Jason Isley: Underwater miniatures and the crazy WACP
Underwater miniatures and the crazy WACP
Having published the book Small Blue World and placed all the plastic miniatures away on shelves I was looking forward to getting back to some ‘normal’ underwater shots and not playing with toys anymore. After talking with a few people and realising the online world is packed with ‘normal’ shots I have come to the conclusion the miniatures need to come out of retirement - but where to take the story? Despite what some people think, it wasn’t just a case of some middle aged man having an excuse to play with toys, Small Blue World has a serious story and theme regarding Climate Change.
So I have stepped back into the crazy world of miniatures underwater and come up with a storyline continuing on from the book, their underwater paradise is no longer a paradise with acidification and water temperatures rising, they must explore the various seascapes and eventually find themselves reaching out into the abyss.
Of course there will be some of the normal ‘day to day’ images and leisure activities, one particular shot I have captured already is the matador bull fighting. To capture this I was fortunate enough to be testing the latest Nauticam WACP convertor and was on a project in Fiji. I have tested this convertor with both the 28mm and 28-70mm lenses and I know Alex has also posted various shots from this lens/convertor but I have included some here as I am extremely impressed with the quality and versatility.
Without the usual bulls to tease the Matador decides to take on the bull shark. (nikon D800, 28-70mm, nauticam WAP port/lens)
As the miniatures explore the Abyss an astronaut comes face to face with a trevally and host jellyfish. (nikon D800, 60mm macro, nauticam)
The astronauts check out the comb jelly drifting in the Abyss. (nikon D800, 60mm macro, nauticam)
Golden damselfish caring for its eggs on an old gorgonian sea fan. (nikon D800, 28mm, nauticam WAP port/lens)
A male green turtle hassles and bites the second male who is locked on with the female. (nikon D800, 28mm, nauticam WAP port/lens)
Close up portrait of green turtle at Sipadan. (nikon D800, 28mm, nauticam WAP port/lens)
Reef manta cruises below the live-aboard in Tubbataha. (nikon D800, 28-70mm, nauticam WAP port/lens)
Green turtles battle for prime cleaning spot on ‘Turtle Rock’ at Barracuda Point, Sipadan. (nikon D800, 28mm, nauticam WAP port/lens)
A school of batfish cruise along the wall, Tubbataha. (nikon D800, 28-70mm, nauticam WAP port/lens)
A porcupine ray cruises over the reef in search of a sandy area where it can start hunting. (nikon D800, 28-70mm, nauticam WAP port/lens)
Close up with a reef manta on the cleaning station, Black Rock, Tubbataha. (nikon D800, 28-70mm, nauticam WAP port/lens)
In between sessions on the cleaning station a reef manta cruises above. (nikon D800, 28-70mm, nauticam WAP port/lens)
A large school of chevron barracuda sit off the wall at Delson Rock, Tubbataha. (nikon D800, 28-70mm, nauticam WAP port/lens)
A silvertip gets up close and personal, fishing hook damage clearly visible, Fiji. (nikon D800, 28-70mm, nauticam WAP port/lens)
Slow shutter blur used to illustrate the speed of the bull shark, Fiji. (nikon D800, 28-70mm, nauticam WAP port/lens)