Space Available Lembeh Strait July 2024

Space Available Lembeh Strait Photo Workshop July 2024

For those who have been waiting for a space on our 2024 Lembeh Strait Photo Workshop, we have one room that has become available. This event is from 20-27 July at NAD Lembeh Resort and is our flagship event every year. The Lembeh Strait is one of the top diving areas in the world and a fantastic destination to learn more about underwater photography.

Our photo workshop consists of 7 nights and 17 dives with a maximum of 2 divers per dive guide. The dive guides at NAD Lembeh are known as the best at what they do: finding the most sought after subjects in the Strait. And what a list of subjects can we find! Wonderpus, mimic octopus, blue rings, coconut octopus, frogfish, seahorses, pygmies, flamboyant cuttlefish, bumblebee shrimp and so much more. Lembeh truly is the top destination for macro photography.

Our Lembeh Strait Photo Workshop

Our workshop is a fun and informal affair. Participants range from brand new photographers to seasoned veterans who have participated in many of our workshops over the years. A typical day begins with breakfast before heading out for two dives on the comfortable dive boats. Everyone returns to the resort for lunch which is followed by a short presentation about underwater photography. A third dive typically departs around 2pm and upon return we present tips and tricks on post processing. The 5pm to 7pm hours are also the time for one to one work between the instructors and participants for questions or photo critiquing. We find this is the best way for people to get the most out of the workshop.

We currently have one poolside room available at USD $2288 per person based on twin/double occupancy. If you would like to extend your time before or after the workshop this is also available. We are hosting a “Photo Fun Week” which takes place over the 5 days before the workshop starting on the 15th of July. If you would like to read more about this years workshop please visit our dedicated 2024 Photo Workshop page or send us an email.

Amed – Bali Diving

Amed – Bali Diving

Amed is a quant town along the North East coast of Bali. It is perfectly situated as a home base for divers interested in exploring the rich underwater flora and fauna of the area. The North East coast is the most famous area of Bali for diving and boasts many popular dive sites. Although many folks refer to Tulamben as the place to be, the neighboring town of Amed offers more highlights for most visitors.

Located approximately two and half hours from Denpasar, Amed is nestled along the coast of the extinct Seraya Volcano. The area is ringed by black sand beaches and marks the easternmost point of the island. This cosmopolitan village is spread out along the coast with most of the attractions on the beachfront. What was once a sleepy town has boomed in recent times with a large variety of new restaurants and cafes opening. This means Amed is a great place to stay for those who enjoy a nice meal along with their diving.

Amed – Bali Diving

Of course there is plenty of diving in Amed as well. Just like Tulamben, Amed offers a variety of wide angle and macro style sites. The black sand that makes Tulamben such a world class area extends both up and down the coast. Sites such as Cafe Garam and Melasti Amed are top sites for critter hunters. Melasti is perhaps the best site in Bali for finding a variety of octopus including long arms, mimics, coconuts and wonderpus. Other great finds include harlequin shrimp, Shaun the Sheep nudis, frogfish and more. These sites also tend to have less divers than are found in the sites around Tulamben.

For those interested in things bigger than their thumb, Amed also boasts some great reefs.These include both natural reefs as well as long term man made structures and a wreck. Pyramids is a favourite site for many people as it has a series of structures on the bottom that have attracted a large variety of fish and coral. This site is also one of the best to encounter friendly turtles on the reef. Further along the coast lies a small coastal ship called the Japanese Wreck. This small and shallow wreck marks the entry point of healthy reefs in the surrounding areas with both hard and soft corals which are great for both diving and snorkeling.

Amed Places to Stay

One of the biggest attractions of Amed is the variety of accommodation in the area. From high end private villas to personable and comfortable guest houses there is something for every budget in Amed. Coupled with the mix of both local and international style restaurants, this small town in NE Bali is a top class dive destination. The best thing is, the dive site in Tulamben are only 15 minutes away so divers get the best of both areas. If you would like to know more about staying and diving in Amed please contact us for more information about your private dive adventure in Bali.

Porcupinefish – Animal Spotlight

Porcupinefish – Animal Spotlight

Pufferfish are a well known family of ocean dwellers. These uniquely shaped fish come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colours. They are from the Tetraodotformes order which includes closely related families such as triggerfish, filefish, boxfish, and even mola. However, the coolest looking of all surely is the porcupinefish.

Porcupinefish are the true stars of this family with their oversized heads and giant bulbous eyes. Their distinct look makes them easy to distinguish when encountering one in the water. They are mainly found in inshore tropical and temperate waters but appear in pelagic water as well. In Indonesia we encounter them in a variety of environments with tropical reefs and mucky environments both being home to these comical characters.

