Diving Tioman Island, May 2014

A couple of weekends ago, we had an excellent trip to Tioman Island.  It was Taitti's last trip to Tioman for now and a very apt farewell as the conditions and marine life were as good as any of us had ever experienced in Tioman.  It was also my first trip out with my Tokina 10-17mm lens and Zen 4 inch dome port, and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of pictures that I was able to get.

Highlights of the trip were having a chance to shoot Grouchy, the resident turtle on Roger's House Reef, seeing 2 bumphead parrotfish and a cuttlefish couple laying eggs at Chebeh, lots of anemones and clownfish at Malang, the biggest spiny lobster I have ever seen on the House Reef, and lots of schools of juvenile fish in general.  The cuttlefish laying eggs in particular was very special for me as I felt blessed to witness such a tender underwater moment.  I saw her placing her eggs within the folds of a large hard coral head while her partner looked on.

This trip renewed my interest in Tioman and left me very grateful that we have such good diving so close to home.  Weekend trips to Tioman are tiring because of the long travel time and many transfers but totally worth it for this quality of diving.  I had a lot of fun with the 10-17mm lens and I'll definitely be spending more time with it learning how to shoot wide angle.

Goodbye Taitti and come back to dive with us again soon!

 Grouchy the turtle.  Tokina 10-17mm @ 17mm, 1/200s, f/8, ISO 100

Broadclub cuttlefish.  Tokina 10-17mm @ 17mm, 1/320s, f/16, ISO 100

Giant spiny lobster.  60mm, 1/320s, f/14, ISO 100