Blackwater Photography

Also known as: Blackwater diving, pelagic night diving, open ocean night photography Key practitioners: Mike Bartick, Scott “Gutsy” Tuason, Linda Ianniello, Susan Mears Equipment: Macro lens (60mm or 100mm), strobes, focus light; no dome port needed; tethered or drift dive setup with lighted downline

Overview

Blackwater photography is a specialized form of underwater macro photography conducted at night in open ocean over deep water (typically 500-700+ feet deep). Photographers descend along a lighted downline suspended from a buoy and photograph the small pelagic larvae, jellyfish, cephalopods, crustaceans, and other planktonic organisms that migrate vertically from the deep each night — the largest animal migration on Earth. The technique produces images of subjects rarely or never seen by humans, many of which are larval forms of familiar reef species that appear radically different in their planktonic stage.

The genre grew from a niche practice into one of the most prominent trends in underwater photography during the mid-2010s, generating dedicated books, Wetpixel Live episodes, and competition-winning images.

History on Wetpixel

Early mentions (pre-2015)

Blackwater diving existed before Wetpixel covered it extensively. Hawaii’s “Pelagic Magic” night dives off Kona were among the earliest organized blackwater experiences, discussed in forum threads as early as 2009 (^[1]). Forum members shared tips and trip reports from Kona, Palm Beach, and other locations throughout the early 2010s.

Gutsy Tuason and the Philippines (2012-2017)

Scott “Gutsy” Tuason was introduced to blackwater photography in Hawaii in 2012 and brought the technique to the Philippines, documenting it in his sixth underwater photography book, Blackwater and Ocean Blue. Wetpixel featured his work and interviewed him in 2017, showcasing images of larval blennies, thimble jellyfish, polychaete worms, and a flying fish with a pygmy squid — subjects he described as “most likely the first time to be observed” by science (^[2]). The Wired magazine feature in 2018 brought blackwater diving to mainstream attention (^[3]).

Mike Bartick and Crystal Blue Resort (2020-2022)

Mike Bartick, photographer and manager of Crystal Blue Resort in Anilao, Philippines, became Wetpixel’s most prominent blackwater voice. Adam Hanlon hosted two Wetpixel Live episodes with Bartick in August 2020: one on blackwater photography techniques and diving skills (^[4]), and a follow-up on cameras and tools (^[5]). In 2022, Bartick published The World of Blackwater, an eBook compiling his images of “rare or never seen before marine animals” with natural history, personal narrative, and photo tips. It was designed to serve as a digital field guide for blackwater diving in the Indo-Pacific (^[6]).

Linda Ianniello and Susan Mears — Southeast Florida (2020)

Linda Ianniello and Susan Mears documented blackwater diving off southeast Florida (Palm Beach County), where dive operators Pura Vida Divers and Walker’s Dive Charters perfected the drift-dive technique. Their 2020 book Blackwater Creatures: A Guide to Southeast Florida Blackwater Diving contained over 220 images across 170 pages (^[7]). A second edition followed in 2021 (^[8]).

Ianniello also published a comprehensive reference book list for blackwater subject identification on Wetpixel, noting that “not just one of them is sufficient” and that larval fish identification remains particularly challenging — “there is a huge book on larval fish for our area, but it costs approximately $300” (^[9]).

Technique Details

The drift dive setup

As described by Ianniello and Mears from the Florida model: the boat travels offshore to water 500-700 feet deep on the edge of the Gulf Stream, deploys a large buoy attached to a 45-foot dropline with lights at top and bottom and marker lights at intervals. Divers enter untethered and drift with the current, staying within sight of the line. Dives last 90 minutes and cover 1-9 miles of drift. Divers typically stay above 45 feet (14 meters) as current varies with depth (^[10]).

Camera and lighting

Bartick discussed gear specifics across two Wetpixel Live episodes, covering camera selection, strobes, and focus lights. The technique requires macro lenses (typically 60mm or 100-105mm), powerful strobes for freezing tiny translucent subjects against a pure black background, and a strong focus light both for finding subjects and for autofocus assist in the darkness (^[11]).

Subjects

Typical blackwater subjects include:

• Larval fish: Flounder larvae, lionfish larvae, blenny larvae, soapfish larvae with long filaments
• Cephalopods: Paper nautilus (argonauts), sharpear enope squid paralarvae, pygmy squid
• Crustaceans: Crab zoea (first larval stage), spiny lobster juveniles, deep-water shrimp larvae
• Gelatinous zooplankton: Jellyfish, salps, siphonophores, ctenophores
• Gastropods: Sea butterflies (pteropods), sea angels (gymnosomes), veliger larvae
• Other: Polychaete worms, hydromedusae

Many subjects exhibit behaviors rarely documented: Tuason captured a flying fish with a pygmy squid sheltering under its pectoral fin, and mating sea butterflies — “probably one of the few ever recorded sightings of this behavior” (^[12]).

Key locations

• Anilao, Philippines — Mike Bartick’s base at Crystal Blue Resort; rich Indo-Pacific biodiversity
• Kona, Hawaii — “Pelagic Magic” dives; among the earliest organized blackwater experiences; a Hawaii blackwater guide was published in 2020 (^[13])
• Palm Beach County, Florida — Gulf Stream drift dives pioneered by Pura Vida Divers and Walker’s Dive Charters
• Lembeh Strait, Indonesia — Blackwater dives added to the muck diving repertoire (^[14])

Notable Work

• Scott “Gutsy” Tuason, Blackwater and Ocean Blue (book, ~2017)
• Linda Ianniello and Susan Mears, Blackwater Creatures (2020, 2nd edition 2021)
• Mike Bartick, The World of Blackwater (eBook, 2022)
• Multiple Wetpixel Full Frame gallery features showcasing blackwater imagery

References

• ^[15] (article)
• ^[16] (article)
• ^[17] (article)
• ^[18] (Full Frame gallery)
• ^[19] (article)
• ^[20] (article)
• ^[21] (article)
• ^[22] (article)
• ^[23] (article)
• ^[24] (article)