By Annie Crawley Heading out on a Citizen Science Expedition to the Revillagigedo Archipelago aboard the Quino El Guardian, I knew I needed to have a solution for underwater and topside lights. We were going to be underwater diving and filming mantas, sharks, and all the magnificent creatures around this archipelago, plus doing topside interviews with humpback whale scientist Dr Jorge Urban and others. Backscatter helped me kit out my new Canon 4K camera system, but it was Light & Motion who I turned to for lights.
Now with the tighter airline weight restrictions, I am always looking for solutions to take less equipment, and yet not compromise the quality of the content whether lighting above or below the surface. The new ability to to transform the Sola 9600s into cinema-grade and fully waterproof topside light (CL Pro 5000) with an air kit checked all the boxes! All day I was able to dive with my Sola 9600 lights underwater, then dry off and turn them into a beautiful topside light that can be used with portable modifiers or larger softboxes. When on a live aboard, we are often lighting, wind, and boat challenged, but we pulled off a beautiful shoot with Dr. Urban because of this powerful, compact, and cord-free light. As this was a citizen science expedition, other passengers became the film crew and it was great fun. Because of the success on this charter, the Sola 9600 lights and Sola Air Kit are now a permanent part of my lighting collection. I can’t think of leaving home without them! I’m looking forward to posting more about my experiences with these lights topside, as well as sharing the magic they add to painting our pictures with light below the surface. Keep Diving Into Your Imagination! Annie Crawley Author, Photographer, Producer, & Keynote Speaker www.AnnieCrawley.com Annie Crawley's Scuba Diving Camp