Blackwater diving is a challenging new trend for underwater photography. This type of diving can be set up in a variety of ways, but generally, a downline of several bright torches hangs from a floating buoy, each about 5 meters (15 feet) apart. The buoy is dropped away from the boat in order to create a dark environment over deeper water with only the downline and diver lights illuminating the water. As the downline “soaks,” it draws in pelagic larval macro critters such as squid, octopi, jellyfish, salp, shrimp, crabs, etc. If you are lucky, some bucket-list critters such as the blanket octopus, larval wonderpus and paper nautilus argonaut appear.
Blackwater diving is hit or miss – sometimes you find exciting critters and other times, you practice with some more common finds. Either way, it is an exciting style of diving that can be very rewarding once you learn how to position strobes and focus on these subjects. You just have to keep a close eye on your gauges, pay attention to the pressure in your ears and watch your dive profile carefully because in blackwater, there is no point of reference other than the downline. In many cases, you are hovering on your own in the water without a tether and away from your dive buddy. Critters can quickly draw you father and deeper, faster than you think. Swimming back to a faint light can be a little unsettling, so check your position often.
This page shares a small portfolio of my favorite blackwater images. All photos are mine. All rights reserved. Photos are updated as time permits. Follow me @suburbtosuitcase on Instagram for more photos.
Blackwater Critters
