Rainbow’s Breath

The story behind the image

Anilao，連續第三年

農曆年又去了 Anilao，連續第三年——因為這對我而言，是工作 💪。

這次的靈感來自我的上海攝影師朋友 Tora。她說這邊有一種叫 Benny 的小魚，住在珊瑚礁的小洞裡，會用嘴巴把沙噴出來，有點像在大喊「啊——！」的感覺。她朋友拍出來效果很好，強烈推薦我試試看 😆。

想法：兩支 snoot，各自一個顏色

我腦子裡浮現一個畫面：如果用兩支 snoot 各自搭配不同顏色的 color filter 去拍，會出現彩虹一樣的背景光。這和大部分人用有顏色手電筒的方法不太一樣——我全程用閃光燈，光學品質更好，銳利度和飽和度都更高，但不像手電筒那樣所見即所得，每次都要實際拍攝才知道結果，成功率更低，要靠大量嘗試和經驗。這是我第一次這樣試，不確定能不能成功。

潛導 Jayson，十年的默契

我請合作了十年的潛導 Jayson 找到一個深度比較淺的潛點——這樣水下時間可以長一點，因為我拍照興奮起來比較耗氣 😅。

現場的問題：永遠對不到焦

下水才發現另一個問題：看到牠吐沙的瞬間才對焦，永遠來不及，就算是我的 R5 Mark II 也一樣慢半拍。

解法：Trap Focus

冷靜想了一下，想到一個辦法：在牠前一次探頭的時候就把對焦點鎖在那個位置，等牠縮回去，下一次再探出來就直接按快門。這招可以成立，是因為 Benny 探頭的位置幾乎是固定循環的，對焦點可以提前等牠，不需要每次重新抓。

一支氣瓶，90 分鐘

從想到這個辦法到真正拍成功（因為很多時候探頭不吐沙 😅），那支氣瓶大概用了 90 分鐘，是我近幾年最長的一次潛水。在船上等我的朋友們快冷死了，真的很對不起大家——但上船給他們看這張的時候，大家都替我高興，所以還好。

ADEX 2026 動物行為組 Honourable Mention

這張照片叫 Rainbow’s Breath，入選了 ADEX Voice of the Ocean 2026 動物行為組，獲得 Honourable Mention。ADEX 是亞洲規模最大、歷史最悠久的潛水博覽會旗艦影像賽，每年來自全球的水下攝影師參賽，今年已是第 32 屆。

致謝

謝謝 Tora 的靈感，謝謝 Jayson 的專業，謝謝在船上結冰的朋友們。Jayson 這十年一起成長，十年前他是小鮮肉，我看起來也像個有為青年，現在兩個大叔——但至少都拍出了一點自己滿意的東西。

這張現在放在我官網首頁 🌈

Anilao, Third Year in a Row

Chinese New Year, and I was in Anilao again. Third year in a row. Yes, I’m the kind of person who skips family dinner to go diving in the Philippines.

The idea this time came from my Shanghai photographer friend Tora. She told me there’s a little fish here called a Benny that lives in a hole in the reef — and every so often it spits a mouthful of sand straight up into the water, like it’s screaming into the void. A friend of hers had captured it beautifully. She said I had to try.

The Vision: Two Snoots, Two Color Filters

Something clicked in my head immediately. What if I used two snoots, each fitted with a different color filter, to light the shot? In theory, it could produce a rainbow-like background — something between a stage light and a natural moment. Most photographers I’d seen attempt this kind of colored lighting used continuous video lights, which give you what-you-see-is-what-you-get control. I wanted to do it entirely with strobes. Better optical quality — sharper, more saturated — but with no live preview. Every adjustment requires an actual shot to see the result. Higher ceiling, much lower success rate. And I’d never tried it before.

Ten Years With Jayson

I told my dive guide Jayson what I had in mind. We’ve worked together for ten years. He found me a site where the Benny was living shallow — around 10 meters — so we’d have more bottom time to figure things out.

The Problem: Autofocus Too Slow

Once I was down there, I ran into another problem immediately. By the time I saw the sand spit and tried to focus, it was already over. Even my camera couldn’t react fast enough.

The Solution: Trap Focus

So I figured out a different approach: trap focus. Watch the fish peek out once, lock the focus point right there, then wait. When it comes back — and it always comes back to almost exactly the same spot — just fire. No refocusing needed, just reflexes. The behavior is cyclical and predictable enough that this actually works.

One Tank, Ninety Minutes

From figuring that out to finally getting the shot — with the sand spit happening at exactly the right moment — took one full tank. About 90 minutes. The friends waiting on the boat were freezing. I felt genuinely bad. But when I surfaced and showed them the image, they were happy for me, so I think we’re okay.

ADEX 2026 — Animal Behaviour — Honourable Mention

This image is called Rainbow’s Breath. It received an Honourable Mention in the Animal Behaviour category at ADEX Voice of the Ocean 2026 — the flagship underwater imaging competition of Asia’s largest and longest-running dive expo, now in its 32nd year.

Credits

Thank you Tora for the spark. Thank you Jayson for making it happen. Thank you to everyone on the boat who slowly turned into ice waiting for me.

Jayson and I have been shooting together for ten years. Ten years ago he was young and I looked like I had potential. Now we’re both middle-aged — but we’re still making images we’re proud of.

This one is on the front page of my website. 🌈