Myanmar Photo and Video Clinic: Blackwater Diving and Three Days on the Burma Banks
Our first dive trip of the season to Burma was nothing short of magical! With underwater photographers and enthusiastic divers alike, we embarked on an unforgettable journey aboard the MV Smiling Seahorse. This special trip welcomed two industry legends, Mike Bartick and Walter Marti, for our inaugural Photo and Video Clinic in Myanmar — but certainly not our last.
This was a particularly special expedition for several reasons. It was the first photo clinic we had organised in Myanmar, we spent three full days exploring the legendary Burma Banks, and it was our first cruise dedicated to blackwater diving in Myanmar.
It was also our first workshop led by Mike Bartick, a world-renowned blackwater expert and administrator of the worldwide Blackwater Photo Group. Mike was fantastic, not only helping our guests get the best possible photographs, but also identifying many of the fascinating subjects captured throughout the trip. It was equally wonderful to welcome back our friend Walter Marti, an expert blackwater videographer, who was on hand to answer all those difficult video-related questions.
First Day, Perfect Start
High Rock – A Picture-Perfect Beginning
We set the tone early with a fantastic first dive at High Rock, a charming rocky island crowned by a lone tree. Beneath the surface, a completely different world awaited us.
Bent stick pipefish, banded sea snakes, juvenile harlequin sweetlips and baby pufferfish were just a few of the creatures that greeted us. Around the corner, a mild current brought us towards swarms of big-eyed trevallies and chevron barracuda, schooling together and glistening in the sunlight. It was a mesmerising start to our Myanmar adventure.
Square Rock and Shark Cave
We then made our way to our next destination, Square Rock and Shark Cave, two sites next to each other, each offering its own unique features and marine life.
We split the divers into groups and took turns at each site, giving everyone time to explore the underwater landscape at their own pace. The swim-through at Shark Cave was exhilarating to begin with, but there was just as much to discover outside the cave itself.
Giant moray eels hid among the rocks, while different varieties of boxfish and shrimps moved through the reef. Big lobsters occupied cracks in the rocks, and peacock mantis shrimps added another splash of colour and character. Around the sites, massive schools of pickhandle barracuda and jacks created a spectacular backdrop.
The highlight for everyone, however, was finding adorable seahorses living on the fan corals near Shark Cave — a particularly fitting encounter for guests travelling aboard the MV Smiling Seahorse!
Sharing Knowledge: The World of Blackwater Diving
This cruise was not just about world-class diving. We were also committed to sharing knowledge with our guests through daily presentations, particularly as this was our first dedicated blackwater diving expedition in Myanmar.
Our first session covered the fascinating world of blackwater diving. Mike Bartick kicked things off with an in-depth talk about the importance of the light structures we set up at different depths — 3 metres, 5 metres, 10 metres and 15 metres. These lights mimic the glow of a full moon and attract larval marine life up through the water column.
Many of these tiny creatures rise towards the surface to feed on plankton, following a daily rhythm influenced by light. The scale of this migration is extraordinary, yet there is still so much we do not know about the creatures taking part in it.
This daily ritual of rising towards the moon represents the world’s largest migration of life, and we still know so little about it.
This daily migration brings immense quantities of marine life towards the surface. Mike explained how important this cycle is to ocean ecology, including the role played by the animals rising through the water column in the movement and capture of carbon near the surface.
Using specialised lighting over deep water gave us the rare opportunity to observe and identify deep-sea species in their larval stages. At this point in their lives, many of these animals look and behave completely differently from their adult forms, helping them avoid predators during one of the most vulnerable phases of their lives.
Mike highlighted just how intricate and adaptive these creatures are. By the end of the presentation, anticipation for our own blackwater dive was understandably high. Everyone was eager to enter this mysterious world and experience it first-hand.
