions for myself and others I’m sure, it was a shark I’d never seen during a dive and now I wasn’t sure how I’d feel if I did. I’d never had a reason to fear sharks and am an advocate of promoting the fact that they aren’t crazed killing machines as the media and certain movies would depict. However it’s wise to be cautious especially after a recent incident like this, I had been told the same shark was still around (she has a distinctive mark), I had mixed feeling about whether I wanted to see it or not.

First Impressions

As I boarded the ‘Sea Hunter’ the anticipation began to set in. The boats here aren’t like what you’d find in the Red Sea or the Maldives, they looked more like fishing boats. It was a little outdated on the inside but was still more than comfortable enough for me, I was there to dive. While boarding with the other guests I was made aware we had some Cocos Veterans in the group, one couple were about to embark on their 39th trip, while an older single diver was making his 23rd. If that doesn’t tell you something about a destination I don’t know what will, they joked that the couple had more a less paid for the boat in their years of loyalty.

Fortunately the 36 hour sail wasn’t as bad as it can be, it was rocky at times but I expected worse and was quite happy with how it went. We had left about midday, 2 days later I woke up and went outside to find we had made it to Jurassic Park! It was just as I’d imagined it, stunning, an untouched paradise teeming with life. During the transfer I had set up my dive gear and camera system and was ready to jump in, I had 8 days of diving ahead and was over the moon.

More Tiger concerns

We were informed there had been 1 or 2 further incidents regarding the female shark involved in the attack months beforehand, nobody had been hurt but she had shown signs of still being a potential threat. We were told before any diving that we would not be able to visit the site where the majority of tiger sharks are commonly seen, ‘Manuelita’. Thankfully, this decision was overturned (not sure exactly how but I do know some guests were displeased at the thought of not being able to dive one of the best sites).

Getting Wet

It was finally time to dive, I was hoping I’d be witness even just a fraction of what some of the veterans had seen over the years. The water here was the greatest shade of blue I think I’ve ever seen, shame it wasn’t the warmest, averaging over the week at about 26 degrees.

This was my first trip where the diving was all about action, not so much coral, more rocky bottoms, pinnacles and out in the blue. The first thing that struck me was the number of white tip reef sharks, I’d never seen anything like it, just scattered everywhere, as the week went on it seemed an average dive would yield 30 or 40 of them. Of course you don’t come somewhere like here for reef sharks, apparently watching them hunt in packs at night was a real spectacle. Everyone was there for the big guys, Galapagos, silky, scalloped hammerhead, tigers, whale sharks and dolphins.

The first sharky dive was incredible, lingering at 30 – 40m and just watching Galapagos sharks swim round in circles was a delight. Although being quite large and intimidating, some 3 metres and stocky, I began getting closer and closer as I saw other cameramen doing just that, they didn’t seem to be phased by it.

Over the week we saw 2 or 3 whale sharks, a very welcome addition to the log book sightings. With so much going on in the depths here it’s easy to forget to look up, as big as they are they are good at slipping by in your blind spot. Another common way to end the dive would be with silky sharks, very inquisitive and bold, they will come and circle very close to inspect what you are. These guys are known to bump into camera ports during their probing and are always fun to have around during a safety stop.

Another big hitter here is the wall of hammers, a sight that can only be seen at at handful of locations worldwide. An event that never really gets old or boring, I don’t think we had the biggest number but a couple dozen at least. Other spots with hammers, the key was to get low on the sand and try and produce as fewer bubbles as possible, they are very difficult to get close to and take some extra effort. This is where I tried a tip given by another guest in which you look away with the camera until they become confident to come closer and then you quickly turn and shoot. The results came back inconclusive !

The diving here was quite samey, the norm would be to go deep, find a rock to cling to and patiently observe. Usually as a diver I like to be moving but many of these sites are cleaning stations so you have to be low to not scare off the wildlife. Gloves are recommended I chose not to use gloves but soon realised the little crabs that live in the pores of the rocks will continually come and give you a nip. The other hazard is the notorious ‘Cocos Tattoo’, urchins, there are LOTS, impaling yourself on one of these or even a slight touch will give you a sharp sting and a dark blue black stain for the next few days.

Over the course of the week I commonly saw many of the sharks listed, rays, frogfish, huge schools of jacks, very big tuna, small pods of dolphins and more. The top dive sites included Alcyone, Dirty Rock and Manuelita.

