Bimini Trip Report With Bluewater Travel
Words And Pictures By Brent Durand
Swimming with wild dolphins has been a dream for as long as I can remember. It's probably a dream for most divers and wide-angle underwater photographers.
This dream turned into Bluewater Photoâs Bimini small group photo trip in late June. Nine lucky divers and I spent 6 days on the water swimming with dolphins, diving with sharks, stingrays and exploring the Bahamas reefs with Neal Watson's BiminiScuba Center. Bimini is known for its super friendly population of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins, which we got to swim with for many hours across several days.
The small group size enabled us to have some very intimate encounters with the dolphins, motoring until we found the dolphins in crystal clear blue water. There are several tips and tricks to get the best photo opportunities with the dolphins, and by the end of our trip we were all masters of engaging the dolphins. And we all flew home with some incredible images.
Our two Caribbean reef shark dives were the perfect venue for working on our big animal photography with strobes. We also had a dive to photograph stingrays, plus a couple reef dives â one as a gentle drift along a beautiful reef with the largest turtle I've ever seen â a loggerhead larger than I am.
Our group had great energy, which was fueled by Neal Watson and his crew. Our busy yet relaxed schedule allowed us to swim around the iconic Sapona shipwreck shooting split-shots, lunch on Cat Cay Yacht Club's private island and have a few dinners out in North Bimini.
A big thanks to Bluewater Travel for putting this trip together!
- Brent Durand
All photos shot with Bluewater Photo's rental Canon 7D MkII and underwater housing.
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Read more about our Bimini trip and photo gear in the articles below:
