Lake Samaranger is located in the Tirol Alps in Austria on the Fern pass at an altitude of 1000 meters over sea level. It is sourced by ground water and has no outward flow. That's why the water is mostly crystal clear. Along with Lake Fernstein it is in private property of Hotel Schloss Fernsteinsee. Diving is only allowed for hotel guests and at checkin you have to show the logbook that you have at least 100 dives. Entry and exit is only permitted at the stairs and the number of divers at the same time is limited to four.
Fig. 1: There are many sunken trees on the ground of Lake Samaranger. Many of them are covered with a thick layer of slime algae and look like an enchanted landscape from a fairy tale. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 10 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/3.5; ISO 200; 2013-08-10 12:17:05
Fig. 2: A branch covered with slime algae on one of the many sunken trees in Lake Samaranger. Don't touch it and keep your distance or you will destroy this art of nature. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 10 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/2.8; ISO 200; 2013-08-10 12:22:02
Fig. 3: The sun shines through the water surface and paints these magical light patterns on the ground close to the shore. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 10 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/6.3; ISO 200; 2013-08-10 12:39:19
Fig. 4: The fence to the left of the entry point with a reflection on the water surface. Maybe I should have hold my breath even longer to get a smoother water surface. Or was it the wind? — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 10 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/6.3; ISO 200; 2013-08-10 12:43:49
Fig. 5: Split-View image at entry point. Here a diving model behind the fence would be nice, but whenever one needs a diver, there is nobody around and when there's a diver he's most likely at the wrong position. I've forgotten a raw potato to wipe over the dome port. This should reduce the drops on the glass. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 10 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/6.3; ISO 200; 2013-08-10 12:46:06
Fig. 6: Entry and exit to the Lake Samaranger is only allowed here at the stairs. The ground is covered with gravel to reduce the amount of sediments that are being raised. These could cover the fragile water plants. Due to the cold water it may take up to ten years for them to recover. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 10 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2013-08-10 15:19:37
Fig. 7: When diving in the icy cold and crystal clear water one gets the feeling of floating with zero gravity through open space. The bottom of the lake is covered with smooth sediments and should not be touched. Most of the ground looks like this but on the far side of the entry point there are lots of trees lying on the ground like mikado sticks. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 10 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2013-08-10 15:21:50
Fig. 8: The sunken trees are covered with slime algae. Don't touch them or they might fall off as shown on this picture. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 10 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/4.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-10 15:25:33
Fig. 9: The trees on the ground of Lake Samaranger are lying around like mikado sticks. How did this happen? — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 10 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/60 s; f=10.5 mm; f/2.8; ISO 200; 2013-08-10 15:30:13
Fig. 10: There is a big hole in this root. This place is subject for many famous shots. Unfortunately no diver wanted to place himself behind it for taking a picture. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 10 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/100 s; f=10.5 mm; f/3.2; ISO 200; 2013-08-10 15:33:51
Fig. 11: The famous cross is located in the distant part of the lake. It is subject of many pictures. One can see the trees of the forest through the smooth water surface. Unfortunately the sun was covered by a cloud during this dive. With sunshine the water looks even more clear. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 10 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2013-08-10 15:48:11
Fig. 12: This cross is the most popular subject for photograpy in Lake Samaranger. I had to hold my breath long enough so sthat the water surface did not get disturbed by my bubbles. The plate reads: "In memory of our diving experiences together. Reiner Thiele, born 18. 11. 1940, died 11. 1. 1971, SV-Tauchsportgruppe". I don't know the story behind this accident. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 10 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2013-08-10 15:48:47
Fig. 13: This tree is about in the center of the lake and all covered with slime algae. The whole ground is covered with a fragile algae carpet. As you can see there are some spots where the carpet was recently destroyed by divers who got too close. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 10 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/160 s; f=10.5 mm; f/4.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-10 15:52:19
Fig. 14: Two divers and one frog in Lake Samaranger. The sun shines and draws magical light patterns on the ground of the lake. This lets one forget the 6 °C cold water. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/9.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:20:32
Fig. 15: Two divers and one frog are diving through the crystal clear water. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:21:46
Fig. 16: Three divers in crystal clear water of Lake Samaranger. One of them is using two sidemount tanks. One can see the forest through the silent water surface. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:24:12
Fig. 17: Are all here? Look back and also enjoy this beautiful view on that sunny day in the clear lake. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:24:43
Fig. 18: The limit for concurrent divers in Lake Samaranger is four. Yep, I have seen only four divers. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:24:48
Fig. 19: That's fun diving. Crystal clear water and shunshine. No stress and lazy paddling. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/4.5; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:27:36
Fig. 20: On one side of the lake a fir has fallen into the water. Slowly it begins to decomposing and algae grow on it. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:31:17
Fig. 21: A frogman is diving under the fallen fir and enjoys the light and shadows under the twigs. Don't stay too long. The rising bubbles will rip off parts of the twigs which are raining down. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/4.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:32:51
Fig. 22: In the shallow water of the sore area at the fallen fir in Lake Samaranger. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:34:57
Fig. 23: A split-view picture of the fallen fir. At this moment I realized that all pictures on this dive have been stored as JPEG instead of RAW. One can see it on the overexposed clouds. I also forgot to bring a half potato or apple to wipe the dome port so that there are no drops on it. Maybe I will remember it next time. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:36:26
Fig. 24: Photo shooting on the most popular sujet in this lake: The cross for a diver who had died hiere in 1971. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/8.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:43:19
Fig. 25: This memorial for a diver who died in this lake 1971 has probably been photographed a thousand times. I like the sun and the light beams and shadows in this picture. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/8.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:43:50
Fig. 26: The branches of this sunken trees are all covered with slime algae. It's the same tree as on the first picture in this album. Here the sun was shining and I tried to position the vertical branch right in front of the sun. The water was crystal clear, the surface smooth and calm. I had to hold my breath long enough until all bubbles disappeared. With the fisheye lens and 180° field of view one usualy has its own bubbles when shooting upwards. Took some shots until the f-stop and flash intensity was right. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/8.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:50:40
Fig. 27: Looking downwards with the fisheye lens lets the bottom of the lake look like a globe. I could see the shadow of the waves created by my bubbles expanding around my own shadow. Live it looked much better than on that picture. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/3.5; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 9:53:52
Fig. 28: A thick layer of slime algae covered this sunken tree. The whole landscape under water looks mystical like in a fairy tale. Where's Gollum diving around, looking for his ring? — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 14:56:39
Fig. 29: Another magical tree all covered with slime algae. Looks like from another world. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 15:01:59
Fig. 30: Photo shooting with frogman diver at the memorial cross. His brave buddy, Kermit the frog, which also has a ice diving license, is always sitting on his air tank and enjoys the view. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 15:06:30
Fig. 31: The advantage of air tanks mounted on the side instead of the back is: one can take them off when it gets narrow. This technique is known from cave divers. Here he dives under one of the trees in the lake and doesn't touch anything. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/4.5; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 15:09:37
Fig. 32: Diving under sunken trees in the far side of the lake. One gets the feeling like being part of a giant mikado game. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/3.5; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 15:13:19
Fig. 33: Diving at the trunks of the sunken trees in the far part of Lake Samaranger. Unfortunately my buddy didn't look back for a nice picture. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/4.0; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 15:20:36
Fig. 34: That were beautiful dives in Lake Samaranger. Everything was right: the weather, the people, the lake, the food ... only a bit too much booze on the first night. — Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 2 x Sea & Sea YS-110α strobes, Lake Samaranger, Austria, 11 August 2013 — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2013-08-11 14:50:40
