Photographing Sea Turtles Underwater

Turtle Photos for Sale

  On a recent scuba dive at Shark's Cove on Oahu's North shore I had great success finding and photographing sea turtles. After that I decided to return to the North Shore with freediving gear so I could follow the graceful reptiles to and from the surface with ease. Sea turtles have lungs so they need to come to the surface every once in a while to replenish their oxygen. It is hard to bounce up and down while scuba diving. The freedom and maneuverability that comes with freediving can be a great way to photograph marine reptiles and mammals.

"Breath of Life"

  I took out a 24mm prime lens on my canon 5d mark ii in my Ikelite underwater housing. I also had two Ikelite strobes set up on either side of the housing to provide some light. The strobes are important if you want more than just the silhouette of the turtle while photographing from below.

Turtle Reflection

Among the Clouds

  It took about 45 minutes to find the first turtle. I ended up swimming with three different green sea turtles, all of which were juveniles. It can be difficult photographing young turtles because they are often quite timid around people. But on the flip side they do have the cleanest and best looking shells. In my experience it is a good idea to swim very slowly with the turtle for awhile before going in closer for a shot. Letting them get accustomed to you will lessen your impact and possibly pique their curiosity.