Richelieu Rock Photo Clinic from 13th to 18th of January 2023

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Underwater Photography in Thailand: Richelieu Rock, Blackwater Diving and Two Photo Clinics

2023 started with some fantastic photo opportunities as we ran two photo clinics back to back with our special guest Alex Tyrrell from Dive4photos. The first was our dedicated blackwater diving expedition, with blackwater dives planned every night. Our second cruise of the year was dedicated to getting the best photos Thailand’s Andaman Sea can offer, which is why we decided to focus on Thailand’s best-known dive site and one of the world’s top dive sites: Richelieu Rock, for most of the cruise.

Underwater photographers from Thailand, India, England, America, South Korea and France enjoyed daily presentations by Alex, learning how to get the most out of their cameras while making the most of the incredible marine life and underwater scenery of the Andaman Sea.

Alex Tyrrell teaching underwater photography during a Thailand photo clinic — Alex Tyrrell sharing his underwater photography experience during the Thailand photo clinic

Alex Tyrrell is an award-winning underwater photographer who owns and operates Dive4photos, a premium facility in Thailand dedicated to underwater photography training. Alex has been teaching underwater photography since 2008 and specialises in techniques such as snoots, sunbursts, silhouettes and motion blur. His work and articles have appeared in publications including Sport Diver, Scuba Diving and DIVE Magazine.

During our photo expedition, Alex gave presentations covering everything from choosing the right subject and finding the perfect reef scene to creating sun balls and sun beams, anticipating the peak of the action and getting the most from each photographic opportunity.

We completed 14 dives at Richelieu Rock, and Alex certainly did not get bored! Even after numerous dives at this famous pinnacle, there were always new cracks, crevices and tiny critters to discover and photograph.

Macro Photography at Richelieu Rock

Richelieu Rock offered an incredible variety of subjects for our macro photographers. We found the delightful Pikachu nudibranch and the pretty yet oh-so-mean harlequin shrimps. We also witnessed Clark’s anemonefish parents carefully nurturing their eggs beneath the protective skirt of their anemone.

Pikachu nudibranch photographed at Richelieu Rock Thailand — Pikachu nudibranch photographed at Richelieu Rock

Macro photograph of ghost pipefish eggs at Richelieu Rock Thailand — Macro photography of ghost pipefish eggs

Pair of harlequin shrimps at Richelieu Rock Thailand — Pair of harlequin shrimps at Richelieu Rock

Colourful reef scene at Richelieu Rock Thailand — Colourful reef scene at Richelieu Rock

Three bannerfish photographed at Richelieu Rock Thailand — Three bannerfish photographed at Richelieu Rock

Pair of harlequin shrimps on the reef at Richelieu Rock Thailand — Pair of harlequin shrimps on the reef at Richelieu Rock

Jellyfish photographed during a Thailand underwater photo clinic — Jellyfish photographed during the Thailand photo clinic

Wide-Angle Photography at Richelieu Rock

For the wide-angle photographers, Richelieu Rock delivered spectacular action. We captured huge balls of jackfish dancing around the reef, with so much marine life that we sometimes did not know where to look. Schools of trevallies, fusiliers, yellow goatfish, emperors, batfish, barracuda and glassfish filled the water, all surrounded by the beautiful pink soft corals that gave Richelieu Rock its name.

Wide-angle underwater photography at Richelieu Rock Thailand — Wide-angle photography at Richelieu Rock

Colourful reef and schooling fish at Richelieu Rock Thailand — Colourful reef life surrounding Richelieu Rock

Ball of jackfish photographed underwater during a Thailand photo clinic — A huge ball of jackfish at Richelieu Rock

Underwater photographer capturing fish action during a Thailand photo clinic — Capturing fish action during the underwater photo clinic

Busy reef scene during an underwater photo clinic at Richelieu Rock — The reef was alive during our photo clinic at Richelieu Rock

Schooling snappers photographed in Thailand

Colourful reef and fish photographed during an underwater photography cruise in Thailand — Colourful reef life during the photo clinic

Beautiful anemone scene photographed during an underwater photography cruise in Thailand — A beautiful anemone scene at Richelieu Rock

Blackwater Diving During the Photo Clinic

The days were bright and colourful, but that did not stop us from running a few night dives, especially blackwater dives, for which The Smiling Seahorse had already become known as a specialist in Thailand. We tried a new blackwater diving spot near the Surin Islands, where we installed two lines to accommodate all the divers more comfortably.

And what great encounters we had! Blackwater diving gives underwater photographers the opportunity to photograph fascinating pelagic creatures that rise towards the surface during the nightly vertical migration. For macro photographers, these dives are a chance to encounter unusual and often delicate-looking animals that are rarely seen on conventional reef dives.

Squid photographed while blackwater diving in Thailand — Squid encountered during a blackwater dive in Thailand

Small squid photographed during blackwater diving in Thailand — A beautiful squid during a blackwater dive

Cephalopod photographed during a blackwater dive in Thailand — A fascinating cephalopod encountered during blackwater diving

Underwater photographer taking photographs during a blackwater dive in Thailand — Underwater photography during a blackwater dive

Underwater photography during a blackwater diving expedition in Thailand — Blackwater diving and underwater photography in Thailand

Underwater photographer during a blackwater dive in Thailand — Capturing unusual marine life during a blackwater dive

Moray eel photographed during blackwater diving in Thailand — Moray eel encountered during blackwater diving

Blackwater diving and underwater photography near the Surin Islands Thailand — Blackwater diving near the Surin Islands

Small crustaceans photographed during blackwater diving in Thailand — Tiny crustaceans photographed during a blackwater dive

A Memorable Underwater Photography Expedition in Thailand

What a pleasure it has been to welcome all these talented photographers! Thank you all for coming diving with The Smiling Seahorse and for sharing your passion for underwater photography with us. From the colourful reefs of Richelieu Rock to the strange and wonderful creatures of the blackwater, these photo clinics showed just how much variety Thailand’s Andaman Sea has to offer.

With dedicated photo facilities onboard, plenty of time in the water and some of Thailand’s most productive dive sites on our itineraries, a liveaboard is an ideal way to combine diving and underwater photography in the Andaman Sea.