About Raja Ampat: Diving

Don't delay. If you want to see Raja Ampat in all its glory.. get there ASAP.

Water Temp : The water temperature is 1mm neoprene or polartec diving, usual temperature is 84-86F with an occasional "chilly" 82F spot. We've had no problem with cold when diving 4 -7 long dives per day.

Liveaboard Travel: These islands are very close together. We plan not to make long journeys, but to keep the boat in an area for several days and dive the sites surrounding that area as conditions (current, angle of the sun, time of day) provide the best photo ops on a site. We aren't into crossing oceans, we're here to see the marine life and get those images.

Conditions: We choose the best season for diving the area. In fact, the liveaboard organized the rest of their schedule around our trips. The seas are typically flat.. like glass in some areas. Through the surface, split images and surface reflection shots are often possible.

Wide Angle Photography: There are VERY unique formations and unusually large schools of fish that make this an excellent area for wide angle photography. Again the trick is getting into the right spot at the right time. Sometimes this means you must be able to descend quickly to get down and out of the current. The same reef can be amazing or boring depending on the current & light. Sometimes the sites are shallow and you need to look near the surface for the best photo ops. We'll tell you what is special about each dive site during the pre-dive briefing.


Macro Photography: Can be done on nearly every site.. if you just ignore all the fish... We have several sites that we particularly like for macro. The silty bays, although not "clean" have abundant and unusual macro life. No pollution though.. only clean dirt out here. We always see pygs (pygmy seahorses), nudibranchs.. there are unusual small fish, a newly discovered species of epaulette shark, the "Walking Shark".. the ever present anemone fish, sometimes blue-ring octopus or flamboyant cuttlefish.... we've seen a lot of the allied cowries on the soft corals.. really just too much to name.. please ask about macro.

Current: While there is a lot of current on certain sites, we do NOT want or plan to drift and try to take photos (with one exception). We do NOT want guests to be struggling with camera gear in strong currents. If you don't know how to dive in current, let us teach you.. that is the #1 specialty that doesn't get taught. We've noticed that many divers are afraid of current simply because they do not know how to deal with it. (note.. we can drop divers who don't like the current behind the reefs in protected areas.. they won't see the best diving, but whatever makes them happy.. we'll do it).

From:http://www.cityseahorse.com/rajaampat.html