Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, is an island country consisting of a group of atolls stretching south of India's Lakshadweep islands between Minicoy Island and the Chagos Archipelago, and about seven hundred kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka in the Laccadive Sea of the Indian Ocean. The twenty-six atolls of Maldives encompass a territory featuring 1,192 tiny islets, of which two hundred and fifty islands are inhabited.
Picnic Island, Maldives taken with Leica M8 and Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 Super Wide Heliar
Maldives are very well known to most Europeans and North Americans today, as they are one of the most desirable tourist destinations on Earth and are particularly popular with honeymooning couples. The beautifully clear oceans and picturesque sandy islands are the perfect place for well heeled Westerners to unwind from hectic urban life.
From a photography perspective, opportunities to shoot wide ranging and interesting subject matter will be severely limited if you choose to stay on one island for the duration of your visit. Each hotel (or resort) takes up a whole island and transportation between islands can be expensive, but some of the islands are located close to Male, the capital, which can offer more wide ranging photo opportunities.
However, if you are interested in shooting landscapes and, in particular, sunsets or sunrises you will find plenty to keep you interested regardless of which islands you visit. The sunsets and sunrises offer constantly changing skyscapes and colours and with a bit of patience, there are some opportunities to observe and photograph some stunning landscape views.
Kandooma, Maldives taken with Leica M8 and 35mm f/2 Summicron ASPH
Essential equipment (in addition to your camera, of course) for a trip to Maldives would be a tripod and a wide angle lens for shooting landscapes. Also, it’s a very good idea to take a polarising filter as this will help you capture the very intense blue of the ocean and the many other colourful sights you will see. A Neutral Density (ND) filter is also essential because the light is extremely bright and without this, you will nearly always be shooting at f/22 to avoid over exposure.
Climate
Maldives is very hot during the drier months – typically around 37 Celsius. The best months of the year (and naturally most expensive) are December and January. If you visit at this time, expect picture perfect blue sky and very good light. From May/June onwards, it can be wet and a bit more cloudy but rain never lasts long in Maldives.
Getting to Maldives
Travelling to Maldives is fairly easy, as Male is served by a small airport with a very long runway, meaning long range aircraft can land there. There are direct flights from places like Dubai, Singapore, Bangkok and Colombo making getting there fairly cheap and simple. From the airport (which is on its own island) you will need to travel by boat or in some cases, sea-plane to your destination island. Transfer times range from 20 minutes to a couple of hours.
Accommodation
At the moment, Maldives is very much an exclusive holiday destination and hotels are extremely pricey and of an exceptionally high standard. Secondly, once you have recovered from the enormously high cost of your hotel room, you will then have to get used to paying top dollar for any food and beverages you consume at the resort. Dinner at a decent resort can easily hit $65 per person for even a modest meal!
Maldives taken with Leica M8 and Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 Super Wide Heliar
What to photograph
I have been fortunate enough to visit Maldives twice in the last few months and stayed in a couple of different places. Whilst the views from each island may be different, you may struggle to find a wide variety of things to photograph and you may even find yourself shooting the same things more than a couple of times. The islands are very small, which means you have the unique opportunity of shooting seascapes and sunsets facing East, then South then West and so on, which is normally fairly difficult to do unless you are on a boat!
On the positive side, having limited subject can inspire you to try and photograph things in new and interesting ways, which I personally quite enjoy.
Maldives taken with Leica M8 and 35mm f/2 Summicron ASPH
A sunrise is something definitely worth getting out of bed to see. The sun usually rises around 6am, so getting down to an East facing beach around 5 is advisable where you can prepare to see the quite breathtaking sight of the equatorial sun emerging majestically over the horizon.
Just after sunrise, or just before sunset, the light is really quite beautiful and these short windows also offer the keen photographer a chance to capture some very pleasing images – if you can tear yourself away from your sun lounger!
I would also suggest taking advantage of any excursions your resort might offer. Most resorts offer island hopping trips, excursions to Male and also fishing trips, which will widen your available subject matter.
Diving
Maldives offers superb opportunities for snorkelling and scuba diving and therefore superb opportunities for underwater photography. I would strongly recommend to anybody visiting Maldives to purchase a waterproof housing for their camera, if available, as the aqatic life is quite breath taking.
Kandooma, Maldives taken with Leica M8 and 35mm f/2 Summicron ASPH
You don’t have to swim far (with only basic snorkelling gear) to observe some very interesting marine life including reef sharks, eels, stingrays and other exotic fish. Although this is something I have not done myself, I definitely plan to invest in a housing for my compact camera before my next visit. I did notice it was possible to hire an underwater camera at the resort, so this might be a less expensive alternative. Needless to say, scuba diving is available at all of the resorts and there are some absolutely superb dive sites all over Maldives, so you never have to travel far.
Again, for the more experienced under water photographer, there are superb opportunities to capture the unique beauty of the many coral reefs and the colourful fish which inhabit them.
Male
Male itself is cheap to stay in but it’s the complete opposite of resort living. Sandy beaches and palm trees are replaced by crowded streets and a concrete jungle. Male is only 1 sq mile and is overrun with motorcycles, people and litter. However, I would very much recommend visiting Male, as there are so many people around and many interesting things to see. After a week of shooting landscapes, it provides far more varied subject matter. I have been lucky enough to visit Male twice in the last 4 months and although it is certainly not as relaxing as a resort, it is a very colourful, if not chaotic place.
Political Rally, Male, Maldives taken with Leica M8 and 50mm f/2 Summicron
There are many interesting sights to see in Male but, in particular, I would recommend the Friday Mosque, the main square (Jumhoree Maidhann) and Sultan Park. It’s safe enough to wander round the densely packed narrow streets and it’s fairly difficult to get lost on an island so small.
Jetty, Male, Maldives taken with Leica M8 and 35mm f/2 Summicron ASPH
Maldives is a beautiful and unique place, which may one day be completely submerged by the clear waters of the Indian Ocean. Whilst it might not be the top of the list of travel photography destinations, it is somewhere I would recommend to anyone looking to unwind and enjoy some real peace and quiet. Just make sure you take as many pictures as possible during your visit, as you will enjoy showing your friends what paradise looks like!
Nick Morrow, May 2009
Nick Morrow runs a successful home entertainment business in central Scotland and is a keen amateur photographer. He travels regularly and will be working with me on a project that will see us follow Celtic Football Club through the 2009/10 season. He shoots exlusively with Leica M series equipment. You can view a wider selection of his photographs at his Flickr page www.flickr.com/photos/endofcity