Highlights

The whole trip for me was one big highlight, what I seem to remember most vividly was the 2 brief sightings of tiger sharks and a bait ball. I was disappointed I didn’t get to see one of the big boys up close or for more than a few seconds.

The bait ball was my greatest memory, it was towards the end of the dive and the sound of dolphins began to echo around, one of my favourite sounds. They were out in the blue so we peeled off away from the pinnacles to end the dive with them, as we got closer we realised we had stumbled across a bait ball mid feast! Dolphins and silky sharks were frantically chasing around the huge school of small fish, darting in all directions. We all watched in awe, soon some tuna turned up and joined in, great big powerful fish propelling themselves like rockets trying to get a feed. The action was sensational, a natural marvel, I didn’t want to surface. As we were encouraged to end the dive I was the last but one to get back on the boat, never again, after waiting a couple of minutes for the last guest to come up, only to hear I’d missed a Marlin come along and get involved in the frenzy.

A real testament

Another thing I’ve always remembered is that although I thought this was an amazing 8 days diving, the old veteran actually DISAGREED… He told me that week had ranked in the bottom 5 of his 23 or so trips, all I could try and do is imagine what his top 5 were like. If I didn’t see Cocos best then it must be something very very special, for that reason I will return one day without doubt.

Editing Underwater Photos – How 5 Minutes In Lightroom Can Make Yours Worth Showing Off

by morgansoceanimages May 10, 2020

Galapagos and Why it’s a Divers Must

It wasn’t until recent years that the Galapagos Islands were really put on the map as a world class diving destination. Nowadays, thanks to the world renowned and the very popular BBC series of ‘Blue Planet’ and later ‘Galapagos’, awareness and appreciation of this archipelago was delivered to the masses. Ever since listening to Sir…

by morgansoceanimages January 23, 2020March 22, 2020

Manado Muck Diving – It’s Not All About Lembeh

Many divers out there may be familiar with Manado, north Sulawesi’s capital, as the gateway to the world famous Lembeh strait. While Lembeh is world renowned and often referred to as the ‘macro capital’ or the ‘mecca of muck diving’, nobody tends to talk about what’s happening on the opposite side of north Sulawesi. A…

by morgansoceanimages January 17, 2020March 22, 2020

One On One Encounter With A Giant — Morgan’s Ocean Images

One of the things I love most about scuba diving is the opportunity to interact with animals that show signs of intelligence and curiosity. Some special encounters leave me wondering what they are thinking, why are they reacting the way they are, what are they gaining from this social behaviour. In 2018 I had my […]
One On One Encounter With A Giant — Morgan’s Ocean Images

One On One Encounter With A Giant

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In 2018 I had my favourite ever one to one with a colossal whale shark. A huge but harmless creature that lives a peaceful life, slowly cruising and filter feeding across the vast ocean. Ever since my dive master training in Mozambique I’ve had huge adoration for these gentle giants, seeing them regularly while on ocean safaris was a privilege. However, there is a big difference between seeing them and ‘seeing them’, having a true interaction, 2 of natures very different creations trying to comprehend the other.

Alone in the Blue

That is exactly what happened in Galapagos not so long ago. I had found myself diving solo towards the end of the dive (not recommended), it was around the 50 minute mark so I knew the group would be on the way up anyway if not already. It was common to end dives ‘in the blue’ here, meaning away from the rocks or any sign of the bottom, just water in every direction.

As I ascended to 5 metres to make a safety stop I couldn’t see a single thing in sight, just 20 metres or so visibility. I tend to have some minor concerns when I’m completely alone in the blue, on top of the typical concerns of equipment and air supply. You can’t help but feel more vulnerable, the term ‘strength in numbers’ comes to the forefront of your mind and you begin to wish you had at least a buddy in the vicinity. After all this was the Galapagos, known for an abundance of wildlife, who knows what else could be drifting through the water column at this particular moment.

To keep an eye out for anything in the water I tend to rotate in these situations, covering my back as best as possible. After a minute or 2 I just accepted I was alone and would have to surface soon. I spent a few extra seconds looking in one direction trying to make out some sort of dark shape before it seemingly disappeared from view. As I turned a few degrees in my rotation strategy, nearly completing 180 degrees, I let out a huge gasp, I’d been ambushed by a gigantic whale shark of all things. It was coming straight at me head on, showing no signs of manoeuvring around me, did it think I was a huge bit of plankton? Could it even see me? I could already make out it’s beautiful bespoke pattern of white lines and dots, such an attractive specimen, it was big too, I guessed at 10-12 metres from the size of its head.

