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The
Dive Quest trip to Sipadan in May was called many things:
Sipadan II; a trip to paradise; the trip of a thousand dives
and, of course, the Martin Edge Photo trip
For
me Sipadan is the underwater photographers' ultimate dive
site. It offers sun, clear water (most of the time) and more
photogenic subjects than you can take in a month let alone
eleven days.
What
makes Sipadan so special for photographers is that you can
plan your photo shoot before you go (using the information
in Mike Wong's book), knowing that once you are there you
can see and plan the subjects day by day and still be gob-smacked
by the wonderful surprises the island reveals on each dive.
Artistic
lighting
Sun
rise and sun set are very special times, with lighting to
satisfy even the most artistic photographer - colours, sun's
rays, dappled light, Snell's window. All you have to do is
add the subject.
Going
to Sipadan with a big group -there were 31 of us - brought
added benefits. Not just the complementary meals and the extra
free day's diving.
The
interchange between the group was brilliant. Help was always
at hand whether it was a photographic question, a flood, a
breakage or an upset tummy. Yes, we even had our own travelling
doctor - Liz Wood-Walker - and though she was 'off duty' a
number of the group appreciated the medication she provided.
Our
other hero was Andy Hurst, he of flexible arm fame. He 'rescued'
two flooded Nik V's during our stay and completely stripped,
cleaned and reassembled a 15 mm Nikonos tens which, fortunately,
the photographer was then able to continue using for the rest
of the trip on his spare Nik III body.
On-site
asset
Having
an on-site film processing laboratory was a big plus as minor
equipment problems could be evaluated by getting a film developed.
It
also helped to see some of the early results and retake the
shots which didn't work or you felt could be improved.
Another
major benefit of a large group was the exchange of information
on the various dive sites and subjects.
Throughout
the stay, members of the group would come back from a dive
and tell us about the subjects which they had found and how
we could also find them. This was particularly useful along
the drop-off because it was accessible all day and a very
easy repeat dive.
'Macro
City'
One
such site was named 'Macro City' because of its profusion
of macro subjects: gobys, crabs, shrimps, small fans, nudibranches,
coral (patterns), featherstars, etc. It also had a cave which
provided an extremely creative setting to allow experimentation
with lighting and diferent subject setups.
Diving
procedures were flexible because all the group had the required
level of experience. It seems they do not take novices on
the island. However, once the dive leader - ours was called
'Arnie' bless him - had checked you out, you could dive as
you liked within the normal rules. As it turned out, we developed
a new method of diving which is particularly suited to underwater
photographers who, it has been said, occasionally indulge
in solo diving.
Group
diving
We
called it Group Diving. It's simple - you just dive in a group
with a selection of nearby buddies, depending upon how many
there are in the water and, of course, how near they are in
case you need help or advice or even a model for a particular
shot.
It
works with two or more, with eight being the ideal number
on a large reef. This method enabled some to complete 50 dives
in the eleven days we were there! The positive points of the
trip are almost too many to mention without nan-ting names.
The
organisation by Dive Quest was the best I have experienced
in my 30 something years of diving, including ten years as
our club expeditions officer.
Useful
tuition
The
photo tuition, both above and below the water, was excellent
and judging by the interest in Sipadan Ill I am not the only
person who thinks this.
The
film development facility was an asset. It helped in the many
ways mentioned earlier.
I enjoyed the group, the help, the fun, the interchange of
ideas and the chatter.
The
accommodation was clean and well appointed. The food was plentiful
and good, so were the evening cocktails.
Magical
mornings
I
also loved the early morning dives even though I had to serve
my buddy tea in bed to get him up at 5.30am!
Underwater,
the shoals of barracuda, jacks, fusiliers and bumphead parrot
fish seemed to be even bigger than last year.
The
smaller shoals of bat fish, grunts and even a couple of manta
rays added to the profusion of turtles, reef fish and white
tip sharks that you can see on every dive. I even bumped into
a large jellyfish which was worth 36 shots!
The
negatives were the sand-flies and the tiny mosquitoes which
loved to bite at dawn and dusk. The sandy floor in the dive
centre was also a problem. It seemed to pervade every orifice
- human, camera and diving equipment.
Top
tips
If
I were asked for some basic advice before a visit to Sipadan
I would offer the following:
1.
Go with a group - the bigger the better.
2.
Take lots of film - minimum 45 rolls of 36 for ten days.
3.
Double check all equipment - and take spares!
4.
Take two different mosquito sprays.
5.
Take at least one day off coming home - in Kuala Lumpar or
Singapore
6.
Take your camera gear into the cabin on all your flights.
7.
Plan, plan and plan - the first three days are the worstl
After
that it's PARADISE all the way.
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