Blackwater photography is unique because everything you are shooting will typically be within an arm’s reach.
I believe this blackwater photo to be of a juvenile filefish. It is only about one to two inches long! This photo was taken during a blackwater night dive off the east coast of Florida. These black water night dives are unique experiences and I would encourage anyone interested and equipped to try it. The boat takes you miles offshore into the Gulf Stream. This is a shallow dive, typically less than 40 feet deep. Divers drift with the current in the middle of the night, cameras at the ready. Although it is dark, the water clarity this far offshore is very good. You can see other diver’s flashlight beams the whole dive. The beams of light go as far as the eye can see. The bottom is hundreds of feet deep, so you cannot see the bottom, or anything besides where your light is pointed at that moment. In this short moment, I was lucky to get my handheld dive light onto this beautiful creature. I managed to get a handful of photos before the fish took off into the abyss.
This type of photography is unique for a few reasons. There is no background, only a subject in the foreground. All blackwater photos share one thing in common, black backgrounds. Blackwater photography is also unique because everything you are shooting will typically be within an arm’s reach. Most of what you are shooting photos of on blackwater dives are small, ornate, bioluminescent, creatures. To capture the shot, the closer the better. I still believe this is one of the most challenging types of photography I’ve tried. Your “keep rate” of photos from these dives is very low. My memory card will be full of black blurry photos, but the ones that come out are extraordinary and make you want to keep shooting.
I enjoy this photo because the all black background gives you that feeling of vastness. Blackwater dives humble you because they remind you of how small you are. On the photography side, blackwater dives are unique experiences, that test your patience and camera skills. The few photos that do come out usually end up being some of your all-time favorites. The bright iridescent colors against the black backgrounds make for compelling images.
Like blackwater photography? Check out another blackwater photo we featured back in June of 2019.
Did you know? Filefish have rough skin. Back in the day, it was used like sandpaper to finish wooden boats.
Blackwater dives humble you because they remind you of how small you are
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