Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Work is Hell
As some of you may know, my latest project is "Xibalba - The Mayan Underworld". I am working with Guillermo "Memo" de Anda and Guillermo Pruneda in Mexico University of Yucatan Yucatan
What many of you may not know is that I have somewhat to very serious claustrophobia. So what do I do? I go cave diving! No, not to try to overcome my fear but to get great photos as well as a great story. You may think that I am crazy for cave diving with little to no training. Keep in mind, I am working with one of the world's most experienced cave divers and dive masters. After my first cenote dive, I had a long talk with myself. I realized that if I had ever wanted to be a cave diver, I would want Memo as my instructor. And that is exactly what I have.
Underwater photography presents it’s own set of challenges in open water. These challenges are further compounded by working in the harsh environment of cenotes. Not only am I thinking of f-stops and shutter speeds, I am constantly thinking of the safety of the dive team as well as myself. One of the biggest concerns is silt. The simple act of kicking fins can have dangerous consequences. Without even knowing it, you can kick up silt that will bring the normally crystal clear water to complete blackout. With little to no current flowing it could take days for the water to clear. I stick to my 'ole dive saying’ - "Stay calm and breathe... in that order.” It's just that I’m saying it to myself more often in the cenotes.
Another challenge in cenotes is lighting. More often than not, the water's surface is underground. One of my last dives was eighty feet underground to the surface of the water. We climbed down through a water well opening on forty foot extension ladders roped together. This opening was about 4 by 8 feet. It doesn't let much light in; not that that would have mattered as the sun had set before we began. Rarely, do I get the luxury of the sun's light as fill light.
Work is Hell - Images by Don Couch
Lighting these "black holes" is probably the one thing that calms me. Working this puzzle, I forget about the closed in feeling and go into "shooting mode". Now things like lighting ratios, direction of light, fill, composition all run through my mind. It's the best distraction from the walls closing in on me. The water is so clear that it seems as if I am floating in the air. We "fly" over boulders as big as buses. I look down and Memo is pointing his light at a skull resting on a slab of limestone. The jaw is open as if screaming. A few feet away lies the rest of the skeleton. I make six or eight images and we move on. Memo leads me to see more that the ancient Mayan left for us. Pottery, bones and skulls are scattered about like litter.
Our time is limited to our air supply and there is so much to see, I don't get to spend a lot of time on each artifact. It seems that every time I dive, it is better than the last. Memo's underwater world is filled with rituals of the past - offerings to the gods in the form of crops, animals, pottery and even human sacrifices. To the Mayan, these waters are sacred. Many of the cenotes are still protected by the local Maya people. Often we must ask permission to dive them.
The Maya knew water was sacred. In the Yucatan
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