Visiting the Galapagos was a childhood dream come true. Since I was a young boy I had a dream of swimming in these distant waters of Ecuador and finally meeting a marine iguana. The experience was fantastical, challenging and humbling. The Galapagos is the birth place of Darwinism for a reason! Shooting Underwater Photography in the Galapagos is extremely challenging. Galapagos is affected by seven currents, and at times they can be up to 5 knots underwater. You usually take refuge by hanging on or behind boulders underwater. This makes is challenging when you are using manual focus underwater lenses as you only generally have one hand free for the camera and one for holding on to rocks.
Currents in Galapagos also move vertically. You can have 20 -30′ vertical exchanges in a matter of seconds due to down and up currents. Galapagos diving is only for those who are very experienced and have a sense of adventure. A number members of our dive team left their cameras behind in order to have both hands free to feel confident and safe underwater. I have a whole new respect for some of those amazing underwater pictures you see from the Galapagos. Next time I will re-think dive hooks (not a fan of the negative environmental impacts, ) and auto focus equipment.