Malapascua Challenges

Nigel Marsh · Issue 78, May/Jun 2014 · pp. 72–76

Products mentioned: Nikon D90, Ikelite housing, Inon Z240 Strobe, Tokina 10-17mm, 60mm lens

Malapascua is a lovely tropical island located off the top end of Cebu in the Philippines. The island is famous for its thresher sharks, but also offers the underwater photographer a wide range of subjects and challenges. I had wanted to visit Malapascua for almost twenty years, ever since I first heard reports of the thresher sharks. However, I never got around to organising a visit and in a way I am very happy that I delayed my visit for so long as the challenge of photographing these sharks at dawn would have left me very frustrated and disappointed twenty years ago. It is only now that I think the cameras are up to the job with the vast improvements in high ISO settings. For our week at Malapascua we choose Thresher Shark Divers (TSD), an operation that was recommended by a number of people for their professional service and excellent thresher shark dives. TSD operate three tradition…