Goldilocks and the 3 dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins just under the surface of the water. It was wild to see the three different sizes of dolphins all right next to each other, only feet away from us dangling over the edge of the bow of our boat. It reminded me of Goldilocks and the 3 bears.

Manta Ray Swim By

A few scuba divers get lucky as a 12ft manta ray glides over their group off the coast of Kona, Hawaii. Research here has concluded that there are two kinds of mantas, pelagic and coastal. This is a coastal with a nearly all white underside.

Kona Cave Diver

A lone scuba diver explores deep into an underwater cave system off the Kona coast of the Big Island. 

Hunting Eel

A white mouth moray eel cruises the reef in broad daylight in search of prey. This photo was taken right after we dropped down on the reef at magic sands on the Kona coast of the island of Hawaii. The white mouth morays are one of the few species of eels that are active hunters during the daytime.

Bowriding Dolphins

A small pod of bottlenose dolphins riding the pressure wave created by the bow of our boat. They look so graceful and effortless, like they aren't even moving their tail when they do this.

We can study individual dolphins by taking a close up photo of their dorsal fin. Many dolphins have unique notches, scratches, and wounds that allow us to identify them and gain a snapshot into their life history.

Backside Molokini Crater, Maui

Scuba Divers along the vertical underwater wall at the backside of Molokini Crater, Maui. This is the premier wall dive in Hawaii. Set about 3.5 miles offshore of the island of Maui, the water here on average exceeds 100ft almost every day of the year. The micro life on the wall is amazing and the possibility of macro wildlife swimming by on your other side makes every moment suspenseful.

Slate Pencil Urchin

The slate pencil urchin shows off its amazing array of pattern when you get a close look. The bright red blunt tipped spines are easy to spot out on the reef, although usually snorkeling are too busy looking for the sharp, poisonous black spiny sea urchins to care to stop too long for a detailed look at one of these less dangerous species.

The real charm in these urchins comes with the back story of their name. When the urchin dies the spines lose their color, turn white, and sometimes wash up on shore. Early missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands utilized these by drawing marks on a slate board just like chalk on a blackboard. This is the method they used to teach writing to new students.

Crown-of-thorns Sea Star

The Crown-of-thorns sea star has a bad reputation around the world thanks to its habit of devouring coral. Great swaths of the barrier reef in Australia have been devastated by this naturally occurring sea star.
It is when blooms of crown-of-thorns occur that the reef really suffers. On some patches of reef thousands can gather during one of these blooms, moving over the reef and eating any coral polyps within the reach of their extruded stomach.
But it is important to remember that they do occur naturally, and are spotted here in Hawaii from time to time. We do keep a close eye to make sure they are not proliferating in large numbers. Also while viewing and photographing these striking animals it is important to stay clear of their many thorns as contact with your skin will cause an itchy, irritating rash.

Dwarf Moray Eel

     Moray eels are one of my favorite fish to photograph. There are many different species out here in Hawaii ranging from 6 foot Giant Morays to tiny 6 inch Dwarf Moray Eels like the one pictured here. Notoriously shy these little eels will peer out of their protected crevices until you get to close then disappear completely. Most of the bigger eels will retract only a little, leaving their head sticking out. I was lucky enough to get a picture of this little guy right before he zipped backwards into his crevice, not to be seen again.

Banded Coral Shrimp

Banded Coral Shrimp, Stenopus hispidus

These conspicuous reef shrimp are very interesting subjects to watch. They have been seen cleaning other fish, including moray eels, presumably picking off parasites. They are often in pairs and have been seen protecting each other during molting, grooming each other, and even performing a 'courting' dance. A truly remarkable relationship for shrimp. However, I have been told that if two unmated coral shrimp are placed together, they will fight to the death!

Reef Lighting

One of the toughest things for an underwater photographer is lighting. Especially if you are taking a picture of a wide area, such as  a landscape shot like this one. The farther down you go the more light you lose. Not only do you lose general light, but colors are absorbed and disappear as you swim deeper as well. You start losing your reds and oranges, then your yellow, the green, and finally blue. This is why the deep ocean looks so blue, because it is the last color absorbed by the water.
This is why photographers flock to clear water settings like Hawaii and hope for sunny days. The sun rays can be seen filtering down through the water and hitting the reef here at the same time as a dark shadow is cast by the vertical rock cliff to the right of the photo area. Having a good model scuba diver can also add a lot to your reef scape image.

This photo was taken at Black Rock in Kaanapali, Maui.

Scorpion Fish

The California Scorpionfish, Scorpaena guttata, often lies motionless among rocks and on the bottom, waiting to ambush its prey. You can find scoripionfish all around the worlds oceans and many, like this one, have poison filled spines in their fins. You would not want to mistake one of these for a harmless Cabezon as one of my Cali friends did. 
This picture was taken at night and I remember the scorpion fish staring me down and posing perfectly, slightly raised up on its fanned out pectoral fins.

Giant Green Anemone

Giant Green Anemone, (Anthopleura xanthogrammica).

 These relatives of jellyfish can be found along the west coast of the U.S. from Alaska all the way to Baja, Mexico. I photographed this one in the cool waters off Santa Barbara Island at a dive site called Shag Rock. These anemones catch the eye from far away but it is close up that they really put on a colorful show. You would be hard to find this neon green color elsewhere in nature. Just another reason to pay a few more visits to the ocean, even if you aren't in the tropics.

Imperial Nudibranch

The Imperial Nudibranch is one of the most beautiful sea creatures one can come across in the Hawaiian Islands. Littered with golden spots on its milky white skin, rhinophores a deep blue specked with white, a deep blue almost purple margin,  and exposed gills like an icy crown carried on its back complete the picture of this sea slug. Like in this photo they are often found in pairs, one trailing behind the other as they work their way across the reef.

California Sea Lion Close Up

   A young California Sea Lion gets up close to the camera off the coast of Santa Barbara Island, Channel Islands Marine National Park. These youngsters are playful and energetic and seem very excited whenever we would show up with a boat full of snorkelers. I was charged many times like this and every time the sea lions would alter directions staying just out of hands reach. Every once in a while you could hear them barking underwater as they charged as bubbles came out of their open jaws.
   I always wondered why there were no sharks attacking the young pups. That was until we witnessed a massive great white shark attack a full grown sea lion about two miles off of this same rookery. After seeing these sea lions in action underwater its amazing a shark could ever catch one. They are the epitome of grace and agility with a child-like curiosity and playfulness that sparks the imagination.

Another breathtaking view from the underwater world. This scuba diver is ascending near a mooring line connected to the bow of an old shipwreck off the coast of Maui. The ocean water can play beautiful tricks with sunlight as it slowly absorbs and diffuses the light.

 An encounter with a Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) like this is becoming less rare around the Hawaiian Islands thanks in large part to the conservation effort that protects these gentle marine reptiles. We are currently doing research on these sea turtles at Pacific Whale Foundation and with the use of photo ID capability we are able to study them without having to capture or harass them. The scales on the side of the face form a unique pattern that we are able to code by taking photos and thus get a glimpse into the life history, movements, and behavoir of our turtles. It is not a bad way to spend a day of research. Not to mention the crystal clear waters of Hawaii make for a pretty good laboratory.