M
OST UNDERWATER
photographers I know love a bit
of macro and muck-diving.
I never fail to be amazed by the most
colourful or extravagant or just plain
weird creatures that call volcanic gravel
their home.
There are a number of places,
particularly in Indonesia, where such
creatures abound, and Tulamben, on Bali's
north-east coast, is one of them.
Perched by the edge of the sea, within
striking distance of the famous Liberty
wreck, the resort of Scuba Seraya is a
macro-photographer’s paradise.
The small collection of comfortable
bungalows lie within a few paces of theopen-air dining room and dive-centre, and
this friendly, well-run establishment
enjoys the glamorous backdrop of Mount
Agung, a majestic and imposing, if at
present grumbling. volcano.
My first visit to this hidden gem, as a
fairly newbie underwater photographer,
was several years ago on a Shannon
Conway workshop, when I was surprised
to find myself to be one of an almost
entirely female entourage, save for one
kindly Irish fellow.
A few years later, in April 2017, I was
fortunate enough to visit again, with some
friends. This time, we got a taste of
Agung’s temper while diving. We were at
Amed, a site a bit further along where43 divErINDONESIA DIVER
Tulamben is
a dream
location, but
a mini-invasion prompts
JOSS WOOLFto ask:
What is the true cost of
a winning image?Above: Keith, king of the
pomfrets..some artificial structures have been set,
and were already well-established with
various species of coral and fish.
Suddenly there was a rush of freezing
cold water, all the fish disappeared and
everything was as still as could be for
several minutes, before life slowly
returned to normal.A
T THE END OF NOVEMBER the
same year, for the first time since the
major eruption of 1963, Agung erupted
again and thousands of people within a
five-mile zone were evacuated.
The airports were closed for several
days and many tourists were left stranded.
Tourism more or less came to a standstill,☛divErNEt.com