In around 6 weeks, I’ll be jumping on a plane to Bali.  I can’t wait!

Bali is an easy destination for those of us living in Perth – cheap flights, just a 3.5 hour plane trip and warm water with abundant marine life make it an obvious choice for a quick (or long) dive trip.

I’ve dived the Tulamben region of Bali many times although it has been a couple of years since my last visit.  This time will be a 4-night stopover before jumping on a boat for a week-long liveaboard trip to Komodo.

Tulamben is located on the north eastern side of Bali.  It’s a bit of a trek from the airport – a 3+ hour drive – but once there, you are away from the typical touristy Bali and in a sleepy fishing village.  There’s not much in Tulamben except for dive resorts and a couple of restaurants and shops.  The main diving attraction is the USAT Liberty wreck which slipped off the shore and down the sea slope back in the 1960’s.

The first time I went to Tulamben, I was amazed at what I was seeing.  So many amazing critters, I was so overwhelmed I didn’t know where to point my camera.  I came back with thousands of shots, and while I got a few that I liked, overall I was disappointed.  I had literally taken a shot of everything that had been pointed out to me by the sharp-eyed guides.  I’d take a few shots before moving to the next weird and wonderful subject.  I didn’t take the time to slow down, think about the shot and spend the time perfecting it.

My approach has now changed a lot and it’s not uncommon for me to spend a whole dive with one subject to get the exact shot I’m after.  This change came about after an underwater photography workshop in Tulamben with Shannon Conway in 2011.  After a couple of days in the water, I sat down with him to review my images.  One shot I showed him was a hingebeak shrimp.  The eye was sharp with a nice pink background but it wasn’t anything special.  Shannon challenged me to get closer, and get a face-on shot with just the eyes in focus.  Challenge accepted!

Armed with my 105mm macro lens and his close-up lens screwed onto the front, I did 6 dives with a focus on these small hingebeak shrimps until I got the shot.  I would spend a lot of time patiently and slowly moving closer and closer to the shrimp and then making minor adjustments to get the right angle and composition.  It was hard work but I knew the moment I pressed the shutter button that I had gotten the shot I was after.  I think I hissed YES into my reg!

I have a bit of an emotional attachment to the resulting image, knowing how much effort I put into achieving it.  I’m hoping to create a few more keeper images come July.