Night Diving at Shark Cave
Our first night dive brought us more adorable seahorses and cuttlefish at Shark Cave. Stonefish were out for the night, octopuses were sneaking across the sand, and big schools of flounder appeared from the darkness.
We also enjoyed watching a fascinating decorator crab, which had disguised itself with strategically placed pieces of coral attached to its body. There was no fooling our divers, though, and we made sure to tell the crab how proud we were of its wonderful costume!
Burma Banks – Pristine Depths and Curious Dolphins
Waking up to an ocean with no other boats or lights around is a truly special experience. For many people, it is something they have never experienced before. So waking up aboard the MV Smiling Seahorse to a mesmerising sunrise near the Burma Banks was an unforgettable sight.
As we prepared for the first of nine dives on the legendary Burma Banks, we received a heart-warming welcome from a playful pod of dolphins. They swam alongside the boat, racing ahead as we made our way towards Roe Bank.
Being the first divers of the season to explore the Burma Banks, we all felt a little like pioneers, eager to discover what the underwater landscape would reveal.
Descending into crystal-clear water with around 40 metres of visibility, we were met by pristine sandy banks dotted with marine life. Nurse sharks glided past, with some resting serenely on the bottom, while giant lobsters and a magnificent marble ray moved across the seafloor.
The second dive took the excitement up another notch with even more sharks, swarms of surgeonfish and vibrant schools of butterflyfish displaying an incredible range of colours. It was the perfect beginning to our Burma Banks adventure and set the tone for the incredible encounters still to come.
A Magical Day at Rainbow Reef and Our First Enchanting Blackwater Dive
We cruised south to see what Rainbow Reef had in store, and once again, luck was on our side. Nurse sharks nestled beneath the rocks while reef sharks moved through the vibrant corals. Overhead, schools of big tuna and pickhandle barracuda glided past, while colourful reef fish adorned the seafans.
Among the favourites were the charming clown triggerfish and clown pufferfish, adding splashes of colour to the reef scene. As we reached our safety stop, anticipation filled the air for the first blackwater dive of the trip. Salps and tiny jellyfish were already drifting around us, offering a perfect preview of the marine life we hoped to encounter after dark.
Returning to the boat, nature treated us to a final magical touch: a double rainbow arched over Rainbow Reef, casting its colours across the open sea and leaving everyone in awe after another fantastic day exploring the Banks.
Before our blackwater dive, our onboard expert, Mike Bartick, shared insights into some of the unique creatures we might encounter, particularly siphonophores — fascinating colonial organisms that can take many different forms.
Mike explained how some larval sea creatures can mimic these stinging organisms to avoid predators, giving us another glimpse into the extraordinary adaptations found in deep-sea life.
Armed with this knowledge, together with Franck’s tips for a successful dive, we geared up with torches and cameras and teamed up to explore the mesmerising world beneath us in the darkness.
First-Time Wonders and Seasoned Discoveries on Our Blackwater Dive
For many divers on this trip, it was their first experience of blackwater diving — an exhilarating opportunity to witness the amazing tiny creatures that rise towards the surface at night.
Armed with cameras, they eagerly refined the specialised photography techniques needed to capture macro life in complete darkness, embracing the treasure hunt of spotting elusive creatures in the open ocean.
Meanwhile, the more experienced blackwater divers among us were equally excited. Everyone was curious to discover whether Myanmar’s blackwater environment might reveal surprises unique to this part of the world.
As we photographed and searched for life, the dive became a shared adventure. Laughter and discovery united everyone in the excitement of exploring this new location together. Most of the creatures we encountered were delicate larval species, but one of our guides, Mint, had a stroke of luck: she spotted a dolphin gliding nearby!
The rest of us could only hear the dolphin’s melodic sounds, entranced as they echoed through the water around us. It was a magical night, filled with mystery and wonder.
Franck also managed to capture a beautiful photograph of a yellow-bellied sea snake, an extraordinary animal with some fascinating adaptations and a pelagic lifestyle far from reefs and land.
