In April 2021, we embarked on a unique mission. While Thailand remained closed to international tourism due to strict quarantine measures, we were granted a rare opportunity to document Koh Tao’s underwater world during a period of unprecedented silence. Over four weeks, we captured seven of the island’s most iconic sites in a pristine, undisturbed state—a condition rarely seen in one of the world’s busiest diving hubs. This window allowed us to record the reefs’ natural resilience and beauty before the inevitable return of global travel.
Black Turtle Dive commissioned our team to document seven of Koh Tao’s most significant dive sites, aiming to capture the authentic essence of the local diving experience. This blog post serves as a chronicle of our production journey, sharing the most unique and extraordinary happenings encountered at each site as we documented these legendary underwater environments during a singular moment in history.
I. Chumphon Pinnacle
Chumphon Pinnacle is widely regarded as the Gulf of Thailand’s premier dive site. A massive granite pinnacle rising from the sandy bottom at 35 meters to within 14 meters of the surface, it serves as a magnetic hub for pelagic life. Surrounded by smaller satellite rocks, the site is known for its dramatic drop-offs, expansive anemone beds, and its reputation as a primary corridor for whale sharks and large predatory fish.
Golden Unity: We captured a truly magical moment deep within a massive school of yellow snappers. As predators hunted from the periphery, the school shifted synchronously, evading attacks in a hypnotic display of collective intelligence. With the VR rig submerged directly into the center of this golden mass, the footage captures a level of intimacy impossible for a traditional diver to experience. Set against the stark contrast of the deep blue water and 30-meter visibility, it stands as a once-in-a-lifetime capture of raw nature.
The Curios Observer: One of the most cinematic moment of the entire expedition occurred during a routine recording. We were tracking a school when, seemingly out of nowhere, a juvenile whale shark overtook us from behind. As it swam away into the blue, a final whip of its tail suggested a change in direction—the curiosity of a juvenile. We repositioned the rig, calculating its re-emergence point. I remember thinking to myself as we were positioning ourselves: this is what we trained for, this is where your experience counts. It is all about these moments, where there is no margin for error and everything depends on professional instinct and technical preparation. I knew this would likely only happen once in my life. As predicted, the shark emerged from the blue, swimming directly toward the VR Rig for a perfect immersive encounter. It was only a month later in post-production that we realized the true magic of 360-degree capture: the footage revealed that the whale shark had actually been circling and checking us out from behind multiple times throughout the dive. We had been the ones being documented all along.
II. HTMS Sattakut
The HTMS Sattakut is Koh Tao’s most iconic shipwreck. Originally a US Navy Infantry Landing Craft (USS LCI(L)-739) commissioned in 1944, it saw active service during World War II in the Pacific theater, including the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Resting upright at a maximum depth of 30 meters, the 48-meter-long vessel is a complex environment of steel corridors, anti-aircraft guns.
The Visibility Curse: One of the major challenges we faced with the Sattakut was the unpredictable visibility. There is an almost superstitious “curse of the wreck” where these sites often seem shrouded in poor clarity, regardless of the season. For high-quality VR production, light and visibility are non-negotiable; without both, the immersive content becomes unusable. Even during a time of year known for peak clarity in Koh Tao, the ratio of usable conditions for the Sattakut was roughly 1 out of 10. Our strategy was one of patience and persistence: every time we passed near the site, we performed a visibility check. After many failed attempts, we finally hit the window we needed and captured the Sattakut in its full, haunting glory.
The Iconic Shot: One of the most striking sequences was a static capture positioned at the bow, directly adjacent to the anti-aircraft gun. We placed the VR rig at the very edge of the ship. In this shot, a school of fusiliers swirls around the historic weaponry; on one side, you are looking directly at the gun’s mechanical detail, while on the other, you are staring down the sheer drop of the port side to the sandy floor. The true stereoscopic effect creates a powerful perception of depth and verticality, making the viewer feel the precariousness and scale of the wreck.
The Impossible Encounter: Then, the impossible happened. We were just wrapping up our surface interval and had prepped the rig for the next dive when my assistant suddenly screamed, “DOLPHINS!”
I could hardly believe it. Bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Thailand are notoriously shy and exceptionally rare to encounter underwater. Within minutes, we were in the water with three young bottlenose dolphins. While they kept their distance, we were able to capture the moment in full immersive VR. To put the rarity into perspective: my assistant had been a dive guide and instructor on Koh Tao for ten years, with thousands of dives under her belt, and she had never once seen a dolphin in the water until that day.
