Lagoa Misteriosa

in Underwater by Marcelo Krause — October 18, 2009 at 4:01 PM | 0 comments

Even though I have been going to Bonito since 1999, I never had the chance to dive at one of its premier diving spots: the Lagoa Misteriosa (or “Misterious Lake” ,that actually is located at the neighboring city of Jardim). In early June, myself and two other Norwegian photographers got a special permission to dive the lake, that is closed to regular visitations but should be open soon. The dive is really fantastic and it’s hard to describe all the beauty in words or even capture in pictures. The visibility is great, probably beyond 40m, and the sunlight casts a special light and shadow combination on the underwater landscape. The complete story and more info about diving there can be found on issue number 158 (September 2009) of Revista Mergulho dive magazine.

It was the first time I used a Nikon D3 underwater. Many photographers question the real use of a full frame camera underwater since ISO higher than 400 is seldom used. But this was a case where a low noise high ISO performing camera was very useful. The lake is located at the bottom of a deep sinkhole and the margins are covered by well preserved vegetation. For these reasons sunlight can only penetrate to certain parts of the lake during short periods of time. The deeper dives were conducted on two vertical shafts, were light was even scarcer. Getting a good quality photo with a high ISO settings used on a high dynamic range situation was imperative.

Photographer Espen Rekdal having fun at the end of one more dive at Lagoa Misteriosa. Nikon D3, Aquatica D3 Housing, Nikon AF 16mm f/2.8D

In this picture it’s possible to see the true dimension of the dive. I was close to 22m deep, the log was at 18m deep, the diver a little shallower than that, there was another diver at the surface and beyond that we can even see the trees at the border of the sinkhole. Nikon D3, Aquatica D3 Housing, Nikon AF 16mm f/2.8D.

There was a lot of aquatic plants near the surface at places were the sunlight was plentiful. Nikon D3, Aquatica D3 Housing, Nikon AF 16mm f/2.8D.

Rudimar returning from a dive at one of the lake’s vertical shafts. Nikon D3, Aquatica D3 Housing, Nikon AF 16mm f/2.8D.

The incredible water viability can be noticed on this picture. We can see the log at 18m deep, the water surface and a diver on the background. Nikon D3, Aquatica D3 Housing, Nikon AF 16mm f/2.8D.

The incredible water visibility can be noticed on this picture. It is possible to see the log at 18m deep, the water surface and a diver on the background. Nikon D3, Aquatica D3 Housing, Nikon AF 16mm f/2.8D.