The Parting Shot

Text by Ofek Liepaz
My underwater photography journey began during my divemaster training in 2020, when I found myself being drawn to False Bay's smaller critters.
I started using a cheap action camera and quickly got very frustrated by the blurry and barely recognisable macro photos I was getting. This frustration sparked an obsessive desire to get better photos, which has only grown over the last 3 years.
I definitely tend to favour the smaller, more elusive species with my photography, and spending my dives looking for them makes the whole experience so much more rewarding! On top of that, underwater macro photography opens up a whole new world within the already foreign underwater environment, and being able to capture and share this has given my diving an entirely different meaning.
This parting shot is without a doubt my favourite capture of one of Cape Town's most common nudibranch species - the Cape Silvertip (Janolus capensis). The photo was taken at Castor Rock (near Roman Rock Lighthouse in Simon's Town), using a Canon G16, Fantasea FG16 Housing, 2 x Inon Z240 strobes, and an Orcatorch D900v as a focus light.
It was one of those rare instances where everything falls into place. I found a perfectly positioned subject, my camera settings and strobe positioning were dialled in, and all I had to do was move my camera into position and press the shutter button!
My underwater photography journey began during my divemaster training in 2020, when I found myself being drawn to False Bay's smaller critters.
I started using a cheap action camera and quickly got very frustrated by the blurry and barely recognisable macro photos I was getting. This frustration sparked an obsessive desire to get better photos, which has only grown over the last 3 years.
I definitely tend to favour the smaller, more elusive species with my photography, and spending my dives looking for them makes the whole experience so much more rewarding! On top of that, underwater macro photography opens up a whole new world within the already foreign underwater environment, and being able to capture and share this has given my diving an entirely different meaning.
This parting shot is without a doubt my favourite capture of one of Cape Town's most common nudibranch species - the Cape Silvertip (Janolus capensis). The photo was taken at Castor Rock (near Roman Rock Lighthouse in Simon's Town), using a Canon G16, Fantasea FG16 Housing, 2 x Inon Z240 strobes, and an Orcatorch D900v as a focus light.
It was one of those rare instances where everything falls into place. I found a perfectly positioned subject, my camera settings and strobe positioning were dialled in, and all I had to do was move my camera into position and press the shutter button!
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2023
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