HOW TO. Photographing Fluorescent Plankton. Glow in the dark water!
Almost 1 year ago I found out that fluorescent plankton were on the move. As part of their migration to and from where ever they go, they had lingered around a place called Sri-Racha, in Thailand, 2hrs from Bangkok. Photos were starting to be posted all over the internet and it looked really exciting.
The migration path meant that they could probably be seen for around a week before moving on. The shoreline at the edge of the beach was reported to be the worst place to see them and that deeper water was best.
Up and down the local coastline around Sri-Racha are dozens of piers. Some of these piers are public and some are used purely for commercial use with smaller fishing boats. At night all piers seem to be 'open' and available for people to have a stroll.
We found the longest pier thinking it would lead out to the deepest waters. Initial inspection of the water was disappointing- there was nothing to see and no glowing plankton.
As we walked further we stated seeing little dots of glowing blue. The plankton lit up when they were disturbed or came into contact with something. Out in the open water away from ropes, boats and the pier the water was just very dark. But as you can see from the photos, where the water is disturbed, the plankton start glowing.
A few small waves and splashes from the boat indicated that the rougher the disruption was, the brighter the fluorescent plankton would glow.
Shaking the bamboo stilts attached to the pier- I guess to anchor the boat to, would cause an intense neon blue. Climbing down into the water and kicking/splashing the water would do the same. The light generated from doing this was incredible- although not as magnificent as the tree of Souls in AVATAR the movie, but it was still very surreal.
HOW TO:
Being so dark, the only way to take nice photos was to enable a slow shutter and long exposure. Being so close to water hanging off a pier I used my GoPro HERO4, selected night-shot and chose a 30 second exposure. Keeping the shutter open for so long allowed maximum light to enter.
By photographing in this way you need to be sure that the camera doesn't move at all- any movement will be blurred. This is why my body and especially my legs are blurred or unseen. The concrete wall or pier structure of course didn't move and has stayed in complete focus. The GoPro was set on a small tripod to ensure it held the correct angle and didn't move.
Using this technique will also allow you to photograph light trails. In-focus scenery with long tails of red brake/ white headlights trailing through the streets as the cars wiz by.
There was no 'after effect' from splashing in the water- no skin irritation, no rash, no tingling, no glowing skin! but some great photos.
I am hoping to go back again this year- just waiting for news of the fluorescent plankton to return.
