Freediving photos from the beach of Raja Ampat Dive Resort

Marine Fish in Raja Ampat

I stayed in Raja Ampat Dive Resort for a few days from 9 to 11 September 2018. I helped some friends guiding birdwatchers in southern region of Waigeo island. We explored the forest deep in the nearby hill, and along the coastal forest areas near the airport. We also visited Ik island. We saw a lot of birds there including Great-billed Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Yellow-faced Myna, Beach Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, and etc. I used a pair of 10×42 binoculars. For identification of birds, I brought afieldguide book: Birds of New Guinea, written by Thane K. Pratt, and Bruce Beehler and sound records of tens of birds that live in this region.

Blue Seastar

When the birding tour was finished, I borrowed a set of snorkeling mask from the resort to see the underwater life in the coral reef. I like snorkeling and freediving. To take pictures, I often go down to a depths of 3 to 10 meters or even more -below sea level. I could get closer to the fish or other marine animals that I want to photograph. There was a jetty in front of the restaurant of the dive resort. I walked on it towards the sea and then down the stairs to the water. After setting on my camera and mask, I slowly immersed myself into the sea. The visibility was very poor because of the waves. To find clear water, I swam further to deeper area. As I entered the reef crest and then to the reef wall areas, the coral reefs looked better. However, due to the strong south wind, the underwater scenery was not fully clear. I chosed the subjects that I wanted to photographs and then dived on to them. I could hold my breath for tens of seconds to a little more than 1 minute.

Christmas tree worm

My camera was a Fujifilm XQ2. I made tens of pictures from butterflyfish to giant humphead wrasse and tiny Christmas tree worm. I know the results were not maximum because of the weather.
As I become more familiar with the different settings of this photographic device, I hope that I could make better photographs in the future.
I like birding, freediving, snorkeling when I accompany tourists around Raja Ampat, Tambrauw and Manokwari.
If you are interested in taking a holiday in West Papua province of Indonesia and want me to be your guide, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp: +6281332245180.