STUART PHILPOTT'S COLUMN: Photographing a saltwater croc

Mark and Will (the Sport Diver editorial team) have been harassing me for yonks to start a column on the Sport Diver website. So, to stop the never ending frowns and awkward silences, here is the first in my new monthly series...

Just as a brief introduction to me for anyone who doesn’t already know who I am, I have been writing diving articles and taking underwater photographs for some 15 years. I am currently using a Nikon DSLR camera in a Sea and Sea Housing with 2 x YS110 strobes.

I take my work very seriously and try and do my very best whatever the circumstances or conditions I am thrown into. At times I may get a little too carried away and focus on the subject more than the immediate danger but in my mind that’s the nature of the job and I’m willing to take that risk.

I think that the first image on my blog shows, in true paparazzi style, how far I sometimes have to push the limits to get a reasonable picture. I’m not entirely happy with the result and there is definitely some room for improvement but all in all I think it’s a shot worth showing.

This is a 3.5m saltwater croc called El Nino. He lives in the mangroves at a place called Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen) some 75km off the mainland of Cuba. El Nino is a very special crocodile. Noel, the resident dive guide, actually stops the boat and calls out for the croc. Unbelievably, El Nino appears from the mangroves and wanders over to the boat like a lost puppy. He gets fed lots of his favourite food - chicken - and in return allows slightly crazy underwater photographers to get into the water with him for a very intimate photo session.

In this picture El Nino’s lethal looking jaws are only a few centimetres away from the dome port of my camera. I was tensed...

To read the rest of Stuart's column, click here.

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