My Shot

Alex Tyrrel · Issue 97, Jul/Aug 2017 · pp. 58–59

Products mentioned: Nikon D500, Subal ND500, i-TURTLE XS strobe trigger, Inon Z240 strobes, Weefine Solar Flare

My Shot by Alex Tyrell Blackwater diving started in Hawaii, diving at night in thousands of feet of water in the hope of seeing the weird and wonderful creatures that make the vertical migration from the abyss. Ever since seeing Joshua Lambus’ incredible blackwater shots from the waters off Kona, I had wanted to try this style of diving. However, where I live, on an island in the Gulf of Thailand, we do not get deep water that is the typical environment for blackwater diving. Instead of adopting the normal method of drifting in open water, I tested things out by swimming off the standard dives sites, settled in 18-20m of water and used a high- powered 10,000 Lumen Weefine Solar Flare light to attract the critters. This worked, with me encountering many different creatures - new species of shrimps, larval Mantis Shrimps, juvenile fish, brightly coloured squid and strange jellyfish all mad…