Photo Competitions

St Abbs & Eyemouth Voluntry Marine Reserve Splash-In 2008

The Letterbox shot, was a technically and physically difficult shot to get. Having dived the site a few times, I had an idea of what I wanted. To reach the tunnel, there was a 500m walk down a steep grassy bank, up and down a scramble, then surface swim for another 500m. However the conditions were poor on the day with 2m visibility and strong surge. Not great for photography in a cave, with it being 8m only, there was a lot of surge with both of us getting sucked back and forward. I had briefed my model before hand on positioning/torches etc, but a lot had to be done on the dive. I ended up with an IKEA stool with a 4kg weight as a tripod, with me wedged in the cave pushing down on the camera enough to steady it for the long shutter speed required for the shot (given the viz and dark in the cave). I was informed that the dive was over 75min long with Nikki going back in forward, trying to stay in position while I gesticulated at her from inside the tunnel!!!

Starry Eyed, was a spur of the moment idea from Nikki, when searching for "funny" shots to take. Thankfully the sun came out (briefly) for a decent depth of field.