Inside Scuba Issue #61

AuthorAuthor

Andy Deitsch & Byron Conroy
May 31, 2026

Welcome to Issue #61 of Inside Scuba

Welcome to Issue #61 of Inside Scuba. We are fresh off the boats from our incredible Masters of Macro workshop in the Lembeh Strait, and this issue is absolutely packed with the lessons, gear insights, and stories that came out of our time in Indonesia.

First up, we are thrilled to welcome back guest author Ciara Michaud for a fantastic two-part series. Ciara joined us in Lembeh, and in Part 1 of her two-part article, she opens up about overcoming the initial intimidation of underwater photography, transitioning from a dive pro to a creative shooter, and finding her footing in the world of macro. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by massive camera rigs or complicated terminology, her journey will resonate deeply.

But that’s not all we have for you this week. We’re also diving into a comprehensive recap of Raja Ampat’s legendary biodiversity with Alex Mustard and Matthew Sullivan, sharing a crucial round-up of global dive news, and highlighting a must-watch interview with veteran wreck diver Richie Kohler. Finally, if you’ve been eyeing the new Backscatter Atom Flash, don’t miss our hands-on, two-week field test straight from the muck of Lembeh to see if this compact strobe lives up to the hype.

Grab a coffee, settle in, and let's dive in!

If you enjoy this edition, please consider sharing it with your dive buddies and friends who might love it too.

What’s happening in this edition?

There is no better place to level up your camera skills than the Lembeh Strait. In this issue, guest author Ciara Michaud returns to share her experience from our Inside Scuba Masters of Macro workshop this past April. It was incredible to witness her rapid progression firsthand, and in this two-part series, Ciara details her journey and the essential lessons she learned—offering plenty of inspiration for anyone looking to master the art of macro.

Learning to Slow Down in Lembeh

Part 1: The Barrier to Entry
By Ciara Michaud

For a long time, underwater photography felt far more technical to me than scuba diving ever did. Diving itself always felt natural to me. Teaching, guiding, problem solving underwater, helping students grow, planning trips, and exploring new places all felt exciting rather than overwhelming. Underwater photography was different. Beautiful images online made everything look effortless, but the world behind those images felt incredibly layered and technical from the outside. Massive camera systems, technical editing programs, expensive equipment, strange photography terminology, and people discussing settings I barely understood honestly made the whole thing feel a little inaccessible at times.

My very first photo on the first day of the workshop; a shot of a wunderpus octopus.

On my last day of the workshop, I tried to redeem myself with a shot of the same subject.

I had a basic understanding from taking the PADI Underwater Photography course and knew enough to get photos I enjoyed from trips, but I also knew there was a huge gap between simply taking underwater pictures and intentionally creating strong images. Editing felt intimidating, lighting underwater felt inconsistent, and most of the time I was relying more on luck than actual understanding. As a dive professional, I am constantly looking for ways to continue growing underwater because diving has never felt static to me. Every new skill opens up an entirely different way to experience the underwater world, and macro photography had always fascinated me because it completely changes how divers interact with an environment.

Joining Byron, Andy, and Matt’s Inside Scuba macro photography workshop in Lembeh felt like the perfect opportunity to finally push myself outside my comfort zone a bit. The workshop itself felt approachable in a way I appreciated; nothing about it was marketed as some exclusive elite photography experience reserved only for professional photographers with giant camera rigs. The focus felt centered around learning, improving, community, and genuinely enjoying the process.

Underwater Photography Felt Way More Approachable Than I Expected

Walking into the workshop definitely brought a healthy amount of nerves. Everyone had impressive camera systems, years of experience, and beautiful images to share during the early photo reviews. Meanwhile, I was still actively trying to understand lighting placement underwater and how people consistently produced those crisp macro images I had admired online for years. A huge part of me worried I would feel completely behind everyone else. That feeling disappeared surprisingly quickly once the workshop really got going.

We had lots of opportunities to photograph blue-ringed octopuses. Taken with a Olympus TG-6 and a Backscatter MiniFlash-2.

In each issue of our newsletter, we will curate some top dive news from around the world. Links to each of the original articles are available.

Divernet: “Two BC scuba divers die within days. Two male scuba divers have died in the space of five days, on either side of the 50km-wide Strait of Georgia in British Columbia, Canada.”

Dive Magazine: “Ocean Census discovers 1,121 marine species in a single year. Scientists working through The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census have discovered 1,121 marine species in a single year, marking a significant step forward in efforts to document life in the world’s oceans.”

Divernet: “Sandbank likely diverted ill-equipped divers to cave dead-end. Following the recovery of the last of the five Italian divers’ bodies from the 50m+ deep Dhekunu Kandu cave in the Maldives’ Vaavu Atoll, DAN Europe and the recovery dive-team have spoken out about what might have occurred on the fatal dive.”

X-Ray Magazine: “DAN-Led Recovery Mission Concludes After Maldives Cave Diving Tragedy. DAN Europe and Maldivian authorities have released a detailed preliminary reconstruction of the recovery operation following the cave diving tragedy at Dhekunu Kandu, also known as Thinwana Kandu, in the Maldives. Over four operational days between 18 and 21 May, an international recovery mission involving DAN Europe, the Maldives National Defence Force, Maldivian police diving units and a Finnish specialist cave-diving team successfully located and recovered all four missing divers from inside the cave system.”

Dive Magazine: “Shearwater launches ‘ultra-bright’ AMOLED Perdix 3. Dive computer specialist Shearwater Research has announced the launch of the Perdix 3, which the company describes as ‘its toughest and most capable full‑size dive computer to date’.”

