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I had this great idea! How to get fantastic octopus shots
to order!
I
had already had my diving holiday for this year when I took
a last minute holiday with diving (slightly different!) with
my girlfriend, Nikki, We went to one of my favourite places,
Cyprus, with the intention of having a relaxing time, teaching
Nikki to dive and indulging in a little Underwater Photography
with (post Brighton) no pressure to get results.
The
octopus shot evolved from seeing them caught commercially
on David Attenborough's excellent TV series about the Mediterranean.
I was inspired by the idea that a similar technique might
enable me to photograph them under controlled conditions underwater.
As
any of you who have tried to capture on of these camera shy
creatures on film know, the problems are a) finding one and
b) getting it to perform when you do. The fishermen seemed
to have inadvertently solved both problems. Their method involved
deploying clay pots at intervals along a line on the sea bed.
Mr Octopus then adopts one as home and is retrieved in the
fullness of time with the pot. A small hole in the back of
the pot enables a "prodder" to be inserted and Mr
0 has no option but to vacate.
Anyway,
I thought if it was good enough for the BBC then it was good
enough for me. When I related the plan, however, to Cherry
who runs Cydive, the island's main dive centre, she looked
at me sceptically but, ever helpful, organised the pots from
the local equivalent of a garden centre.
So,
Nikki and I crossed the road to the small harbour opposite
the dive centre kitted up and loaded down with flower pots
much to the amusement of the watching crowds who shouted helpful
comments like, "Look, it's Bill and Ben!"
The
sea bed around Cyprus is littered with Amphorae, oil filled
pots, thrown overboard by superstitious mariners in days gone
by as a gift to the Gods for safe passage. I joked as we entered
the water that we were probably the first people in 2,000
years to have deposited earthenware out there.
We
placed them carefully in likely positions, leaving rocks that
the octopus could drag in to seal the mouth of the jar, a
habit I had observed on previous encounters.
That
evening, pleased with our days work, we ate out at our favourite
watering hole, the Black Horse Taverna in Paphos, where George,
the Cypriot owner (and himself a diver) offered an alternative
method. It was more related to snake charming than our plan,
He
told us how, as a boy in Limassol, he came across a large
Octopus under a pier. Determined to catch it but with no bait
he persuaded his best friend to lend him his white underpants
which he tantalisingly wafted just out of reach in front of
the octopus's lair. Half an hour later patient George was
rewarded as the octopus' curiosity got the better of him,
he left his hidey hole and was duly nabbed.
Unfortunately
for George, he may have caught his supper but he was punished
for playing truant from school and for losing his friends
underpants!
Well,
we checked the pots regularly over the next few days but there
was more chance of Oliver Reed staying sober for a chat show
than of finding an octopus. I decided to concentrate on subjects
that were a bit more readily available as the pots were fast
becoming an embarrassment.
The
rest of the holiday was spent most enjoyably as a routine
established itself, Get up, pick up some bottles from Cydive,
drive down the coast and have a dive, do some sunbathing?
It's a tough job but someone's got to do it!
So,
did we get to see an Octopus? Apart from the ones on the plate
at George's Restaurant, sadly not. Of the six pots we put
out, three were nicked, probably by local snorkelers who now
have them in pride of place on their mantelpieces mistaken
for authentic Roman Amphorae. Either that or the octopus liked
them so much it walked off with them!
Still,
we had a great holiday, Nikki got her Sports Diver and I was
very happy with the pictures that I did get. If any of you
readers visit Cyprus, find one of the remaining three pots
and there's a crafty looking octopus in it, please send me
a shot! |
