I just returned from Socorro on a trip on the fabulous Nautilus Explorer.  I will be posting pictures over the next few weeks from the trip. There were great encounters with mantas! The black manta below was captured with a 15 mm Sigma fisheye lens and very close proximity! These mantas were playful and incredibly tame. It took time to learn how to interact. I found it was better to establish eye contact with the manta first before photographing. Likewise, they continued to circle closely when I took only one or 2 pictures at a time. In these instances, I quickly reestablished eye contact after shooting. The picture above is a great example of establishing and maintaining eye contact throughout the encounter. As seen below, the mantas also enjoyed divers swimming underneath, perhaps because of the "bubble bath" that seemed to tickle their belly. Here Dave can be seen doing the same.