Wire Coral Goby

Wire Coral Goby (Bryaninops yongei)

These tiny fish live on wire corals which are unbranched relatives of black corals which grow at deeper depths here in Hawaii. A band of the coral cleared of living tissue that the goby uses to deposit its eggs can often be seen before the almost translucent goby.

Yet another reason to take a camera out there with you on your dives. It really makes you slow down and appreciate the small stuff.  

Scuba Diver in Underwater Canyon

A scuba diver drifts through an underwater canyon at a North shore Maui dive site. The North shore holds some great secrets for the intrepid scuba diver adventurer. Amazing topography, different substrate, and rarely seen marine life are just some of the reasons to explore lesser known sites. This is why you will find the true underwater explorer waiting for the big winter swells to die down for those rare calm days like this one.

Commerson's Frogfish

 A rare glimpse at a Commerson's Frogfish (Antennarius commerson) at Wailea Point, Maui. These fish are masters of camouflage and ambush. The have the ability to change their color over a period of days. Frogfish have a tiny lure, or esca, which attracts small fish close enough to be gobbled up. Shipwrecks are a great place to spot frogfish, although they are probably at many sites and just overlooked.

Island kelpfish, Alloclinus holderi

A master of camouflage, the Island kelpfish (Alloclinus holderi) is often overlooked among the kelp forest of southern California. The different colors, shapes, and patterns break up the outline of this beautiful fish.

This close up picture makes you wonder just how any animal in nature can be quite so stunning. 

Hermissenda crassicornis

  This is a blast back to my diving days around the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. I found this little nudibranch off the southeast coast of Anacapa Island. The cold water brings alot of amazing life.

Whale Shark Close Encounter

 

 Shortly after leaving Molokini we got word that there was a whale shark, Rhincodon typus, in the area. I've been waiting for a long time to take pictures of a whale shark in clear water and the water around Molokini is almost always 100+ft visibility or better. This day was no exception.
 We spotted the whale shark about 80ft down in blue water. Not giving us a second thought or perhaps curious he swam up until he was only 2ft below the surface of the water. This is a picture of my coworker Ashley a good 30ft away from the shark which gives you an idea of the size of the largest fish in the world. We estimated the length to be about 22ft with a tail at least 6ft tall. After hanging out at the surface for a few minutes the shark slowly decended down until he was out of sight.
 This was an incredible chance encounter that is very rare out here in Hawaii. We were in no danger even though the shark is so large, because it is a filter feeder, using gill rakers to filter out plankton from the water.

Clownfish

This photo of a clownfish, or more technically called anemonefish, was taken off the coast of Kenya in the Kisite Marine National Park.
Many people go to Africa thinking of lions, elephants, and pangolins, and tend to overlook the incredible underwater life that exist there. From giant clams, to whale sharks, moray eels, to nemo's cousin, the diving along Africa's coast is not to be missed.
Photographers in Africa know that wildlife photography is very challenging, I wonder what they would think of underwater wildlife photography...

Shark Vision

When holding your breath, diving into a cave, and staying long enough for your eyes to adjust, a sight like this can make you skip a beat. Fortunately I was hoping to see a shark when I dove into this cave. It is a white tip reef shark at one of the many caves at 5 Graves, aka. Turtle Town, in Makena, Maui.
Being in the water with a shark is a magical experience that is becoming rarer and rarer. If you are afraid of sharks then take the time to really find out the truth behind shark attacks. You are more likely to be hit by lightning...twice.

Green Sea Turtle

Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia mydas

Green sea turtles are found in warm water throughout the world. Here in Hawaii they frequent near shore habitats where they can find food (mostly algae), hide from predation (mainly sharks), and frolic in the warm beautiful water. However they will travel hundreds of miles from the main Hawaiian islands in order to travel back to their natal beach to lay their eggs.

We don't see any of the baby turtles until they start showing up in the eight main Hawaiian islands after 6-7 years. The smaller ones we see are about dinner plate size but grow to 400+lbs behemoths, making them the largest hard shelled sea turtle in the world. Only the leatherback grows bigger tipping the scales at nearly 2000lbs!

This medium sized turtle kept an eye on me as he came up for a few breaths of air. The water was so clear that I could almost see his reflection in the surface.

Undulated Moray Eel, Gymnothorax undulatus

The Undulated moray eel, Gymnothorax undulatus, is one of the nastiest eels found. Do not attempt to play with or feed this moray.  It is most often active at night The narrow jaws and yellow head characterize this eel. It has long, sharp teeth including a row down the center of the mouth.

This eel was hunting at night. During the day the body takes on a darker brown coloration.

Although eels are often seen peeking out of crevices, opening and closing their mouth, it is not a threat, merely an action to pump water over their gills.

Trembling Nudibranch

Trembling Nudibranch, Chromodoris vibrata

This attractive nudibranch is named after the way its gills continually tremble and vibrate. You can see the exposed gills as a dark purple fringed circle towards the back of the nudibranch. The rhinophores are dark blue and look almost like ears towards the head of the animal.

Found in Japan, Marshall Islands, and the Hawaiian Islands.

Day Octopus, Octopus cyanea

The day octopus, Octopus cyanea, is a common octopus found throughout the Indo-Pacific region, of eastern Africa and the Red Sea to the Hawaiian Islands. This octopus excavates lairs in coral reefs and rubble fields which can be located by identifying "middens" outside the lair entrance which are typically the empty shells of bivalves and crabs which it has preyed upon.

Due to their hunting during daylight hours the day octopus has extremely effective camouflage ability. It can change the color and texture of its skin almost instantly by sending nerve impulses from its complex brain to its muscles. One was seen to change color over 1000 times during a 7 hour perious by biologist Roger Hanlan. 

One of my favorite sea creature, the octopus defies the imagination with its fantastic color changing, ability to squeeze through tiny cracks seemingly only big enough for its arm, vanishing in a cloud of ink, and eery intelligence rivaling some birds and mammals.

This day octopus stared me down until I finally moved on about 20ft deep at 5 Graves, Makena, Maui.