III. Sail Rock
Arguably the most famous dive site in the Gulf of Thailand. This isolated granite pinnacle erupts from a 40-meter sandy bottom, breaking the surface to create a massive vertical wall that serves as an oasis for marine life in the open sea. It is famous for “The Chimney,” a natural vertical swim-through that allows divers to ascend inside the rock itself.
The Vortex at Secret Pinnacle: Just off the main pinnacle lies a smaller, submerged structure known as “Secret Pinnacle.” Following our standard procedure, we set up the VR rig on the pinnacle’s summit, activated the powerful production lights, and swam away to allow the marine life to return to its natural rhythm. After five minutes, we turned back toward the rig. Usually, the massive light emittance makes the rig easy to spot from a distance, but this time, the ocean looked different. We saw only a faint, rhythmic flickering. As we got closer, the reason became clear: the rig was completely submerged in a massive school of Jacks. The school was so dense it actually blocked the light from escaping. Thousands of silver bodies were circling the rig in a tight, synchronized vortex. The resulting immersive experience is pure magic—placing the viewer directly in the eye of a living silver tornado.
The Barracuda Tornado: On the opposite side of the Sail Rock pinnacle, we positioned the rig on a downward slope at approximately 15 meters depth. In the distance, we could see a large school of Chevron Barracuda shimmering in the blue. We set the rig for a static capture and, following protocol, left the area. When we returned to collect the equipment, everything appeared unchanged, the school was still hovering in the distance. It wasn’t until that evening, while reviewing the day’s rushes, that we realized we had struck gold. The footage revealed that while we were away, the massive school of barracuda had moved around the rig, forming a perfect, tight tornado formation around the camera before moving back to their original position. It is the ultimate testament to the “fly-on-the-wall” capability of VR capturing high drama natural events that would have been scared off by the presence of a human operator.
IV. South West Pinnacles
Located southwest of Koh Tao, this site features a series of deep granite tiers and pinnacles that mirror the topography of Chumphon, earning it the nickname “Chumphon’s sister site.” The pinnacles are covered in a vibrant carpet of anemones, providing a home to a dense population of pink anemonefish and acting as a primary hunting ground for schools of barracuda and trevally.
The Production Dilemma: Creating underwater VR often requires strict discipline, but nature doesn’t always follow the shot list. After a productive dive at South West, we were hanging at 5 meters for our safety stop with the Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) deployed. I had already powered down the VR rig and secured it inside its protective neoprene cover, ready to exit.
Suddenly, out of the deep blue, a massive whale shark appeared. It wasn’t just passing through; it was actively curious, swimming directly toward us with clear intent to engage. This is the kind of encounter that happens once in hundreds of dives. We faced a split-second professional decision: stick to the protocol and exit, or react to the shark’s “call.” We chose to act. We quickly unwrapped and prepped the rig while hovering at 5 meters to maintain our safety stop. The shark stayed with us the entire time, playing around us and swimming in and out of the 360-degree field of view. By seizing that unexpected window, we captured a unique, high-glory encounter that serves as one of the expedition’s most powerful pieces of footage.
Technical Heartbreak: It doesn’t always go well. On another dive at South West, we set up the rig for a static shot on the scenic sandy bottom and swam away to scout our next location. As we moved away, a massive whale shark passed directly overhead, heading straight for the rig. We turned and followed from a distance, staying out of the camera’s line of sight to avoid ruining the shot. We watched as the shark swam intimately close to the rig—a moment we knew would be magical. We waited out the encounter, certain we had captured something historic. However, upon arriving back at the equipment, we discovered a system failure; the rig had stopped recording. This is the reality of working with high-tech, complex systems in a hostile environment. They are fragile, and part of the skill is managing that risk and accepting the losses.
The Disaster on Deck: Safety and gear storage are paramount during surface intervals, but sometimes fate intervenes. On our private dive boat, we followed a strict rule: if the rig cannot be bolted down, it is held by hand throughout the entire interval. Wrapped in its protective neoprene and a towel, the rig sat on the center deck table with my hand firmly on it. When I stepped away for a moment to check my dive gear, I asked my assistant to take over. In that transition, a freak accident occurred—a sudden, violent rock of the boat sent the rig tumbling from the table. It smashed into the deck in a moment of ice-cold silence.