One More Day Exploring the Burma Banks: Encounters Big and Small
The next morning, our adventure continued with a return dive at Roe Bank. Life seemed to have flourished overnight! We were thrilled to spot even more nurse sharks, our first turtle of the trip, and a rich variety of marine life including honeycomb moray eels, massive schools of unicornfish, a Napoleon wrasse and giant potato groupers resting beneath the reef ledges.
One particularly memorable encounter was with a group of giant trevallies that approached curiously, coming just close enough before apparently deciding that we were friendly visitors.
Dive guide Jamie even had a heart-warming moment with a playful school of Moorish idols, which swam past with puckered lips as if blowing a kiss.
As if the morning could not have been any better, a playful pod of 20 to 30 dolphins appeared just in time for breakfast. They stayed with us for around an hour, swimming alongside the boat before eventually disappearing towards the horizon. It was another magical way to start the day.
Our excitement grew as we headed back to Rainbow Reef for two more dives. Descending into a vibrant school of neon fusiliers — one of nature’s classic feeder schools — set the stage for encounters with numerous nurse sharks, tunas, jacks and giant trevallies.
Amid all this underwater activity, a massive marble ray rested nearby, sheltered from the current. We were also treated to the endearing sight of a giant honeycomb moray eel at a cleaning station, having its teeth meticulously attended to.
The reef was alive with colour, from anthias and rare nudibranchs to a mangrove whipray and a scribbled filefish. It was another unforgettable day at Rainbow Reef.
Delicious Dining and More Blackwater Wonders
Hungry divers enjoyed delicious Thai and French meals throughout the exhilarating trip. Creamy cheesy broccoli, a Thai noodle buffet, fresh banana fritters with ice cream and a comforting homemade chicken soup enjoyed during a brief summer storm all made for memorable meals during those first days, perfectly paired with the excitement of the expedition.
That evening, our blackwater expert, Mike, hosted a review session covering the photographs taken during the previous night’s blackwater dive. Using his book The World of Blackwater, he helped identify the fascinating deep-water species we had encountered and offered practical tips to the beginner photographers and videographers on board.
From capturing reflective subjects against the surface of the sea to discussing unusual relationships between marine creatures, there was plenty to learn. We explored how some species form associations or use remarkable adaptations to appear larger or hide from predators while feeding on plankton near the surface.
The photographs brought the magic of the deep to life and left everyone eager for the next dive.
A Day at Coral Bank and a Double Blackwater Dive Adventure
The following day, we slept in a little later in preparation for our double blackwater dive that evening. We moved south to Coral Bank for the first dives of our final day exploring the Burma Banks.
The shallower reef bank had slightly less current, giving us more time to take a closer look at some of the smaller marine life on the Banks — as well as seeing our familiar friends, the nurse sharks.
Colourful mushroom corals and anemones housed Clark’s anemonefish and other varieties of clownfish. Massive Porites corals were covered with colourful Christmas tree worms, while leather corals, goatfish, butterflyfish and bannerfish filled the reef. Big schools of striped bonito tuna and giant trevallies added to the action.
It was everything you could ask for from a site called Coral Bank!
During our Mediterranean-style lunch of fresh mixed vegetable salad, potato salad and falafel, we were once again greeted by a pod of dolphins. It seemed they knew we had not seen them at lunchtime yet and wanted to make sure we felt their love!
Our final daytime dive at the Burma Banks took us to Silvertip Bank in the hope of seeing silvertip reef sharks. While the encounter was not quite as exceptional as the previous November, we were lucky enough to spot a few. Nurse sharks were also at home on the site, alongside massive fan corals and colourful reef fish.
We then had another blackwater fish identification and photography tips session with Mike. He was incredibly impressed by the huge strides our new blackwater photographers had made and by the variety of creatures everyone had been finding on their dives.
We also learned how to identify an extraordinary range of marine life, including jellies, squid, snakes, larval fish, lobster and much more.
