Blackwater photography - the art of picturing creatures from the deep sea

As an avid underwater photographer, I am constantly fascinated by the creatures that live beneath the surface of the ocean. The deep sea is particularly intriguing to me, with its mysterious and elusive inhabitants. Blackwater photography is the art of capturing these creatures in their natural environment, often at great depths and in complete darkness. Blackwater photography offers a possibility to capture them at night when they - attracted by light - come closer to the surface. In this article, I'll share some tips for those who are new to this exciting and challenging form of photography.

First, it's important to have the right equipment. Blackwater photography requires specialized gear, including a high-quality underwater camera, strobes or video lights, and a housing that can withstand the extreme pressure of deep-sea dives. It's also crucial to have a good understanding of the behavior and habitats of the creatures you are trying to photograph. Some of the most commonly photographed creatures in blackwater photography include squid, jellyfish, and larval fish.

When it comes to capturing the perfect shot, patience and persistence are key. Blackwater photography often requires long periods of waiting in complete darkness for a subject to appear. It's important to remain still and calm, as even the slightest movement can scare away a timid creature. I recommend practicing your buoyancy skills and developing a steady hand, as these are crucial for capturing sharp and clear images.

One of the biggest challenges of blackwater photography is the lack of natural light. This means that you will need to rely on artificial light sources to illuminate your subject. Strobes or video lights are essential for this type of photography, as they provide the necessary illumination without disturbing the delicate balance of the underwater environment. I recommend experimenting with different lighting setups to achieve the desired effect.

In terms of composition, blackwater photography offers endless opportunities for creativity. The deep sea is full of strange and otherworldly creatures, and capturing their unique shapes and movements can be truly captivating. I recommend playing with depth of field and focusing on specific details to create a sense of depth and dimensionality in your images.

If you're new to blackwater photography, I recommend starting with some of the more commonly photographed creatures, such as jellyfish or squid. These creatures are often found in large numbers and can be easier to capture than some of the more elusive deep-sea dwellers. 

Some great examples of blackwater photography can be found in the work of Swiss underwater photographer Thomas Zumbrunnen, who has captured stunning images of creatures of the deep (visit Thomas' instagram feed @uwfoto.ch).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Thomas Zumbrunnen (@uwfoto.ch)

Further spectacular examples follow Joshua Lambus:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joshua Lambus (@joshualambus)

In conclusion, blackwater photography is an exciting and challenging form of underwater photography that requires specialized equipment, patience, and persistence. With the right tools and techniques, you can capture truly mesmerizing images of some of the most fascinating creatures on Earth. So, dive in and explore the mysterious world of the deep sea - you never know what you might find.

Here are some great sources for blackwater photography on the internet:

1. Blackwaterdiver (@divecbr): This website features stunning blackwater photography by photographer Mike Bartick, as well as information on blackwater diving and photography techniques.
2. Underwater Photography Guide: This website offers a wealth of resources and articles on underwater photography, including a section dedicated to blackwater photography.
3. Wetpixel: This online community for underwater photographers features a dedicated section for blackwater photography, as well as forums for discussing techniques and sharing tips.
4. Joshua Lambus Photography (@joshualambus): Joshua Lambus is a fantastic blackwater photographer whose work can be found on his website and social media channels.
5. Backscatter: This website offers a range of underwater photography gear and equipment, including specialized gear for blackwater photography.
6. Scubashooters: This online community for underwater photographers features a section on blackwater photography, as well as a gallery of stunning blackwater images.
7. Blackwater Creatures: This website is dedicated to blackwater diving and photography in Florida.

And some paper books on blackwater diving and photography:

1. A Field Guide to Blackwater Diving in Hawaii by Jeff Milisen: Kona is the birthplace and world headquarters for blackwater diving. 
2. Planktonia: The Nightly Migration of the Ocean's Smallest Creatures by Erich Hoyt: the greatest migration on Earth happens twice every night. The movement is largely vertical and performed by plankton followed by predatory fish, squid, octopus and other species that have acquired a taste for plankton.
3. The World Beneath: The Life and Times of Unknown Sea Creatures and Coral Reefs by Dr. Richard Smith

I hope these resources will help you discover and explore the world of blackwater photography!

