• Photo by Rantje Allen

  • Photo by William Tan

  • Photo by Rantje Allen

  • Photo by William Tan

  • Photo by Rantje Allen

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Category Archives: Underwater Photography

DIVER Magazine Features Salvador Dali Sponges

DIVER magazine features Salvador Dali sponges and their distinctive swirls in an article by Steve Jones.

Swirled Surfaces

Salvador Dali sponge
One of Gorontalo’s Salvador Dali sponges

One of Gorontalo’s claim to fame is the discovery of Salvador Dali sponges. This morphology of Petrosia lignosa is unique to the northern coastline of Tomini Bay

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, Indonesia. The article found in DIVER magazine explains the discovery. Also, it explains the origin of these bizarre looking sponges. Rantje Allen christened this sponge after the famous Spanish painter. He is the diving pioneer in Gorontalo. The surreal style of Salvador Dali describes the appearance of these giant sponges.

Divers will usually find these sponges below 25 meters. At those depths, they are protected from seasonal high waves and storms. Additionally, they grow off the vertical coral walls in Gorontalo. There, ocean currents bring plankton to them. The article explains how they can break off in storms. When this happens, these ancient giants fall to the ocean bottom. They can no longer feed and soon die, turning to dust in a matter of weeks.

DIVER Magazine Spring 2020

DIVER magazine is the longest established dive magazine in North America. It is published in British Columbia, Canada. Moreover, DIVER magazine is available in print, mobile and on-line editions. This flexibility in format makes the magazine a favorite among divers.

DIVER Magazine cover
DIVER Magazine Spring 2020

Currently, divers are mostly staying at home because of the corona virus (Corvid-19). As a result, DIVER magazine is making its Spring 2020 edition free of charge. Interested divers simply click this link and then access magzter. Then they can open an account and enjoy free access to this edition and others for a seven-day period. What a great idea!

An Award Winning Photographer

This Spring edition of DIVER magazine contains an article on Salvador Dali sponges. Accompanying the article are incredible underwater photographs by Steve Jones. Mr. Jones is an award-winning underwater photographer and journalist. His travel and work spans the globe, including Antarctica.

During his worldwide travels, Mr. Jones visited Gorontalo during wave season. Ocean conditions are challenging during that time of year. However, he left with a sizeable archive of spectacular photos of Gorontalo’s marine environment.

The article also explains conservation efforts of Gorontalo’s marine environment. Specifically, Mr. Jones describes the great care that Olele villagers take of their home reefs. Additionally, the education campaigns that Miguel’s Diving promotes get a shout out.  

After enjoying the article consider becoming a subscriber to DIVER magazine. Then, please make your dive reservations with us to see those Salvador Dali sponges for yourselves!

Heinz Online Magazine Showcases Salvador Dali Sponges

Heinz Online Magazine showcases Salvador Dali sponges of Gorontalo in its sixteenth edition.

Surreal Sponges

One of Gorontalo’s claim to fame is the discovery of Salvador Dali sponges. This morphology of Petrosia lignosa is unique to the northern coastline of Tomini Bay, Indonesia. The article found in Heinz Online Magazine explains the discovery. Also, it explains the origin of these bizarre looking sponges. Rantje Allen christened this sponge after the famous Spanish painter. He is the diving pioneer in Gorontalo. The surreal style of Salvador Dali describes the appearance of these giant sponges.

Divers will usually find these sponges below 25 meters .There ,they are protected from seasonal high waves and storms. Additionally, they grow off the vertical coral walls in Gorontalo. There, ocean currents bring plankton to them. The article explains how they can break off in storms. When this happens, these ancient giants fall to the ocean bottom. They can no longer feed and soon die, turning to dust in a matter of weeks.

Heinz Online Magazine

The article on Salvador Dali sponges is available for free download. It comes in PDF format. Moreover, it comes in English, German or Chinese. It is in Heinz16 edition of the magazine with a release date of August 31, 2019. Heinz Press of Nuremberg, Germany, is the official publisher.