That evening, we went on two blackwater dives. The first was set over water approximately 400 to 500 metres deep, while the second was over depths of around 100 to 200 metres. The two dives were also separated by many nautical miles, allowing us to compare the diversity of marine life above different depths.
We would find out the following day during our photo review just how different the results were — and there were certainly a lot of excited screams of joy!
Final Days in the Mergui Archipelago
As we headed back to the Mergui Archipelago for our final days of diving, we said goodbye to the open ocean and arrived at a beautiful site called Seafan Forest.
Two dives took us deep into the massive seafan forest along rocky ridges. Sea fans the size of many of our customers — or even larger — rose in shades of orange, red, purple and white, creating an incredible underwater landscape.
Scorpionfish were everywhere, alongside huge barracuda, cute cuttlefish nibbling beneath rocks, nudibranchs, slow-moving cornetfish and trumpetfish. An eagle ray even passed above us. After several days of open-ocean and blackwater diving, the change of scenery was spectacular.
We then moved on to Eagle Rock and Western Rocky, two nearby sites offering magnificent scenery both above and below the surface. Chunky limestone towers and green-coloured boulders formed the islands while the underwater terrain offered caves, arches, walls and coral gardens.
Western Rocky, also known as “The Cave”, offered our divers spectacular topography. A careful descent along the rock wall of the larger island took divers through a beautifully lit archway into a massive underground alcove filled with fusiliers, sea fans and nudibranchs.
Just around the corner was a massive cave filled with lobsters and tiger cowries — a true adventure dive.
Next to the island was the famous deep coral garden of Eagle Rock, sloping upwards towards two limestone towers. Massive rays, big grumpy stonefish and huge schools of chevron and pickhandle barracuda filled the site.
Then came the sunset dive, which became one of the most awe-inspiring and photogenic dives of the entire trip.
A massive school of smooth-tailed trevallies was in an absolute frenzy. They formed a swirling tornado stretching from around 15 metres depth all the way towards the surface. Dive guides Simon and Franck were left completely mind blown by the spectacle, even hours afterwards.
The school was tightly packed and voraciously swirling, following the divers around the site. Sitting inside that moving wall of fish was an unforgettable experience and a photographic opportunity that many of our guests had never witnessed before.
What an amazing end to the dive day!
Barbecue Night: A Farewell Feast
That evening, we washed up and cleared the bar top for our famous barbecue celebration! The rum was flowing and we enjoyed a barbecue spread of delicious ribs, crispy chicken, fire-roasted vegetables and freshly toasted baguettes.
Everyone enjoyed their final dinner together while chatting about the highlights of this incredible trip and all the unforgettable moments we had experienced along the way.
The next morning, we took our final dives at Western Rocky and Eagle Rock, where we were greeted by a calm school of longfin batfish and beautiful golden fusiliers.
Heading towards our last site, we passed many of the islands of the beautiful Mergui Archipelago, with the sun shining down on lush green jungles, dramatic cliffs and cascading waterfalls.
The Volcano: A Unique Finale to an Unforgettable Trip
Our final dive site was a completely unique and magical end to the trip.
The Volcano is an island with sheer walls where divers can search for tiny nudibranchs, Xeno crabs and bearded scorpionfish. But before taking the dive, we went for a scuba snorkel!
A hidden alcove in the side of the island leads through an opening into the interior, where a massive saltwater nursery is tucked away inside the island. Each group took turns entering the nursery, floating on our backs and exploring the shallow reef while looking up at the peaceful teal waters and jungle surroundings — a landscape found only in these remote islands.
We packed away our cameras and diving equipment and made our way back to land, stopping for some Myanmar beers together in Kawthoung before returning to Ranong for hugs and goodbyes.
Everyone was already looking forward to sharing our blackwater, blue-water, sunset and rainbow photographs with each other.
Until the next trip…
