BLACKWATER PHOTO GURUS

The blackwater realm is without a substrate or a reef. There is no limit to the ways and angles one can shoot

›#¹µ¸Ø››¬›#›››#›¬›¹#››¬›ß›¹¬››AE#¬›#¹››#¬ª›#››››ß››¬# approaches to how people shoot similar types of animals. Divers have been discovering new things out there – from odd relationships and unusual behaviours to previously uncaptured marine life. The dark ocean depths are more alien than outer space, but blackwater photography is giving us a fascinating glimpse into this otherworldly realm.

I don’t really like going diving at night. After a full day of dives, what I would rather be do is crack open the

›ß¹¬#›—#ae››±#ª›øø±#ª›µß#¸››ß¹#Ъ›º›#Л¬›ª››AE#¬ª›#¹µ› go down, and heading out in the dark and put on a wet wetsuit for the nth time while my non-night diving companions have started to carouse on the liveaboard or are back at the resort. But I absolutely love blackwater diving, and I’d easily give up a moment of relaxation for the chance encounters one gets with the bizarre critters that come up from the deep after dark.

My fascination with blackwater started way back in 1984. My parents had given me a copy of Within a Rainbowed Sea by the photographer Christopher Newbert, and