Making Friends

It felt like being on a collision course with a train, as shocked as I was I had to remove myself from it’s chosen path, although stubbornly refusing not to swim either side of me, it was moving very slowly which allowed me to quickly fin to one side. Anyone that has dived or snorkelled with these mesmerising gargantuans will know it is difficult to view them head on as they will avoid this in most situations by changing direction. As it drew closer it slowed down completely, almost stopping dead in the water, it seemed as if time itself had stopped. In that moment I looked into it’s comparatively small eye (compare to it’s body), it moved it’s eye to focus back at me, for those few seconds it was as if we were communicating with eye contact. It was just me and the largest fish in the ocean, visibly checking each other out, wondering what the other was thinking, I remember a real sense of mutual respect, as if it was accepting me as a ocean dweller. I’m sure I took more from this moment than him/her, whale sharks have rather small brains in relation to their size, but who knows.

I was close enough to touch it and managed to get a super wide angle shot of it’s whole body. There was something about being alone with it that made it as special as it was, maybe it wouldn’t have approached a group and changed course. It believe it certainly wouldn’t have come to a halt to share a glance with me unless I was alone, it just felt as if it chose to make that interaction happen, we don’t give animals enough credit for this.

After getting a few photos it slowly continued on its journey and I watched as its huge blue dotted tale vanished into the big wide ocean. I got picked up by the boat and joined the rest of the guests. I mentioned it to a few guests but didn’t make a big deal out of it at the time, it felt like a little secret between me and my big blue friend.

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How to snorkel with a crocodile and live to tell the tale

Okay, maybe no need for such a dramatic title but it was certainly not for the faint-hearted and something I will remember for the rest of my life. During a liveaboard in Cuba, I was able to float nose to nose with El Nino the American crocodile, something I never thought I’d do. As an…

by morgansoceanimages January 14, 2020January 14, 2020

Bunaken Marine Park – Turtle Haven

In 2019, I was fortunate enough to spend a good length of time in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi. During my stay I was privileged enough to visit the amazing Bunaken Marine Park dozens of times. I remember before deciding to visit North Sulawesi, the only time I had heard or seen the word…

by morgansoceanimages January 9, 2020January 10, 2020

Intro to Blackwater diving and photography

So, you may or may not know what blackwater diving is, to many, it sounds just like a regular nightdive, it’s dark (black), and you’re in the water, right? Wrong, it is an entirely different way to dive, personally I feel it is more exciting and thrilling than any other dive. Although I had known…

by morgansoceanimages January 7, 2020January 7, 2020

Galapagos and Why it’s a Divers Must

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It wasn’t until recent years that the Galapagos Islands were really put on the map as a world class diving destination. Nowadays, thanks to the world renowned and the very popular BBC series of ‘Blue Planet’ and later ‘Galapagos‘, awareness and appreciation of this archipelago was delivered to the masses. Ever since listening to Sir David Attenborough describing the stunning location and it’s magnificent abundance of life, it shot straight to the top of my diving wish list.

How could it not? With the BBC showing scenes of walls of hammerheads, marine iguanas, huge bait balls and so on, I knew I had to visit what looked like one of the best kept secrets on earth. It offered so much potential and would be completely different to any other diving trip I had embarked upon. When the opportunity came I could not resist, I always feel like I have to do things when I’m in the right ball park on the globe. In 2018 I was in Central America and started playing with the idea, after lots of time online I knew in myself that there was no way I could return to the UK without going. I managed to find a discounted liveaboard trip on the right dates and that was that, click, BOOKED..

Getting there

As far as destinations go, this isn’t one of easiest. Depending on where you’re coming from it may take a number of flights as you need at least one to Ecuador and then another to the Islands themselves. Either way, in my opinion it is totally worth it, even if I wasn’t able to cutout a long flight departing from the UK. Once you arrive you will know that it was all worth while, the islands have a real sense of uniqueness, as if you could be on another planet. I spent a couple days on the island before boarding my new home for 7 days of diving, it was easy to see why this was also very popular for land tourism as well as diving. I plan on writing about this in a future blog.

All Aboard!

After a couple days exploring the island of Santa Cruz it was time for the main event, I was about to sail out to some of the sites where the BBC filming had taken place. I was ecstatic at the thought of seeing these same scenes unravelling in front my eyes and not though a TV screen. I was mostly excited for Wolf Island and Darwin’s Arch, my prior research had confirmed these were the 2 most thrilling dives, where the concentration of whale sharks and hammerheads were. I would recommend only booking a liveaboard that will reach these islands, they are further north and so many do not visit here even though they are considered the best of the Galapagos. A true trip to the Galapagos should not miss these, for most visitors it is a once in a lifetime trip so why regret not seeing the best of the best.