We unwrapped the protective layers to find the rig literally broken in half and one of the domes smashed. The ride back to land was tense and silent, seemingly the end of the road. However, true professional experience means preparing for exactly this. We didn’t just bring cameras; we brought an entire workshop of spare parts. By the next morning, we had assessed the damage, replaced every broken component, and were ready to dive again. It reinforced a core lesson: in remote productions, you can’t just go to a hardware store. You have to be your own support team.
Technical Challenges: Beyond the surprises, the site presented the challenge of managing extreme dynamic range. The deep granite tiers create harsh shadows, while the surface light can easily blow out the top sensors of a 360-rig. We timed our captures to hit the midday solar window, positioning the rig low to the granite floor to capture the “carpet of anemones.” The resulting footage allows the viewer to feel the rhythmic, swaying motion of the entire seafloor in a way 2D video never could.
V. Junkyard Reef
A testament to environmental stewardship and creative conservation, Junkyard Reef is Koh Tao’s most famous artificial reef. Composed of donated structures—ranging from old gym equipment and a car to a replica of the Sydney Harbour Bridge—it serves as a crucial nursery for juvenile fish and a platform for coral transplantation, demonstrating how rapidly nature can reclaim man-made materials when given a stable foundation.
Mazu Goddess of the sea: One of our most epic captures at Junkyard Reef centers on the statue of Mazu, the Chinese Goddess of the Sea. This massive artwork—essentially a head and chest welded together as a singular, imposing piece of underwater art—offered a perfect subject for immersive storytelling. We executed a slow, cinematic move over the head of the statue. In VR, this creates a hauntingly mysterious feeling, as the viewer drifts past the serene, oxidizing features of the goddess while life teems around her. It stands as one of the most artistic sequences of the production.
VI. White Rock
White Rock is one of Koh Tao’s largest and most biologically diverse sites, featuring massive granite boulders and expansive coral gardens. This vast natural landscape is essential for documenting the island’s ecological variety. Notably, its central coral patch is world-class; its immense size and density resulted in some of our most successful and visually stunning recordings of the entire expedition.
Nesting Trigger Fish: During a shoot on the scenic south side of the site, we setup the VR Rig to record a static shot. Per protocol, we retreated for five minutes to allow the environment to reset. However, as we moved back to retrieve the rig, a massive Titan Triggerfish flared its dorsal fin and charged. At this time of year—peak mating season—these fish become hyper-aggressive defenders of their nests. We had inadvertently placed the rig right near one. For ten minutes, every attempt to approach resulted in a violent strike from the Triggerfish. With air running low and the clock ticking, I realized the rig was effectively “held hostage.” I decided to go for it. Without hesitation, I swam into the attack zone, grabbed the rig, and used my fins as a shield between myself and the biting fish. Moving sideways to exit the nesting territory, I finally escaped the encounter, rig in hand, after a high-stakes standoff with one of the reef’s most territorial residents.
VII. Twins
Nestled in the protected bay of Koh Nang Yuan, Twins is an accessible yet beautiful dive site characterized by three distinct granite pinnacles rising from a soft sandy bottom. Its calm conditions make it a favorite for training, yet it remains visually stunning due to its vibrant coral life. Adjacent to the main pinnacles lies “Buoyancy World,” a collection of artificial statues and structures scattered across the sand. The juxtaposition of coral-filled pinnacles and these unique man-made subjects provided a thankful canvas for creating diverse immersive underwater experiences.
Production Outcomes
The four-week expedition, comprising 85 dives and over 300 recordings, culminated in seven primary immersive experiences that allow Black Turtle Dive to demonstrate the extraordinary biodiversity of Koh Tao. Most importantly, we have accomplished something truly unique that may never be captured again.
We have documented the most iconic dive sites of Koh Tao in virtual reality while the ocean was at its most serene. Following a long period where the Gulf remained silent and undisturbed by human activity due to global lockdowns, we captured the environment in its purest form. These recordings allow the viewer to experience the reefs in a way that is normally impossible—granting the rare privilege of enjoying these legendary sites in complete solitude.
The entire prodiuction was supported by Captain P Dong, a local ledgent on Koh Tao. This was this first underwater Virtual reality experience