Black and White - Maldives Photography

Tropical Darkness - Michael Rosenwirth (500px)

swimming on heaven - Paulo Penicheiro (500px)

White Rain - Sebastian Lee (500px)

Water Villas - Philip Joseph (500px)

The elements of water - Olesia Prisiazhnaia (500px)

Underwater Videography - Documentary on researching Maldivian Manta Rays

Hanifaru Bay - Researching Maldivian Manta Rays from Danny Copeland on Vimeo.

My Underwater Wide Angle Photography - Reef Scenes

Octopus on the reef - Raja Ampat, Indonesia

In underwater photography, taking wide angle pictures is quite difficult.

The main challenge is to find the right exposure balance between available light exposed background and brought in light from strobes in the foreground.

Local boy - Arborek Island, Raja Ampat

A second challenge is to find the right framing of the image. This is not only about spotting an interesting scenery - such as the giant octopus sitting on top of the reef (see left) - but also around framing that scenery in a way not to capture bubbles from other divers, not to have unwanted light effects when the sunlight is shining in from the wrong side, and being able to isolate the main subject in the wide frame of the underwater reefscape.

In order to get the right framing and brought in light it is important to move as close as possible to respective subjects. Since light refraction is stronger underwater than on air and light from strobes is absorbed on short distance through the water there is no way around using extreme wide angle lenses and moving to a very close focusing point.




The underwater photographers challenge here is not to make too much noise and bubbles in order not to scare away the marine protagonists.
While for the boy on the right this was not a topic, the octopus needed to be approached slowly until he adapted to the presence of a scuba diver with big camera gear and making strange bubbles.

Exposure of schooling fish - such as the school of glass fish (see left) - can be difficult too. Given the fact that part of the skin of fish is highly reflective or on the other extreme completely transparent just automatic exposure metering does not work out.
However, in the digital times a series of exposures and varying strobe positions will do the job.

Underwater Videography - Blue Ocean in RED by Howard Hall

The Blue Ocean in RED from Howard Hall on Vimeo.

Black and White - Surf Photography

Go together - Jana Luo (500px)

Surfer Reflection - Todd Schaffer (500px)

Lost Coast - Aaron Ackerman (500px)

waiting for the storm - Lidy Neeleman (500px)

Midnight surfer - Rob T Smith (500px)

Squadron of Hope - Raja Ampat

A short video by Nu Parnupong documenting the richness of reef life around Misool, Raja Ampat, Indonesia.

Underwater Macro Photography in Cabilao, Philippines

Recently I spent a couple of days on Cabilao island in the Philippines.
I was diving with Sea Explorers who has a very good infrastructure to serve the needs of underwater photographers.

Cabilao is located at the west side of Bohol island facing Cebu island. The reefs around Cabilao are rich in coral growth and macro life. But, accidentally you can also spot bigger marine wildlife such as mobula rays, eagle rays, turtles, or sharks.

The dive sites around the island offer lots of opportunities.

And there are several places to see for example several species of pigmy sea horses (hippocampus bargibanti in different colors, hippocampus denise).

Currents are quite predictable in the area so that dive guides can very well adapt to skill of divers, or whites and interest of their guests.


There can be found some very rare to spot species too.

The pigmy sea dragon, or pigmy pipe horse on the right is only one of them.

This is a species incredibly difficult to photograph.
It is very small. The sea dragon shown here was not longer than 5 mm and constantly moving.

This one was living in a coral hidden in a little cave where it was hard to position camera and strobes.
The hardest part is actually finding the subject in the view finder of the camera, or if you are using a compact camera on the display.

Another one is the harlequin shrimp. Almost impossible to be successful with this one if dive guides do not have a spot where they know that it is staying.

This one was feeding on star fish and living quite local.

Also here, the photographic challenge was to get the right point of view and correct positioning of the light without destroying the reef.


Taking macro pictures under water needs patience, good diving (buoyancy) skills, a buddy assisting, and most important diving in a very small group. There is nothing more annoying than photographers queuing behind subjects and stressing each other to get equal exposure to opportunities.

More images can be found at my website at www.andreasrmueller.com

Galapagos - Underwater short movie

The Best of Galapagos from RonScuba on Vimeo.