When encountering porcupine fish underwater, it’s surprising to see them out in the open, far away from cover. They are often found swimming in the water column with nary a thought of danger. They can be quite curious toward divers and don’t run for cover like most fish normally do. This allows photographers to get up close and personal with these animated fish. The reason for their bold disposition is due to two defensive capabilities that make them undesirable to predators. One defense is their ability to balloon to a large size which makes their skin spikes stick straight up. This makes it hard for predators to bite into them. Their other defensive mechanism is their toxicity, many of their organs contain a powerful tetrodotoxin. This toxin acts as a deterrent for other fish to stay away.

Porcupinefish are a favorite subject for photographers as their animated faces work well on both photo and video. However, it’s important to be a responsible diver and not stress these animals into blowing themselves up. This behavior is not good for the health of the fish. If you would like to encounter one of these charismatic fish, Bali is one of the best places to do so. We offer custom diving trips in Bali, why not join one and allow our professional guides to introduce you to our wonderful home.

Lembeh Creatures

Lembeh Creatures

We recently hosted our 10th Anniversary Photo Workshop at NAD Lembeh Resort back in July. Prior to the event we were there for the “Photo Fun Week” where we also jumped in the water with our cameras. During the workshop we don’t dive with cameras and the Fun Week allows us to see what critters are hanging out before the workshop starts. This year we enjoyed four days worth of diving to photograph the always inspiring wildlife in Lembeh.

With the great guides of NAD on hand we were able to photograph a long list of great critters. We have selected a few highlight shots to share some of the more interesting animals that we found.

Coconut Octopus – Lembeh Creatures

One of the highlights of the trip to Lembeh was a plethora of cooperative coconut octopus. The best site for these entertaining cephalopods was Air Bajo. There were 3 or 4 coconut octopus in the area inhabiting a variety of different homes. Mainly they were at home in a variety of shells as opposed to coconuts. All of them were quite large and were perfect subjects for close focus wide angle work. However, as I only had a 105mm lens it was a little more difficult to take a pleasing photo. Using such a long lens required the camera to be a long way from the octopus itself. This was good in a way as the octopus wasn’t bothered by my presence.

Yellow Goby

Little yellow gobies are one of the highlights of any visit to Lembeh. These tiny fish inhabit a variety of different homes. Popular spots include bottles, coconuts, wood, or any other bit of detritus on the bottom of a sandy site. Although they may not be the most technical subject to shoot, the shenanigans they get up to is always worth the effort. There may not be a more frustrating subject than a goby that keeps hiding on the wrong side of a bottle!

Bearded Goby – Lembeh Creatures

One of the most difficult critters to shoot. These small gobies live inside hard coral and not just any hard coral. Bearded gobies live within branching coral which is both dense and shiny! Anyone who has spotted one of these little fish will understand the frustration it takes to photograph as it flies all over the coral! Thankfully this fish was a relaxed one and allowed me to get a few shots in.

Velvet Ghost Pipefish

One of the most unique finds was a beautiful velvet ghost pipefish on the second dive of the week. This unique looking fish is not found very often and is wonderful to see. The bright colours are so different from other ghost pipefish so it really stands out. Although not a technical photograph to take, I used an open f-stop of f5.6 in order to separate the fish from the background.

These are just a sampling of the photographs and creatures that we found in Lembeh in 2023. Other Lembeh creature highlights include blue ring octopus, mimics, wonderpus, hairy frogs, harlequin shrimp, sea horses and so much more! We will be heading back to NAD Lembeh in 2024 for our annual Photo Fun Week and Photo Workshop. If you are interested in joining us we do have a few spaces left, feel free to contact us.

Gobies – Animal Encounters

Gobies – Animal Encounters

Often overlooked but never far from site, gobies are one of the most common residents on a coral reef. In fact, gobies are the largest family of fish with over 2000 species worldwide. Found in all sorts of environment, including brackish and fresh water, it’s almost a guarantee to find a goby when diving in Indonesia.

In Bali we dive in a variety of environments, from coral reefs to black sand sites. All of these sites offer exciting encounters for the goby lover. These tiny fish range in size from a mere 1 cm to over 30 cm in length. They mainly spend their lives on the bottom or perched on corals or other substrate. Their diet mainly consists of planktonic and other invertebrates but some larger species do eat other fish. They can live anywhere from one to ten years in ideal circumstances.

