Delving into the depths of oceans, one dive at a time

The quietness of the ocean harbours a world full of colours and creatures, where a game of life and death plays out unostentatiously. How does it really feel, to spend time underwater, relishing this world? Mumbai-based Digant Desai, 56-year-old underwater marine photographer, says that it is an all-encompassing feeling. “It’s complete rejuvenation in terms of physical, emotional, and mental wellness. In a fast-paced city like Mumbai, I would have gone insane had I not been able to spend time in the oceans,” he says of the spiritual experience that anchors him.

Desai has been a wildlife photographer since he was 18, dabbling in terrestrial photography. He wanted to try underwater marine photography since the age of 15, but somehow never got the opportunity. After taking a break from wildlife photography due to family responsibilities, in 2006, he picked up his camera again. “This time, I opted for underwater marine photography.” What finally pushed him to pursue his passion at the age of 45 was an incident that transpired while he was vacationing in Mauritius.

“I tried scuba diving for the first time in Mauritius, with a two more fellow tourists—the three of us guided by an instructor. We were 12 meters underwater, when the pair started facing some problems and panicked,” he recollects. The diver gestured to let Desai know that he was taking the couple to the boat and will be back soon. “I was completely alone on the seabed! I was on my knees, looking around, positively overwhelmed by my surroundings—the stunning hues and species—when a turtle passed by me!” he says. Desai was so mesmerised, that he even stopped dwelling on the fact that he was all by himself. After 10 blissful minutes, the instructor returned and he resumed the dive. “That’s when I decided, this is what I want to showcase to the world. The underwater world has a whole palette of colours, and they can rival anything on the land.”

Soon enough, he underwent training from the Aussie guru of underwater photography, Jeff Mullins. While he was practising terrestrial wildlife photography, he had used ‘film-based cameras’, a technology later replaced by digital cameras. Upon his comeback, Desai found himself to be clueless about the new equipment and its functionalities. “I learnt from scratch about the nitty-gritty of the new gizmos and a lot about the post processing of photographs. Currently, apart from his underwater photography, he also arranges dive trips for scuba divers through his travel company. For the six months of the year that he is away from the city, you might find him drifting between crevices of corals, or tailing a lesser known marine animal around the world.

Ragged tooth sharks aren't that uncommon - Pic: Digant Desai

On a typical day at sea, he starts as early as five as he likes to shoot before other divers start crowding. “Around four dives a day makes sure I capture maximum images. The best wide angle images are clicked around early sunrise and just before dusk, while for close ups, anytime of the day is fine,” he suggests. Desai has dived in most parts of Tonga, Egypt, Maldives, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Palau and certain parts of South Africa. “I haven’t tried diving in the Australian and the US coastal regions yet. My favourite so far is Indonesia.” Assignments for BNHS, National Institute of Oceanography and other marine institutions give him further impetus to explore the seabed.

Though his maximum engagement is with marine life photography, he has also tried photographing shipwrecks. He reckons that some really superb images can be created if there’s life on a wreck. But he also points out that photographing shipwrecks is a completely different ballgame as it demands a lot of training. Especially where it requires going inside the ships for longer durations. One of the most fascinating shipwreck shoots that he has done was that of the SS Thistlegorm in the Red Sea. It still has trucks, motorbikes, jeeps intact in its belly, which survived bombardment by the Germans during the Second World War. “Humpback whales and their babies, whale sharks and the tiny, pinhead-sized pygmy squids fascinate me,” grins Desai, when asked to pick his favourites.

A humpback whale - Digant Desai

At a glance, Desai’s profession looks fun and thrilling, but it demands a deep sense of understanding the oceans. So what does it really take, apart from mettle, to become an underwater marine photographer? “Being a skilled diver is important, as is being respectful to the unique environment. You need to learn to relax underwater as the creatures around are quite intuitive and can gauge if a person is scared,” he opines. As a response, marine creatures won’t approach you and you’d miss out good images. “You also need to understand the marine substratum, as beyond 10 meters, the colours can appear drab and brown,” he says.  It is important to ask oneself, ‘What is it that I want to do with these images?’ If you want to do this professionally, then it is ideal to first learn it from a pro photographer.

“If you are the kind of person who isn’t calm or or gets easily panicked; do not venture into this profession,” Desai warns. One needs to be extremely patient, as once you dive in, there may or may not be someone around to help you out of a problem. You’re expected  to manage all by yourself. Desai shares these words of caution because of his own terrifying experiences. One time in Indonesia, he was on a liveaboard for a week with few other divers at the Three Sisters Diving site, where he jumped at the opportunity of diving. The location is known as the three sisters as there  are three pinnacle structures, which sits proudly underwater. The way to go around here is to dive on the first pinnacle, then on to the second one, then the third one and then return to the second pinnacle to finish the dive. This is the route to be followed to save yourself from strong water currents.

“Our dive instructor made an error and got us to start the dive from the second pinnacle, thinking it’s the first one, and then we went on to the third, taking it to be the second,” he says. Thereafter the diver led the group of twelve towards stronger currents, searching for the third pinnacle in vain. This is when the divers realised that something was amiss. “We were frantically fighting the strong currents but weren’t getting anywhere,” Desai adds.

Photographer - Digant Desai

Luckily, all the divers maintained their calm, pushed aside the fear of running out of oxygen (air) in the tank and focussed on retracing the route. After what felt like an eternity, they managed to locate the second pinnacle and got on board. “In those moments I saw my whole life in a flash as I thought I may not be able to get back to the liveaboard. That experience shook me to the core, but it taught me to keep calm in times of crisis, enabling clarity in thoughts,” the man confides.

While glad to pursue his passion full-time, he is also saddened by the massive changes he has observed in the oceans. Desai had snorkelled in the Andaman Islands in 1989 and vividly remembers the myriad species he had spotted—what the ocean looked like, back then. Recently, he went scuba diving in the same island, to be completely disappointed. “All those years ago, I’d seen more species while snorkelling, than what I can see today in the deep waters. Over the years, in various parts of the Indian Ocean, the larger sized fish life has also depleted. Till a decade ago, spotting a shiver of sharks was quite common, now it’s become a rare sight,” he sighs.