News
Underwater wildlife video and editing courses in Cornwall
All images in this article are taken from video frames.
After an introductory lecture, we headed for Mylor in Cornwall to join Mark Milburn of Atlantic Scuba to join his dive boat for a few days diving on local reefs and wrecks. We prepared the cameras in the car park and ran through a few final details; how to get close to the animals, composition, and best camera settings. We touched on how to create sequences for the editing but would come back to that later after a few sessions in the water.
It was one of those days where the bright sun was occasionally enveloped in thick sea mist and a chilly breeze lowered the air temperature. But the water was calm and quite warm for the time of year. Quite a few Bull Huss (Great Spotted Dogfish) had been seen on the previous day so we were quite excited to see them should luck be on our side. But this is the sea and there are never any certainties. As we left the harbour, the mist came down permanently and took away the sun, which remained hidden for the rest of the day.
We dropped into the shallow water off a nearby headland into a mixture of rock and kelp and it was here on our first dive we watched large Ballan Wrasse feeding on small crustaceans from under rocky overhangs. I find the Ballan Wrasse to be one of the most friendly fish in our UK waters and with a bit of patience it is always possible to get very close to them. In fact, as long as they don’t think you are a threat, they will get curious as to what you are doing and come close to investigate.
Unlike Wrasse, Spider Crabs are more timid and scuttle away to hide in the kelp.
Later we returned to the harbour for hot drinks and lunch which gave us the perfect opportunity to review and analyse what we had shot and to talk about the importance of diver buoyancy, which is key to being able to hold the camera steady for long smooth shots.
Our next dives were on the Mohegan wreck off the Manacles reef. She was originally built as a mixed passenger liner and animal carrier and went down in 1898 with the loss of 107 lives. Wrecks are tragic in terms of lives lost but finally settle on the sea bed to make robust habitats for many species of marine life.
As we finned past the ship’s boilers we came to the crushed and storm-battered remains of the rest of the ship, where pink sea fans had taken hold and were growing in the rich current. It wasn’t too long before a Ballan Wrasse appeared and began utilising our lights to look for food in the crevices and overhangs.
A curious conger poked its head out from a shallow hidey-hole and a small lobster, startled by our lights, slowly backed away out of sight.
The dive finished with a rare encounter with a very small Monk fish or Angler fish. Believing fully in the effectiveness of its own amazing camouflage, it remained as motionless as a statue, hoping the lights would soon go away and leave it in peace. While it was great to see this wonderful fish, I also felt great sadness in that I hadn’t seen one for many years, and when I finally did, it was so small. I remember with great fondness swimming with these Angler fish off the Devon coast and an average size would be 5-6 foot (1.5-1.8 meters) in length. They are now heavily fished and their tails are often mis-sold as scampi.
The last two days of the course were held in the studio where Tony and Paul edited their clips into short videos. Here we covered all the aspects of video editing like how to produce sequences, apply colour grading, continuity issues and much more. Finally the videos were scripted, narrated and music added. The finished videos are below.
If you would like to know more about future courses go to www.jeffgoodman.co.uk or contact me at jeff@scubaverse.com.
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
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Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
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MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Blogs
Northern Red Sea Reefs and Wrecks Trip Report, Part 3: The Mighty Thistlegorm
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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