Bucket List Ticks

This place makes it easy to tick off dive related bucket list items, just stepping foot here is already a big fat tick. I had so many first encounters here I began to lose track, mine included snorkelling with a humpback whale(with dolphins joining in!), tracking down and photographing marine iguanas, taking in the spectacle of playful sea lions, finally seeing a mola mola and more. Enjoying a hot tub after a dive with the untouched islands as a backdrop was also something special. I had my favourite ever encounter with a whale shark here, it eclipsed anything before, mostly because it was a true one to one, a truly humbling experience as we looked into each others eyes with nothing else in sight.

Guaranteed Action? Whale shark highway

Every other liveaboard I’ve been on, the briefings were always conservative, using phrases like “if we see….”, “hopefully we will see” or “if we’re lucky we might see”. Not here, the dives at Darwin’s Arch were as if everything there was on cue, every dive was spectacular. I was there in September which is considered more whale shark season, they got that right. During the briefing the dive guide used the phrase “when we see”, I noticed this instantly and can only assume they really are as close as guaranteed here as they can be. After hearing this I was confident that the seals and marine iguanas were also included in this assured sightings line up.

Highlights Video

The first dive at Darwin there’s so much to take in, although the dive is based around whale sharks there is so much more going on. A constant aquarium of hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, turtles and many colourful fish all goes seemingly unnoticed as the majority of divers look out to the drop off for passing giants. The idea here is to stay low so the huge whale sharks don’t see the group and divert off route.

Patiently waiting, after not long at all, a shape begins to emerge, then…Bang bang bang, the guide is hitting his tank to alert everyone now is the time. It’s then a bit of a race at an upwards diagonal angle to get close enough to see it in all it’s glory, while keeping distance being respectful of it’s space. They have BIG whale sharks here, I’d seen many small ones snorkelling and a couple mid sized on scuba but not like this, the guide estimated some to be 12 metres or more. The astounding animal would then continue it’s journey and we would wait for another to pass by. This was essentially the dive plan for the hour and rightly so, some dives here we saw upwards of 6 different individuals. The other sharks, rays, turtles were just a glorious sideshow to take in while waiting. Even if there were no whale sharks here it would be an amazing site, I spent a lot of time trying to get close to hammerheads for a photo, they are definitely one of the more timid species.

Sea lions and Marine Iguanas

After all the excitement of the whale sharks we still had 2 more events in store, meeting the iguanas and sea lions. With the iguanas, I got the impression timing was key to seeing them in the water and if we didn’t get it right they would already be up on the rocks taking in the sun. This was like an Easter egg hunt, we all got into a shallow rocky bay and then were free to set off in search of one of these peculiar creatures. Focusing so much on searching made it easy to turn into a solo diver, there was no set path or particular area you would find your prize. After 15 minutes or so I had found only rocks and fish, interesting but not what I was there for. A few more minutes passed, popping my head up to see if I could see any surface swimmers, I did set off in the direction of one or two but nothing came of it. Then a glimpse of one munching on some algae, unfortunately a buddy pair had already began taking pictures and observing. I carried on searching until there it was, I spotted one swim down and clamp itself onto a algae covered rock. Fascinated, I watched as it sat there and ate, looking up at me wondering what I was so interested in. After eating it swam up to the surface and headed over to land. I managed to find and shoot a couple more before they all started to head away from the water, watching them eat, swim and climb was a lot of fun.

The seal lions were also very entertaining, twisting and turning in every direction before darting off like a rocket. I’d never dived with sea lions or seals before and what better place to do it than here. They really put on a show and are such curious and playful animals. I think we only had 1 dive with them but I could have repeated it a few times with no complaints.

I cannot recommend this place highly enough, I plan to one day have visited Socorro and Malpelo to make a comparison. Cocos Island was also stunning and will feature in a blog in the near future. I just hope the increased tourism of the Galapagos is controlled and doesn’t become detrimental to one of earth’s most unique destinations.

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Diving in North Sulawesi

Welcome all to my first blog, I hope to provide some useful information and insight on any topics, experiences, or dive destinations I deem worthy. I hope it may be of use to anyone reading or at the very least an interesting read, we shall see! For the second half of 2019 I was fortunate…

by morgansoceanimages January 4, 2020January 13, 2020