Under the Jungle Cave Photography Workshop

Kerrie Burow travels to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula for the 2023 Under the Jungle cave images workshop

Photographs by Kerrie Burow

Beneath the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico lies an intricate community of underwater caves, a realm of hidden magnificence that draws cave divers from across the globe.

Under the Jungle is a dive store and coaching centre nestled within the coronary heart of the Riviera Maya on the japanese facet of the Yucatan Peninsula. It’s grow to be a go-to centre for cave diving coaching, cave guiding, citizen science, exploration and the annual Under the Jungle cave images workshop.

In May 2023, I travelled to Mexico for the 2023 Under the Jungle cave images workshop, and in addition signed up for pre-workshop expertise refinement within the week earlier than.

The Under the Jungle Photography Workshop

Over the final couple of years, I’ve been centered on bettering my cave diving expertise. I’ve additionally been eager to enhance my cave images and, together with travelling to Mount Gambier, South Australia, fairly a variety of occasions to dive, I’ve additionally attended cave images workshops in Italy and France.

I’ve discovered that these workshops have been a superb means for me to be launched to the native caves by the divers who dive them regularly and {photograph} them the most effective – in addition to an opportunity to enhance my very own cave diving and cave photographs.

When I heard in regards to the 2023 Under the Jungle Workshop, being led by Natalie Gibb, I jumped on the probability to each dive the Mexican caves and study cave images from among the best within the enterprise.

Along with signing as much as the week-long important workshop, I dedicated to arriving per week early so I might do a variety of days of one-on-one dives with Natalie, a famend cave diving teacher and explorer who not solely imparts knowledgeable coaching, but in addition captures the enchantment of cave diving by means of her distinctive images.

I needed to hone my cave diving expertise, get used to the native cylinders, and work on images expertise particular to cave diving images with the intention of being able to hit the water operating for the principle workshop.

Under the Jungle and Natalie Gibb

Natalie Gibb’s listing of accomplishments within the diving trade are extraordinary: she’s a TDI Instructor Trainer and cave and sidemount teacher, she’s co-owner of Under the Jungle with exploration accomplice Vincent Rouquette-Cathala, she’s one of many most-renowned cave diving explorers on the planet and a 2022 inductee into the Women Divers Hall of Fame (WDHOF).

As properly as her cave diving accomplishments, Natalie’s rising contributions to cave diving images can’t be understated. Her photographs illuminate the hidden world discovered deep inside underwater caves. One of the moststriking facets of her images is the sense of depth and atmosphere she captures.

The caves she explores are a difficult surroundings to {photograph}, however her pictures handle to convey each the serenity and the haunting magnificence of those areas.

Being a comparatively new cave diver, I used to be keen to take in as a lot information and expertise as doable from this grasp of sunshine and shadows. After a protracted journey from Sydney, Australia, I arrived at my villa lodging in Puerto Aventuras – only a five-minute drive from Under the Jungle – keen to start out diving.

Safety first

The rapid focus of our coaching was on security with the final word purpose being to discover the Yucatan caverns and caves with confidence whereas minimising dangers.

We deliberate to assessment dive planning (together with gasoline administration), line laying, protocols in Mexico, emergency procedures and expertise particular to taking images within the caves.

Natalie and I began out on day one with a ‘shake down’ dive – or a ‘test run’ – in Cenote Jardin Del Eden (often known as Cenote Ponderosa), a surprising lagoon with crystal-clear waters, nestled amid a dense rainforest which additionally gives entry to a big cavern system.

The shake down dive was an opportunity for me to check my gear to see if it was functioning properly after the flights from Australia, and it was additionally an opportunity for Natalie to evaluate my diving expertise earlier than we ventured into overhead environments.

After performing a variety of drills and expertise to Natalie’s satisfaction – together with varied finning methods, emergency gasoline shutdowns and out of gasoline donations I used to be prepared for my first cavern dive in Mexico! Ponderosa, with it’s unimaginable gentle show of diffraction showing on the cavern finish of the cave line, didn’t disappoint!

We adopted up our day within the water with some concept again at Under the Jungle, a assessment of navigation pitched at my degree of qualification (together with jumps, Ts and gaps situations) in addition to drawback and emergency state of affairs administration.

Cave diving protocols can differ relying on the nation the place you’re diving, and this was a superb means for me to shortly rise up to hurry with what was accepted in Mexico in comparison with the coaching I’d accomplished in different international locations.

It was a really satisfying first day, and I returned to my lodging that evening buzzing on the considered the entire different lovely caverns and caves I might be diving throughout the remainder of my keep within the Yucatan.

Building expertise

Over the next week, I dived in a variety of lovely caves below the one-on-one tutelage of Natalie and later her teacher Lilia Cabrera Gallaga. We coated a mix of theoretical information and sensible expertise, which enabled me to discover the native caves with growing confidence whereas minimising dangers.

The instructors’ experience in technical information in regards to the particular caves we dived shone by means of in addition to their insights into psychological facets of cave diving, guaranteeing I used to be mentally ready for the Under the Jungle cave images workshop the next week.

Painting darkness with gentle

Diving with such skilled instructors (and photographers) in Mexico not solely supplied steerage on the cave programs but in addition provided insights into the most effective photographic alternatives and methods within the caves we dived – every a really distinctive underwater house.

Cave diving images presents a singular set of challenges and rewards. The interaction between the cave’s darkness and synthetic lighting creates a setting that may remodel strange scenes into mesmerising photographs.

To seize these moments, photographers should utilise each their technical expertise and images instinct. Solid buoyancy management is crucial, and a single errant fin kick can fire up silt, obliterating visibility in seconds and/or destroy decorations which have been within the caves for hundreds of years.

The inserting of offboard lights across the cave to gentle it up with out disturbing the surroundings, in areas the place each slight motion counts, requires whole focus and care. Distraction is a cave diver’s worst enemy.

Focusing on the proper shot can lead photographers to lose observe of air consumption, pointers, or their spatial orientation – your individual security and that of the crew you’re diving with is extra necessary than any {photograph}.

Exploring and photographing the Mexican caves comes with a duty to protect and defend these delicate ecosystems. Cave divers and underwater photographers are custodians of those hidden caves, and we have now a duty to advocate for his or her conservation and sustainability.

Sticking to moral diving practices ensures minimal affect on the delicate cave decorations and ensures those that dive them after us may expertise their magnificence.

Conclusion

Improving my cave diving expertise for underwater images at Under the Jungle was a really satisfying endeavour and exceeded my expectations. I used to be in a position to mix the thrill of cave diving with the artistry of capturing photographs below the steerage of knowledgeable instructors.

It was an unimaginable alternative to refine my very own technical and photographic expertise earlier than beginning the principle Under the Jungle Workshop, which proved equally fulfilling. I now discover I’m counting the months right down to my subsequent journey to cave dive in Mexico.

FAQ

What is the Under the Jungle workshop?

It’s an annual images and coaching occasion in Mexico’s Yucatán, centered on cave diving expertise and cave images methods.

Where is Under the Jungle positioned?

The dive centre is predicated in Puerto Aventuras, Riviera Maya, about 50 minutes from Cancun International Airport.

Who leads the workshop?

Renowned cave explorer and photographer Natalie Gibb, co-owner of Under the Jungle, alongside skilled instructors.

Do I have to be an skilled cave diver to hitch?

Participants profit most with some cave diving background, however pre-workshop coaching is on the market to refine expertise earlier than the principle occasion.

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This article was initially printed in Scuba Diver UK #80

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