Surin and Similan Islands Underwater Photography Training
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How will the cruise be organised? 15/1: Appointment in Khao Lak between 2 and 4pm Departure from Khao Lak, around 5pm, overnight cruise to Richelieu Rock 16/1: 3 dives in Surin Islands + sunset dive or night dive 17/1: 3 day dives at Richelieu Rock + sunset dive or night dive 18/1: 3 dives at Richelieu Rock + 1 sunset or night dive 19/1: 3 dives at Richelieu Rock + 1 Blackwater dive 20/1: 2 dives at Koh Tachai, 1 dive at Koh Bon + 1 sunset dive or 1 Blackwater dive 21/1: 1 2 dives at Richelieu Rock and return to Koh Phayam at 6pm and Ranong around 8pm. The last dive ends no later than 11:30 am. |
Who is this UW Photography training for?
Either way this cruise is for you! The Smiling Seahorse gives you the chance to come improve your underwater photography skills in Thailand best dive spots!
How to get the most out of your underwater camera? How to approach different marine species? We'll talk about aperture, shutter speed, ISO and composition... |
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A Special Expedition animated by by Alex Tyrrell!After working in Myanmar and Indonesia, Alex Tyrell became a photographer at a luxury diving club in the Philippines where he taught photography classes and workshops for 4 years before opening his own business in Thailand in 2012.
Teaching underwater photography requires patience, experience and mastery of all the different techniques, and looking at Alex's portfolio it's clear that he also knows how to capture amazing images combining macro and wide angle with the use of snoots, sunbursts, silhouettes and motion blur results. Alex's images have been featured in numerous dive magazines including Sport Diver, Scuba Diving, Sport Diver Asia Pacific, Scuba Diver TTL, Scuba Diver Ocean Planet, Alert Diver, DIVE Magazine, The Undersea Journal, Dive Pacific and Dykking , etc...DivePhotoGuide & Wetpixel. He also writes articles on underwater photography techniques for the British magazine DIVE and the bilingual Chinese magazine EZ Dive. More recently, he won the Thailand Dive expo 2020 photography contest. |
Alex Tyrrell
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Whether you take photos in Jpg or RAW format, learning photo editing will give your photos a huge boost.
Adapting to your needs, Alex can explain the basics you need to know about software such as "Photoshop" or "Lightroom" or enter into a much more detailed lecture.
He can also be your private coach for a dive, count 2 hours for an hour of diving + 30 minutes of briefing before the dive to set the objectives of the session or watch your equipment put in place + 30 minutes of debriefing for a short session of image review.
Adapting to your needs, Alex can explain the basics you need to know about software such as "Photoshop" or "Lightroom" or enter into a much more detailed lecture.
He can also be your private coach for a dive, count 2 hours for an hour of diving + 30 minutes of briefing before the dive to set the objectives of the session or watch your equipment put in place + 30 minutes of debriefing for a short session of image review.
Improve your shots day and nights!Macro and wide angle...
The Andaman Sea have it all! During the day, you will encounter plenty of beautiful subjects to photograph, whether you are a macro enthusiast or more into wide angle photography you will find what you’re looking for in Surin and Similan national parks. |
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BLACK WATER DIVES
Some days the 4th dive will be sunset, others we will do night dive on shallow reef and we will also offer you the chance to try out Blackwater diving for new, unique photo opportunities! (Optional: 500thb/diver)
Night dives every day and the opportunity to do black water dives!
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Tripod fish is a deep sea creature
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What is Blackwater diving?Blackwater diving is an extraordinary new way of night diving!
You will dive on top of very deep water with no other reference than a downline fitted with powerful lights. Blackwater dives give us the opportunity to encounter marine life never seen on usual dives, such as all types of larvae and baby fish, crabs or shrimps still floating mid-water until they are strong enough to settled down on the reef or deep sea creatures who will never visit a reef... "Fiction becoming reality!" Remember all the foreign creatures you have seen in sci-fi movies, dreamlike transparent creatures and cute little aliens with long arms, they will all come back to give you a show on your blackwater dives. Blackwater diving in the Andaman Sea offers you a chance to get unique photos: you might be the only one that got to “interact” with a particular jellyfish, plankton or larva before it vanishes into the darkness. |
Nautilus are also living the pelagic life and seldom ever seen on the reef
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Have a great holidays sharing our passion on a fantastic new boat for Photographers!