Divernet: “Aircraft lands as new diver diversion in St Kitts. The Caribbean island of St Kitts has a new attraction for scuba divers in the shape of a decommissioned light aircraft sunk in Potatoe Bay near its capital Basseterre.”

X-Ray Magazine: “Update: Rescuers Find Five of the People Trapped in the Flooded Laos Cave. Emergency teams, which have been racing to reach seven people trapped inside a cave in Laos after heavy rainfall caused rising water levels to block their exit routes, have now found five people alive.”

Divernet: “75% of scuba divers rate themselves ‘above average’. Bad news for scuba-divers who assume that their underwater activities automatically support marine-conservation efforts has emerged in the shape of a devastating report from Australia’s University of Sydney.”

CNN: “Scientists newly identify species of tiny, blue octopus that fits in the palm of your hand. Scientists have announced the discovery of a previously unidentified species of octopus found in the Galápagos Islands — and it’s sure to turn heads. The creature, which sports blue flesh and large eyes, can fit between the bottom of your palm and the first knuckle of your middle finger.”

Divernet: “Detection system shields whales from ship-strikes. Once a conservation success story, grey whales are now in crisis as a result of climate change. Now ocean scientists, the US Coast Guard, ferry companies and whale-tracking experts have joined forces to implement a new solution to a spate of fatal strikes in busy San Francisco Bay.”

Divernet: “5 miners rescued from Laos cave after ‘trust-me dive’ comes off. The five villagers found alive in a partially flooded cave in Xaysomboun province in Laos are all now reported to have been extracted by specialist cave-divers.”

Divernet: “Diver dies on one of Great Lakes’ biggest shipwrecks. A male scuba diver has died during a dive on Lake Huron’s Cedarville wreck, one of the best-known dive-sites in the Great Lakes of North America. The fatal incident occurred at 10.15 on the morning of 29 May, according to a report by Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Office, which is conducting an investigation.“

Raja Ampat: A Recap of Diversity, Discovery, and Conservation

By Alex Mustard and Matthew Sullivan

In this article from The Underwater Photography Show, we discuss Raja Ampat which remains a high-priority destination for underwater photographers globally, and for good reason. Raja Ampat, which translates from Bahasa Indonesia to "Four Kings," refers to the four largest islands of this massive archipelago. However, for the underwater photographer, the true magic lies within the 600 officially named islands—and up to 1,500 total rocks and outcrops—that form this vast seascape and dive sites.

What makes Raja Ampat unrivalled is its combination of extreme biodiversity and sheer biomass. The waters are kickstarted by a powerful food chain driven by strong currents, upwellings, and seasonal weather systems that introduce vital nutrients into the upper water column. This creates a "mixed topography" where you can photograph everything from pure coral reefs and craggy rocks to mangroves and jetties.

In my opinion (Alex), it remains the absolute best place in the world to photograph coral reefs. Having visited for over 20 years, I recently returned from a trip that combined both a liveaboard expedition and a land-based resort stay to capture the full breadth of what this region offers.

The Hybrid Approach: Liveaboard & Resort

After years of debating the merits of each, I finally realised the best strategy is simply to do both on the same trip. When you are lucky enough to be able to have your cake and eat it.

Field Test: Two Weeks in Lembeh with the Backscatter Atom Flash

When Backscatter Photo & Video announced the Atom Flash last year at DEMA, it promised to bring pro-level lighting in a compact, travel-friendly package. But as any underwater photographer knows, a strobe can look spectacular on a gear bench and still fall apart in the field.

To see how it actually handles, I spent two weeks putting a pair of Atom Flashes, lent to us by Backscatter, through their paces in the world capital of macro: Lembeh Strait, Indonesia. From Pygmy seahorses to elusive Mototi octopuses, here is how the new compact strobes fared in the field.

Note: I plan to test the Atom Flashes out in the Red Sea soon and will write a follow-on report on how they performed with wide-angle scenes.

A pair of Atom Flashes attached to my rig and ready to go.

Ergonomics and the Back Panel UI

Right out of the gate, Backscatter nails the physical user interface in several key areas. The layout on the back of the strobe is elegantly simple: on one side sits a Select button alongside a large red knob for cycling through the 11 available power levels. On the other side sits a Mode/Enter button and a sharp, circular LCD screen.

When you first power on the unit, you enter Manual mode. The LCD screen instantly displays your current power level, updating in real time as you click through with the red knob.

The Rotating LCD Screen & Radial Battery Gauge

The rear LCD screen is exceptionally bright, crisp, and easy to read even in less-than-perfect viz. One of its standout features is that the display rotates automatically based on your strobe's orientation. Whether you are shooting a vertical composition or repositioning a strobe directly above your rig for snoot lighting, you will never have to crane your neck or read upside down to check your settings.

Our Video of the Week features another fantastic release from Dom Robinson. In this latest episode, Dom sits down with renowned wreck diver Richie Kohler to share the firsthand story that inspired the bestselling book Shadow Divers. If you haven’t read the book yet, it’s highly recommended—you can check out our review from last year right here.

Summary

That wraps up Issue #61. Whether you’re currently looking to purchase a new pair of strobes, planning a bucket-list trip to the Indo-Pacific, or just keeping up with the latest industry news, we appreciate you taking the time to read along. If you found Ciara’s journey inspiring or our gear field-test helpful, please forward this email to a dive buddy who might get some value out of it too.

Until next time, stay safe, dive deep, and keep shooting!

Andy & Byron

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