Gobies in Indonesia

Indonesia is home to hundreds of species of goby. Perhaps the most well known gobies are ones who live in a symbiotic relationship with blind shrimp. These bottom dwelling fish live a luxurious life inside a den that the shrimp constantly cleans. The goby offers guard dog protection for the shrimp in return for this service. The variety of colors that can be found of gobies and shrimp are incredible. Although often overlooked by divers, observing the behavior of these intriguing pairs is often the highlight of a dive.

Dwarf gobies can be found on many structures on a dive site. Seafans, sea pens, soft corals, and tunicates are all common hosts to gobies. Keen eyed photographers can create wonderful photographs with the contrasting colors of a goby on its host. Many compositional opportunities can arise from dwarf gobies as their choice of home is often colorful.

Fascinating Gobies

One of the more fascinating species of goby is the “neon goby” and its closely related cousins. These Atlantic gobies are cleaners and inhabit a role similar to the familiar cleaner wrasse. This means they spend their life picking parasites off the skin of other ocean inhabitants. This includes large predatory fish such as barracuda and sharks who could swallow the goby without a second thought. These industrial little fish are an important cog in the ecosystem.

For photographers, capturing images of gobies is not an easy task. They are shy creatures and typically don’t allow divers to approach too closely. Their choice of habitat also means they have plenty of places to hide. They key for a photographer is approach slowly and cautiously. Rushing in to take a photo rarely results in a good capture. Instead, photographers should move by improvising a game of “stop and go”. Stop moving if the animal begins to show signs of nervousness, then move again once the animal calms down. Another important consideration is not to flip the camera toward the fish when looking at the photos or changing settings. It’s always best to back away, make the changes necessary for strobe position or settings, and then approach again. This will result in a subject which is less nervous and skittish.

Diving in Bali

In Bali we have a huge variety of gobies. The black sand sites of the Tulamben and Amed areas are especially productive for goby enthusiasts. If you enjoy sighting or photographing gobies then Bali is the place for you. Our dive team are excellent spotters and know the habitat of different species well. They also understand how to move when near shy critters. If you would like to explore the waters of Bali then please Contact Us today and we will discuss the perfect Bali Dive Safari to suit your needs.

Frogfish – Creature Feature

There is truth behind the idea that something can be so ugly it’s cute. One animal that certainly fits this philosophy is the humble frogfish. Frogfish are a favorite encounter amongst divers whenever encountered. For a fish that is known for blending in and rarely moving, they have become a much sought after critter for divers. In fact, the frogfish is one of the most requested critter encounters our guides receive.

A Charismatic Critter?

Frogfish are a short and squat bottom dwelling fish that have perfected the art of camouflage. They can be found throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world. Ranging in size from 2.5 cm to over 30cm, they come in a variety of size and shapes. Typically the female is much larger than the male and she will produce eggs which the male fertilizes after. The male must do this quickly or he risks being eaten by the large female.

As ambush predators, frogfish rely on their ability to blend in with their surroundings. With an ability to remain motionless for hours on end, frogfish have perfected this strategy. They even have the ability to change colour to blend in with their surroundings. Unlike a chameleon, it takes days or weeks for them to change. Once they have done so, they will likely remain in the same area for a long time. It’s not only their colour that helps them hide. Frogfish often have warts, lumps or hair that helps as well.

The Hairy Frogfish

One of the most interesting species of frogfish is the hairy frogfish. There are two species which are often called hairy: Antennarius striatus and Antennarius hispidus (the shaggy frogfish). These two have longer appendages protruding from their skin which look similar to hair. Each of these species are found in a variety of colors including a dramatic looking black colouration.

Photographing Frogfish

In Bali, we have a large variety of frogfish throughout the dive sites of the island. From the coral reefs of Nusa Penida to the black sand sites of Tulamben, they are plentiful. Of course the different habitats are normally home to different species. Giant frogfish are found on both coral and sand sites, whereas some of the more cryptic species are specialized. Particular sites that are good for encounters include Secret Bay, Melasti, and the pier at Candidasa. Ranging in size from tiny juveniles to football sized, it’s always difficult to choose the best lens as you never know what size fish may appear.

Photographing these charismatic fish is a good challenge. They are not technically difficult to shoot, as they mainly sit in one place. However, it can be a challenge for to photograph one in a way that it stands out from the background. This is where lighting comes into play. A variety of methods can be used to photograph them: from using a snoot, shooting super macro or even with a wide angle set up. There are many techniques to experiment with other than the standard macro portrait photo. Check out this short tutorial on different lighting techniques for shooting underwater.