the Editor says: In recent years, blackwater images have repeatedly swept the medals at world-class underwater photography competitions, sparking a full-blown blackwater photography craze in the underwater imaging community. But while everyone chases the perfect shot, do you truly understand the risks involved? This article is shared by photographer Nick Zhan, who has travelled abroad specifically for blackwater photography. We hope it helps more underwater photographers appreciate both the magic and the dangers of blackwater diving.
Given the recent surge in popularity of blackwater diving along the Northeast Coast, safety issues surrounding blackwater are rarely discussed. I decided to share some of my own safety experiences from boat-based blackwater dives. I'm just a nobody, so if anything here is incorrect, please feel free to offer guidance and corrections.
What Are the 2 Types of Underwater Blackwater Photography?
First, let me explain that blackwater photography falls into two categories: campfire blackwater and deep blackwater.
1. Campfire Blackwater Photography:
A boat anchors above a section of ocean roughly 10–30 m deep, and sufficiently bright lights are set up at a depth of approximately 6–8 m to attract marine life that responds to light. During a boat-based blackwater dive, photographers circle around the lights in search of subjects.
2. Deep Blackwater Photography:
A boat positions itself above open ocean with no visible bottom, deploying one or more lights at approximately 6–8 m and again at 20–30 m to attract deeper-dwelling marine life up toward the lights. The boat follows and repositions with the divers. Photographers circle around the lights in search of subjects.
A blackwater photography shot
The Most Dangerous Aspect of Blackwater Photography Is That, Regardless of Experience Level, Divers Easily Fall Into These 3 Mistakes:
1. Chasing a Subject and Losing Your Bearings
Chasing a subject, losing your sense of direction, and being unable to locate the boat — leaving you with no choice but to surface. At night, crew on the boat cannot see a diver who has surfaced away from the vessel, and there is a real risk of being struck. My solution is to keep a constant eye on the direction of the lights while chasing a subject, and to abandon the shot once I've exceeded a certain distance from them. This is genuinely difficult — when a rare creature appears, giving up the shot is an agonising decision… The alternative is to have a professional dive guide beside you at all times, ready to lead you back to the vicinity of the boat if you lose your bearings.
2. Chasing a Subject and Ascending Rapidly in a Short Time
Chasing subjects often leads to rapid ascents and descents within a very short period. Anyone who has completed an Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) course knows that ascending too quickly causes expanding gas that can injure the lungs. During blackwater dives, rapid ascents while chasing subjects happen very frequently and can easily result in a pulmonary injury — or, in more serious cases, decompression sickness (DCS). My solution is to keep my dive computer mounted where I can easily glance at it, and to slow my ascent rate the moment an ascent warning appears. Missing a shot won't kill you; frantically chasing a subject won't hurt the animal — but it might hurt you.
3. Proficiency With Your Surface Marker Buoy (SMB)
Are you truly skilled at deploying a surface marker buoy (SMB)? If you unfortunately drift far from the boat while chasing a subject and need to surface, can you confidently deploy your SMB in the dark? Getting swept away during a blackwater dive is a very real possibility, and you may find yourself completely alone. At that moment, are you able to hold onto your camera and still deploy your SMB cleanly and steadily?
A seahorse captured during a blackwater dive
Reflections on Blackwater Photography
Let me share an experience I had at Anilao Photo Academy. When we told the dive shop we wanted to do a deep blackwater boat dive, they politely declined and asked us to first complete several campfire dives. Only after confirming that we had a sufficient understanding of this type of diving would they be willing to take us on a deep blackwater dive. This experience made one thing very clear: blackwater diving is not suitable for divers with no blackwater experience — unless you already understand where the dangers lie. My advice is to start with campfire blackwater dives and build your experience from there. I hope everyone who ventures into blackwater photography comes home safe and satisfied.
Blackwater photography
Editor: Jenny Tsai
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