I’ve just come back from ten days in the Maldives photographing Reef manta rays - it was spectacular!
Reef mantas typically have a wing span of around 3.5m, so they certainly make an impressive sight, but it’s the way they swim which makes them so hypnotic to be around. They glide gracefully through the water using their wings in a rhythmic “flying” motion - it really is beautiful to watch.
Our location was the reef at Hanifaru Bay. The bay is like a funnel and from May to November prevailing winds and currents result in plankton getting trapped here and it’s this heavy concentration of plankton that attracts whale sharks and schools of manta rays. On the best days there could be over a hundred mantas and several whale sharks feeding here - it’s the world’s largest feeding station known to exist. We didn’t get to see that many but certainly enough to keep us happy.
Photography was tough because the volume of plankton in the water makes it very murky, so these are never going to be super clean shots. But to be honest just being there was enough… it really was a fabulous experience.