With hundreds of dives in the area, our guides know how to find the nicest subjects for your photos.
Don’t waste your time looking for the frogfish or the ghost pipefish, they will do it for you. So you can focus technical stuff and take the best shot! |
Built at the end of 2018, The MV Smiling Seahorse is a comfortable vessel to explore the Andaman Sea.
Designed by and for divers and underwater photographer, it is the only liveaboard in Thailand with a camera room! 
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Sharing good time with fellow Under Water Photographers
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Being part of a photographer-only cruise is the guaranty to improve your shots.
With up to 4 dives a day and as many surface intervals you will have plenty of time to share your experience, technics and tricks. As many opportunities to learn and try new styles and ideas on the next dive. All of it with the advices of a very experienced professional underwater photographer. Pick one of our 8 confortable cabins for only 16 guests! |
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MV Smiling Seahorse built in 2018
Diving certification requiredBecause you need to be a diver prior to bring a camera down there, we ask you to be certified up to 30 metres by any dive organization like Padi, Naui, ssi, Cmas or similar, and you need good buoyancy skills.
Nitrox available for EAN certified divers. Equipment requiredCompact, hybrid or DSLR no matter the camera you have, as long as you can set it in manual mode to get the best of the clinic. The aim here for beginners is to set yourself free from automatic modes, and for experienced photographs, the aim is to improve your knowledge and underwater photo skills.
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,7 days / 6 nights, 22 dives
From January 15 (5pm) to January 21, 2025 (8pm) From Khao Lak to Ranong Price per diver 2024 - 2025 54,000 THB in Standard cabin 60,000 THB in Deluxe cabin 64,000 THB in Master cabin 
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INCLUDED
• Full accommodation and board (Breakfast, Lunch, afternoon bites, Dinner) • All soft drinks, drinking water, fresh coffee & tea • Fresh fruits, yogurt & snacks all-day • 12 L scuba tank, Weights & Weight Belt - Free 1 Blackwater dive • PADI Professional Dive Guide (for up to 4 divers) • up to 25 Dives • Towels, reef-friendly amenities • Sea kayak and hammock |
NOT INCLUDED
. Marine Park Fee * 2,600 THB / diver *subject to government's change . COMPULSORY IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR OWN: - PERSONAL INSURANCE (General Travel insurance is highly recommended) - Computer rental 300 THB/day - Equipment rental 600 THB/ day . OPTIONS: - 15L Tank 250 THB / day or 1,500 THB for the whole cruise - Nitrox : 250 THB/tank or 4,500 THB for the whole cruise - Private guide 5,000 THB/day 1000 THB/ Extra Blackwater dive . COURSES: - PADI Courses - Photographer private coaching . Transfers to and from the boat on-demand (prices) . Alcoholic drinks and cigarettes . Gratuity/ tips (1000 THB / day /pers is common practice) |
Be careful, these special trips are rare and fill up quite quicky!!! book ahead of time
The Smiling Seahorse Andaman Dive cruises
Review:
5, based on
194 reviews
"The best Similan diving expérience!!" by
fiftystatesevenconts, written on
April 21, 2024
The title says it all and every component of the Smiling Seahorse stands out. The dive sites were varied and each one offered something new to shout about. I reached my 900th dive on this trip from Khao Lak to Phuket, and have been on many live-aboards, and this one knows what divers want. They help you don your wetsuit, hold on to your tank before you jump in or climb back up the ladder, to save your back for your 24 dives in a week, put your fins on for you, remove them after the dive, and would likely breathe for you if requested.
James, my extremely experienced guide and cruise director, did everything in his power to make all my dives special. What resulted in that, were some pretty special dives: 8 black tipped sharks in a few minutes, 5 massive blotched fantail rays, a guitar shark, a leopard shark, a deadly stonefish, giant clams, and rivers of fish swimming through the corals, actually blocking my view of him at one point, and it was hard to follow him, like in a fog! These big schools of fish are one of the main reasons for a live-aboard, remoteness, and these are some incredibly healthy reefs.
The food was excellent as well, with mountains of it offered 3 times a day, plus a "snack", which really amounted to 4 meals a day.
If you want to feel like every day is your birthday, with your invited guests including countless green morays, cuttlefish, huge schools of giant trevallies and bright fusiliers carpeting the ocean, get aboard the Smiling Seahorse.
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