Frogfish in Flight

Frogfish in flight.

Diving with a Thresher Shark

  Today is double picture kinda day. Scuba diving with sharks is always a pleasure, and an exciting one at that. But some encounters are so rare that you have to travel half way around the world just for a chance to see that species. The thresher shark is one of those rarely encountered shark species.
   It is immediately recognizable from its long upper lobe on the caudal fin (tail fin). Sometimes this upper lobe doubles the length of the animal. It has been shown to be a useful tool for hunting.

  The thresher shark will speed into a school of fish, slash around its whip-like tail, and easily gobble up the stunned fish.
  In order to maximize your chances of seeing this majestic creature you have to travel to a small island in the Philippines called Malapascua Island. Nearby there is a seamount that angles steeply up from the abyss to just 40ft below the surface. A boat will drop you and your guide off, then you head down to a ledge on the steep underwater cliff about 100ft down and wait for a chance to see one of the worlds coolest sharks.


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Turtle Heading to the Blue

 A young Hawaiian green sea turtle leaves the rocky shallows for the deep blue with waves crashing overhead. This picture was taken near the Halona Blowhole on Oahu's southeastern coast.

Nudibranch Glowing from Within

 This picture of a beautiful pink and orange laced nudibranch is in honor of us gearing up for another muck diving, nudibranch hunting mission to Indonesia this summer. Expect many more pics of colorful and bizarre sea creatures from the biodiversity golden triangle.

School of Convict Tangs

 A huge school of convict tangs scours the reef in Hanauma Bay, Oahu. