Over a year previously, in March 2020, I purchased an Aquatech Elite II underwater housing for my Canon EOS 7D Mark II. I had been inspired to try underwater photography by looking at the amazing photos from under the sea and I really wanted to be able to take some shots myself. However, that was when COVID-19 really hit, and just like so many other people, I had to pause my plans. In December 2020, I thought that I would be able to finally use the kit during the Christmas holidays but a new COVID outbreak in Sydney meant we could not go there at that time. So, it was finally at Easter this year that we visited Sydney and while my family slept I headed down to one of my favourite harbour beaches, Parsley Bay, to take an initial foray into underwater photography. I sucked! However, I gained a lot of experience and I knew why people take the effort to shoot photographs underwater, there was so much to photograph. I was hooked and I am looking forward to taking more photographs so that I can hopefully improve. I realise that it will be a while before I am taking decent underwater photographs so to ensure that this post is not too disappointing I have also included below some aerial shots from Nielsen Park and as well as some shots from a garden in Sydney. I hope that you like the photographs below.
We drove up to Sydney from Canberra on the Saturday after Good Friday so as to avoid the worst of the Easter long-weekend traffic. We had a wonderful family lunch and then my son and I decided to head to Nielsen Park to walk off lunch. I also took the DJI Mavic Air 2 along because I had some ideas for photographs. I wanted to shoot Bottle and Glass Rocks because I liked the way that it sticks up from the harbour.
We walked from the entrance of the park, where the vegetation if lush, almost rainforest-like, but as we went along the path towards the rocks the vegetation changed to a more typical dry type. The harbour then appeared before us, in how if must have been originally with the bush coming down to almost touch the water. The rocks were easy to access and there were a few friendly folk still enjoying the late afternoon sun as their day at the beach drew to an end. I launchd the drone from a conveniently flat rock while my son explored the rocky peninsula jutting into the harbour. The drone shot up into the cosy warmth of the afternoon with only a light breeze to challenge the aircraft’s ability to maintain a course. I thought that the rocks may make a good shot from a different angle to that taken form shore so I sent the drone to front of the rocks. I then tried a few more angles and while I liked them all, I really liked the vertical shot seen below. I was drawn to how the rocks seemed parallel each other and even the rocks in the water had lines running along them in the same direction of the main rocks.
After a few drone shots my son and I kept walking around the path towards the beach. The sun was now getting low over the distant city of Sydney. The setting sun was casting shadows over the beach and the rocks facing the beach. My son decided to once again explore the rocky shore around the base of Steele Point facing the beach while I dashed up the stairs to the headland to take a shot of the gun pit established there in 1871.
The old fortification was on a grassy, exposed bit of land with low trees surrounding it, throwing shadows across the old stone blocks of the position. This guardian from a previous age was built in 1871, before Australia was even federated, when the colonies were concerned about a Russian invasion. It served for many decades, including both world wars without ever firing a shot in anger. Now the fortification is peaceful footnote to the harbour’s history, incorporated as part of the Sydney Harbour National Park with open access to anybody. I decided to take vertical shots so as to capture the shape of the fortification. In taking the photograph I noticed how the shape of the gun position could look human-like. The circle, where the gun was installed, could appear as a head while the protected walk-way took on the appearance of an arm. I also really liked the patterns within the circular gun position, from the contrast of the harsh concrete building material to the lush greenness of the vegetation growing in the bottom. Unfortunately, the light was fading very quickly so there was not much opportunity for more photographs. Still, I was happy with the shots I had and my son had enjoyed our walk.
Vertical shot of Bottle and Glass Point with Bottle and Glass Rocks to the right
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 200, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/500 SEC]
1870s era harbour defence fortification, looking like a long-necked person waving an arm
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 400, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/400 SEC]
On Easter Sunday I woke-up very excited because that was the day I was planning to go to Parsley Bay to try some underwater photography. Daylight Saving had ended so I had an hour’s extra sleep but still woke up at the same time and sunrise was an hour earlier. The water was slgnlty cool but that could not reduce my enthusiasm. Pushing off from the steps into the water, peering down through my 30 year-old face mask I was greeted with the usual sights I have seen regularly but I could now capture them in photographs. I admit that my first shots were terrible, I was so excited that I forgot all I had learnt about taking photos. I was not paying attention to the exposure reading before taking a picture and then one of my LumeCubes Version 2 flooded so I lost half of my artificial light. In reviewing my first photographs, they were black. So I finally studied my camera, pushing my ISO up to 2000 and opening the aperture up. The exposure reading in my viewfinder started to swing somewhere around the middle of the scale. Fortunately, now I that was thinking again, I saw a Common Stingaree (Trygonoptera testacea) and took a shot. I say a shot because I was still far too excited and not really taking photographs, just shooting things. Oh well, I was having fun!
There were a number of Common Stingarees around and they were good subjects for photographing because they tended to lie still on the bottom, allowing me to approach them. When they did swim off, they did not move fast and tended to swim in a straight line rather than darting all over the place like a regular fish. This is the most common stingray in Sydney harbour, occupying the area from the intertidal zone to 100m plus in depth, although more commonly only to 60m. It feeds on small creatures on the bottom, especially crustaceans.
Once I calmed down I thought that I was taking better photographs but I found that there were three major challenges; light a challenge, focusing (even though I was using auto focus) and staying actually staying still in the relatively shallow water. The light started to improve once the sun started lighting the bay but I realised how important artificial light would be to future attempts at underwater photography. Also, although, the auto focus would register the nature of sea water, with so many particles in it, meant that the shots were not sharp. Finally, I was also trying to stay submerged in shallow water while holding my breath after a duck dive underwater; but I would start rising up the moment that I stopped kicking. I made a note that next time I would need to use a weight belt to counter act a human’s natural buoyancy in salt water. I also thought that next time I would wear a wetsuit because I was in the water for over an hour and I was starting to shiver when I finally exited yet the water was only around 17 degrees Celsius.
Common Stingaree, my first underwater shot, I was too excited and not actually thinking about photography
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 1600, 35mm, f/5.6 and 1/400 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port)
Getting better but I still need better light, a Common Sitngaree swimming
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 2000, 35mm, f/5.6 and 1/500 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port)
Another creature I photographed that morning was a Tuberculate Sea Urchin (Heliocidaris tuberculata). This individual was a few metres underwater by itself on a rock ledge. These urchins eat algae and live well below the low tide mark. They have an extensive range, as far north as Japan and out into the wester Pacific Ocean. I was having trouble staying underwater to take this shot I was happy at least my single working light could brighten up its lovely red colour.
Tuberculate Sea Urchin on a rock
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 2000, 35mm, f/7.1 and 1/500 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port)
Throughout my snorkel I saw a number of Fan-bellied Leatherjackets (Monacanthus chinensis), especially along the shark-proof net where they seemed to be eating the marine life attached to the criss-crossed ropes. These fish are omnivores so they may have found a number of food sources on the net.
Fan-bellied Leatherjacket swimming along the net
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 2000, 35mm, f/7.1 and 1/500 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port)
Getting back to the concrete steps that I entered from there was a long-abandoned Turban Shell (Turbo undulata) lying on a rock. The shell was covered with small marine growth such as tubes for marine worms. These molluscs live in the inter-tidal zone, feeding on marine flora and algae. This one was still in shadow but my remaining Lume Cube could throw enough light on it to show the subtle colours under the marine growth.
Heavily encrusted Turban Shell
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 2000, 35mm, f/7.1 and 1/500 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port)
As I said, I was shivering when I exited the water but I had thoroughly enjoined myself and I knew that I wanted to do more underwater photography. There was so much life underwater and so many subjects for photographs. Canberra is not really the place for underwater photography but, hopefully, I will be back to the coast soon enough and taking more photographs.
While up in Sydney it was nice to wander around a garden that has plants more suited for a warmer and wetter climate than Canberra.
I liked the decorations in the garden, especially the birdbath below with the sleeping cherub sitting inside it. I thought a vertical shot would give a different perspective on things, especially with the shadows made by the morning sun.
Cherub statue in a birdbath
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 100, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/800 SEC]
There were a number of colourful flowers in the garden that I really enjoyed photographing. I loved the bright colours, even of those where there was a little bit of damage. This was a normal garden not a showroom and the damage indicated that pesticides were not in use meaning less damage to this small suburban ecosystem.
Cairo Red Hibiscus
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/11 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
African Daisy
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/11 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Anthurium succulent
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/11 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Succulent with spiders web and fallen parts of plants
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/11 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Othonna Ruby Necklace
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/11 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
The one animal that I was able to get a decent photograph of was a Spencer’s Skink (Pseudemoia spenceri). It is a very common skink in southeast Australia and it looked like it was keeping an eye on me.
Spencer’s Skink
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/11 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
I really had a great time doing underwater photography, even though the photos were not great. I know that I have to improve a lot but it was so invigorating to be taking those photos, especially because the water enabled me to move in a range of different angles to get compositions. I also enjoyed taking other photographs around Sydney because of the different environment to Canberra. It is always pleasing to see how much nature can still survive in one of Australia’s larges cities.
Thanks for reading this post and thanks also for looking at my photos. I hope you come back again to read more about some of the wonderful natural things that the Australian Capital Territory, or to the places, have on offer. All the best until the next post.