Sunny Skies and Strange Life in the Maluku Sea

Michael Emerson · Issue 48, May/Jun 2009 · pp. 56–59

Products mentioned: Nikon D700, Subal ND700 housing, Nikkor 14mm lens, Nikkor 60mm lens, Nikkor 105mm lens, Inon Z220 strobe, Inon Z240 strobe, Macromate wet diopter, Nikon D200

My teenage son, Jonathan, and I left Minneapolis on Thursday evening and finally touched down in the Ambon, Indonesia airport at lunch time on Sunday. We were surprised by an airport that was modern and looked more like one that you might find in Hawaii rather than on a remote island in Indonesia. While we were tired and jetlagged, we were also ready to put our gear together and get ready to hit the water. Our equipment for the week would be a Nikon D700 with a brand new Subal ND 700 housing that arrived just a week before we boarded the plane for Indonesia. I have been using a Nikon D200 for three years before it met a watery death in the waters of Komodo last August. I share ownership of the equipment with a doctor, Bill Harb, whom I met three years ago on the Spirit of the Solomons liveaboard. Our sharing arrangement allows both of us access to great equipment for our once or twice a …