Fluorescence Photography to Enhance Your Night Dive [VIDEO]

By Steve Miller

Fluorescence (or "fluoro") can be seen by using a dichroic "excitation" filter on your strobe or light, and a yellow "barrier" filter on your mask and in front of your camera's lens. Many different types of corals and creatures fluoresce—get out there and explore!

 

 

Spice Up Your Night Dive

If you're looking for something new on your night dive, check it out. You'll need to put special filters on your lights and on your camera lenses. But if you think the colors go crazy when you turn on your dive light during a night dive, wait till you see what fluorescence does. These colors will be unlike anything you've seen before.

The fluoro night diving experience can be disconcerting initially. Any fluorescing hard corals will be visible - and very bright - even from distances. Meanwhile, anything that is not fluorescing (most of the reef) will be almost invisible. Turning on a standard white diving light will show you the whole scene but totally kill the fluoro mood.

We're actually seeing proteins fluorescing, and this can be hard corals, soft corals, invertebrates, even certain fish. If you're looking for something new, check it out!

 

Ambassador Steve Miller has been a passionate teacher of underwater photography since 1980. In addition to creating aspirational photos as an ambassador, he leads the Ikelite Photo School, conducts equipment testing, contributes content and photography, represents us at dive shows and events, provides one-on-one photo advice to customers, and participates in product research and development. Steve also works as a Guest Experience Manager for the Wakatobi Dive Resort in Indonesia. In his "free" time he busies himself tweaking his very own Backyard Underwater Photo Studio which he's built for testing equipment and techniques. Read more...

 

Additional Reading

Fluorescence and Luminance Underwater Photography

Shooting Manta Rays at Night Without a Strobe

Night Dive Underwater Camera Settings

Shedding Light on Night Diving

What I Wish I Knew When I Started in Underwater Photography [VIDEO]