At the beginning of July, I spent a second week on Alex Mustard´s Photography workshop in the Northern Red Sea.
It was very beneficial that I was able to return to all of the dive sites that I had photographed the week before. This allowed me to pay closer attention to the subjects that I was already expecting, and try out some different settings. I really noticed an improvement in my lighting and composition, and I tried out remote lighting with the Light and Motion video lights for the first time. I also listened to Alex´s presentations and instructions a second time and picked up many more things to look out for and work on that I had not been able to prioritize the week before. I used my Panasonic GX9 with the Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ lens in the Nauticam NA-GX9 housing, and again mostly shot wide-angle with the Wet Wide Lens 1 (WWL-1), and used the Compact Macro Converter 1 (CMC-1) for shooting Macro shots of little Gobies. Most photos were again taken with the Inon S-2000 strobes, but I also shot with ambient light, partly with the Magic filter by Alex Mustard.
While diving 5 different wrecks on the workshop with Alex Mustard, I learned about the importance of depth in photos taken inside a wreck, to remind the viewer that the room shown is underwater. This can be achieved by letting the blue of the water shine through, which is a question of the right exposure, for which specifically the shutter speed is relevant. Another way to create depth is to position remote lights so that a subject that you would like to highlight is set apart from the background.
After my time in Egypt, which was completely focused on underwater photography, I traveled to the Maldives for my first experience in the field of veterinary medicine for marine animals. I have supported the on-site vet in the Marine Turtle Rescue Centre of the Olive Ridley Project for 2 weeks and have learned a lot about turtle conservation, handling, and rehabilitation.
Here you can see Artemis, an Olive Ridley turtle that got entangled in ghost gear and was luckily rescued and treated by the Olive Ridley Project. Nevertheless, his left front flipper had to be amputated, unfortunately. We, therefore, took him for regular swims in the ocean as a means of physiotherapy and to encourage him to try to dive, as he is still suffering from the buoyancy syndrome. That means, that his lung got injured and some air got trapped beneath the roof of his carapace so that he is not yet able to dive again because he is positively buoyant. The air will eventually diffuse though, and he is undergoing a successful rehabilitation. During my time at the Marine Turtle Rescue Center of the Olive Ridley Project, I was able to document Artemis´ improvement in diving attempts and share his story with the public to raise awareness of the threat and consequences of ghost net entanglement for sea turtles. All thanks to the underwater camera equipment provided to me by Reef Photo and Video and my newfound underwater photography skills.
Another task that I was involved in through the Olive Ridley Project was the monitoring of turtle nests that were about to hatch. Very luckily, I was able to document this green turtle hatchling´s first tired glimpse of sunlight, after it had dug itself out of its egg chamber, which lies about 1m deep in the sand. It was a very special moment which I will never forget in my life!
The month of July has been a very special month for me. It started off with amazing dives and learning opportunities in underwater photography in the Red Sea and continued with something that I am very passionate about; sea turtles and the rescue and rehabilitation of marine animals in general. I am happy that I am able to record these incredible experiences through the help of Reef Photo and Video and the photography gear that they have so kindly sponsored me with.