Manta Rays - by Lea Lee

Manta rays are amongst the most majestic animals on earth. The way they "fly" through ocean water, the way they "dance" in currents, it is unique and exceptional.
While international protection is poor some countries realised the need and value in protecting manta rays and issued anti manta fishing laws.
Among these countries is Mexico where fishing for manta rays is banned since 2007. The Mexican standard provides protection for mantas and mobulids in all Mexican waters. (Source: mantatrust.org).

Fellow underwater photographer Lea Lee just recently made a trip to Socorro island off the Mexican coast in the pacific ocean and brought home a series of very impressive manta ray pictures. - Please, have a look at her flickr page.

The Majesty of Manta Rays

Manta rays belong to a family of eleven species of plankton eating rays. Nine of them are mobula rays while only two are manta rays. The two manta ray species being the giant oceanic manta (Manta birostris) and the resident reef manta (Manta alfredi).

The oceanic manta reaches 7 m in width while the reef manta reaches 5.5 m. They are dark brown or black on top while mostly white underneath. With this colouring they are well camouflaged in the water both when spotted from the bottom against the bright sky or when viewed on from the top against the dark background of the deep sea.

Manta rays are an endangered species listed in the "vulnerable" category of the red list of the international union for conservation of nature. Primary threat is fishing bycatch. Among other threats is deterioration of their habitat and unregulated tourism. Pollution of the oceans, floating waste, and disturbance by mass tourism are main reasons for manta populations to disappear.

The infographic on the right shows the fisheries value of a dead manta compared to the value of a manta alive over its entire lifetime. Hence, the economic value of controlled and mild tourism is by orders of magnitude higher than the direct fishing income.

There are several conservation organisations taking care of manta rays specifically.

Manta watch: this is a project which found a low-cost solution to collect data around manta occurrence by collecting photographs from scuba divers world wide including location of where pictures have been shot. Identifying unique patterns on the mantas' skin allows to keep track of manta movements. - For all the scuba divers, please contribute your images of manta rays to this innovative project and help to enrich their database.

Manta trust: this is an organisation doing research around manta rays raising awareness and providing education to the genreal public and community stakeholders.

Manta pacific research foundation: is a research foundation to study manta rays in their natural habitat.

Manta ray at dive spot Magic Mountain, Misool Raja Ampat

Manta rays are majestic swimmers and very photogenic. However, they are difficult to capture unless one is at a cleaning station in the reef where they happen to stay a while for removal of parasites by other smaller reef animals.

Manta rays are rather shy animals. Hence, it is difficult to get into a situation where they come and stay close enough for a spectacular underwater photography.

Collection of manta ray images at 500px

Since manta rays are plankton eaters also visibility in the water is usually not too good upon manta encounters which is another challenge for an underwater photographer.

A selection of my own manta pictures can be found at: link

A search at 500px yields more than 300 underwater images of manta rays. Some of them are really spectacular!

Mark Erdman on the marine biodiversity epicenter

A very interesting talk by Mark Erdman on the epicentre of marine biodiversity.



Mark Erdman @ ADEX 2014 from Wetpixel on Vimeo.

Bali - Underwater photography

Underwater photography from my last trip to Bali.

Staying at Alam Batu Beach Bungalow Resort (http://www.alam-batu.com) we explored a series of spectacular, mainly muck dive sites in the area.

Bali 2014 - Images by Andreas Mueller

Raja Ampat and Lembeh Strait - 2013

Two slide shows from our last (November 2013) underwater photography trip to Raja Ampat, West-Papua (unfortunately we were not able to visit the Wayag islands for political reasons) and to Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi.

Raja-Ampat

Raja Ampat 2013 - Images by Andreas Mueller

Muck diving at Lembeh-Strait

Lembeh Strait 2013 - Images by Andreas Mueller

Underwaterphotography Soma Bay Red Sea

My first images using Nikon D800 in Hugyfot housing.


Marine Wildlife - Red Sea - Images by Andreas Mueller

2013 Weekly Planner

As 2013 is approaching you might need a new weekly planner!

Check out this illustrated planner with stunning underwater photographs:

Planner 2013 by Andreas R. Müller | Make Your Own Book

A Trip Along California's Pacific Coast

California Pacific Coast - Images by Andreas Mueller