A photograph records more than just a single moment — it is the culmination of years of experience and the endless journey between pressing the shutter and hitting delete. It is a joy that Xiaoliuqiu has become the dive site with the highest sea turtle density in Taiwan and arguably the world. The irresistible charm of sea turtles draws countless divers into the deep blue, all for the chance to swim alongside them. Xiaoliuqiu is also home to Su Huai, a professional underwater photography master whose life's work is dedicated to documenting sea turtles. This year he personally captured rare and precious footage of sea turtles mating on multiple occasions. We are delighted to invite Su Huai to share with us how he photographed these extraordinary moments.
Photo Credit 島人海洋工作室
About the Author
Su Huai, Founder of Islander Ocean Studio
On the far side of the vast Pacific Ocean, there is a beautiful little island. The people who live on that island are "islanders."
We hope to bring people into the water with us — it is the most direct way to let the ocean flow into our lives. If you are willing to take that first step, we will always be waiting for you in the sea.
Photo Credit 島人海洋工作室
Someone asked: "How did you manage to photograph sea turtles mating?"
Of course, luck plays a very important role.
However, in many cases, luck is the result of many different things coming together to make it more likely to happen.
When it comes to capturing these clear images of sea turtles mating in Xiaoliuqiu, I personally believe it took seven years of accumulation before I could pull it off. From the very first time I tried scuba diving and began to discover the ocean, to buying my first underwater camera — a Canon S90 — that camera accompanied me through four summers in Penghu and travels to countless dive sites across Southeast Asia and Australia. During that period, diving was my primary work; marine life and underwater photography were my passions. I even used a speargun to fish, which gave me a firsthand understanding of how fishermen trade their lives for the ocean's bounty, living in rhythm with the waves and tides.
Because I devoted the vast majority of my time, energy, and life to the ocean, I slowly built up a sensitivity to the marine environment and marine life. I would never dare claim to fully understand the sea, but I try to learn and make sense of things from the perspective of the tides, the currents, the surge, the sea breeze, and the sea turtles themselves. And when it comes to matters of the ocean, the environment, and living creatures, it almost always takes an enormous investment of time, energy, and physical effort before you have even a small chance of drawing a little closer to them.
Since settling down in Xiaoliuqiu and dedicating my time to being with sea turtles, I have found that photographing sea turtles here is actually not that difficult. Give anyone an underwater camera and they can do it, because the sea turtle density here is so high and many of the turtles are relaxed and unbothered by people.
So there were already plenty of people shooting sea turtle images long before me — and shooting more of them, for longer, than I ever had. Take this rare footage of sea turtles mating, for example: local dive instructors had already captured it first, and it was subsequently documented by different instructors at different sites. At the time I was of course both excited and envious. I desperately wanted to witness it with my own eyes, experience it firsthand, and document it myself.
So I began to ask myself: "Is there any way I can photograph sea turtles mating too?"
Photo Credit 島人海洋工作室
1. Time
At the time I was teaching beginner scuba diving courses, so I did not have much free time. I could only get in the water during breaks from work — usually from around 4 or 5 p.m. until dark.
2. Sea Turtle Sighting Locations
I chose Vase Rock as my target site, since it had the most recorded mating sightings. Because it was peak summer holiday season, Vase Rock was crowded with tourists and divers snorkeling and scuba diving. On the days I went in, visibility near the shore and in the shallows was quite poor. I figured that the chances of encountering mating sea turtles in a busy, murky area would be relatively low, so I decided to swim against the current around the northern corner. From experience, clean, clear water almost always flows in around that corner, giving much better visibility, and almost no tourists or divers ever venture that far.
3. Diving Method
I chose to snorkel and freedive without scuba gear, because traveling light at the surface makes it much easier to push against the current and allows a much wider range of movement. At the time, visibility underwater around that corner was about 30 m, so I could see the seabed clearly from the surface. Additionally, sea turtles mating typically need to come up to the surface to breathe, so there was little need to scuba dive down. The rocky outcroppings where sea turtles frequently appear in that area are mostly within 10 m deep — freediving was more than adequate if I needed to descend.
Photo Credit 島人海洋工作室
4. Camera Equipment
Apart from the basic snorkeling gear, I kept the camera kit light as well — a GoPro for video and a TG4 for stills.
5. Target Subject
I focused on mature male turtles with long tails, since they are easier to identify. I had already spotted and logged several individuals in this area on dives a few days earlier, and I suspected they had come in to mate or were preparing to do so.
6. Action
In total, I entered the water over five days. I was fortunate enough to encounter mating sea turtles and document them up close on the second day — the only mating encounter across all five days. For the first three days, course obligations meant I could only get about two hours in the water each day searching for turtles. On the fourth day, I finished teaching and spent roughly half the afternoon in the water. On the fifth day, I jumped in ahead of an approaching typhoon before the swell built up, and ended up soaking in the ocean for nearly five hours.
On every dive, I tracked several male turtles. Most of them would eventually swim off into open water or deeper areas after a while. A few that were resting or not bothered by being followed could be tracked for tens of minutes — sometimes even hours.
As for the male turtle I eventually photographed mating, he was just one of several I had followed that day. Most of the earlier ones seemed completely uninterested in me, so I kept moving on in search of new targets. Eventually I found this particular male. He was resting at first. I waited for a while, and then he swam up to breathe. After that he began circling repeatedly, glancing over at me as I circled alongside him. From his eyes and behavior, I could sense that he was different from the other males I had followed — an indescribable feeling. In the moment our eyes met, something inside me just felt that his energy was different. It sounds mysterious and is hard to put into words, but when a sea turtle is about to do something out of the ordinary, the aura and look in its eyes shifts ever so slightly from the norm.
Photo Credit 島人海洋工作室
7. The Process of Photographing Sea Turtle Mating
After spending so much time with sea turtles, you unknowingly develop this kind of sensitivity — perhaps what people call a "sixth sense."
Before I even started shooting, I believed that capturing underwater footage of sea turtles mating in Taiwan would be extraordinarily rare — quite possibly the first or one of very few clear records ever made here. So I began to seriously think and plan about how to give my vision the best possible chance of becoming reality. During the process of actually doing it, I would immerse myself completely in the present moment, communicating with the sea turtles through my body and senses. Afterward, I would go back and rethink and organize the entire process and record — much like putting together this article.
As outlined in the six points above, beyond sheer luck, I believe that rather than simply waiting for good fortune to arrive, it is far better to take action and give the things you hope for every possible chance of happening. "One part talent, two parts luck, seven parts hard work." This is especially true for underwater wildlife photography, which demands far more factors to align and far more skills to develop than photography on land. Every precious image that ultimately reaches an audience is never just a single instant — it is the accumulation of decades and countless hours of dedication.
This is my own personal approach to photographing and spending time with wild sea turtles — and I am still experimenting and figuring things out as I go. Every experience is a lesson learned from experience, mistakes, and failures. Perhaps this approach does not suit everyone, and perhaps some parts of it will come in handy. I hope sharing it is useful to those who are interested, and I always welcome any feedback or criticism. That's a wrap!