Mr. Heinz Ritter publishes Heinz Online Magazine. He is well known among underwater photographers. Actually

, he published the original UWF, a highly regarded magazine on photography. That original publication became Germany’s Unterwasser magazine. This occurred in the early 1990s. Mr. Ritter served as publisher for that new magazine for years. Eventually, Mr. Ritter sold his interest in Unterwasser. After that, he started Heinz Online Magazine. Since its format is online, printing issues do not constrain design. Mr. Ritter is known for his unique design perspective.  

Photos by Steve Jones, Underwater Photographer

The Heinz Online Magazine article on Salvador Dali sponges comes with incredible underwater photographs by Steve Jones. Mr. Jones is an award-winning underwater photographer and journalist. His travel and work spans the globe, including Antarctica. Ironically, he received his first break as an underwater photographer from Unterwasser magazine in 1996.

During his worldwide travels

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, Mr. Jones visited Gorontalo during wave season. Ocean conditions are challenging during that time of year. However, he left with a sizeable archive of spectacular photos of Gorontalo’s marine environment.

Photos featured in the sixteenth edition of Heinz Online Magazine include several Salvador Dali sponge shots. Among the macro photos Sarasvati shrimp, Robust ghost pipefish, and cuttlefish. In additional, one photo contains a Coleman’s coral shrimp. It is a new species discovered in Flores and Gorontalo. Dramatic wide-angle shots include red sea whips, Jinn Caves cavern and a deep-water Blue sea fan.  

After enjoying the article, please make your dive reservations with us!

Bokeh Effect in Underwater Photography

Bokeh can help underwater photographers achieve dramatic effects.

The Blur Effect

bumblebee shrimp in Gorontalo
A Bumblebee shrimp with eye in sharp focus

The term bokeh comes from the Japanese word meaning blur. In ordinary photographs both object and background are in focus. The bokeh effect relies on blurred background. Only the object is in sharp focus.

Beginning underwater photographers are happy when everything in a photo is in focus. They are happier still if the color is good. Bokeh is an advanced technique. It concentrates on having only the foreground object in focus. The background is deliberately blurred. With this technique a simple id shot becomes dramatic.

Bokeh in Underwater Photographs

Bokeh effect highlights goby's eyes
Whip coral goby with bokeh effect

Many shrimps, crabs and fish rely on camouflage. Others have transparent bodies. Both of these help blend the creature into its environment. Being unseen means safety. However, the underwater photographer wishes to shoot those creatures in ways that they can be seen. Their unseen beauty is better recognized using the bokeh technique. Otherwise, the creature still remains obscured by its environment. Typically, only the eye or the face of a marine creature is in focus. The rest of its body remains out of focus. Its living space, whether crinoid or coral, is also blurred.

Three among Miguel’s Diving staff have placed in international underwater photo competitions. That means we know how to help guests get better photos. Underwater bokeh photos for this blog are courtesy of Mr. Digant Desai of Bombay, a repeat guest of Miguel’s Diving. All photos were shot in Gorontalo.

Technical Tips

The bokeh effect relies on a sharp foreground object and blurred background. Here are several tips. Manual settings must be used, not automatic ones. First, select the smallest F-number available. This will decrease the depth of field and isolate focus on only a small part of the frame. Take a shot to check results.

Second, use the zoom feature on your camera. This will further isolate the focus on the desired object. Take another shot and adjust.

coral background in blur
White dots of blurred coral unify this shot of a White-marked shrimp

Third, move as close as possible to the object. When shooting underwater, this can be challenging. Some marine creatures think their camouflage is working. They will not move. Others can become afraid and flee when a photographer gets too close. That is why the zoom should be used before getting closer. Moving closer also requires patience. Once marine life discovers that you mean no harm, approach is easier.

Fourth, certain macro lenses can achieve better bokeh effects. This will depend on the make and model of the camera used. There is one caution to note. Simply using a computer program to make a close crop of an object will not achieve the bokeh effect. The background must be blurred at the time the photo is taken.
For your chance to shoot pictures using the bokeh effect in Gorontalo, please book your dive trip with us.

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