Indonesia: Pulau Weh [Sumatra] - March 2010
Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic translation made from a post originally written in French. My apologies for any strange sentences and funny mistakes that may have been generated during the process. If you are reading French, click on the French flag below to access the original and correct text:
I'll take you back to Pulau Weh. Below the surface again. More than a month after my return from Indonesia, I continue to sort out my photos... Huge coral plateaus, delicate fans of gorgonians, multicolored clouds of fish in the blue: the sites of Pulau Weh offer beautiful landscapes!
Contrary to what I feared at the beginning, I was able to use my "standard" lens in the porthole provided in principle for the macro lens. According to the Ikelite box for the 7Dit was not possible. But actually, if it comes in.
The only thing is, we can't use the zoom. But frankly, I'm not a big fan of the underwater zoom. Long live the fixed focal length!
The first (beautiful) picture below is not from me. But it's one of the few pictures of me underwater !! Many thanks to Phil North, English photographer and videographer based in Koh Lanta, Thailand.
I love how the coral draws a pink heart, in the flash light. It's really super pretty. This picture was taken on the Canyon site.
The following are a mix of the sites of Pantee Peunateung, Meuduro, Batee Tokong ... These are my first tests with my standard lens (other than the macro, so) with the 7D under water.
It took me a little time to tame the flash in this configuration. Besides, it was often in difficult conditions. A lot of current, on most sites. And then, these are rather "deep" sites for those who, like me, prefer to stay within the limits of the no decompression curve... It's easy to find yourself with a small deco stop at the end of the dive.
But hey, here's the bottom line. A completely different approach than the macro! And I can't wait to do it again. Besides, I feel that I'll soon have to invest in a dome, with the fish-eye lens that's going well...
Unfortunately, I was not able to bring back an image of the underwater arch of the fabulous Canyon. The first time, I was with my macro lens; the second time, I think that's where my lens had stayed in manual mode (grrr); and the third time, the strong current prevented us from reaching the famous arch.
Too bad! The place is spectacular...
For the precise description of the various sites accessible from Pulau Weh, I refer you to the center page Lumba Lumba (in English), with which I dived.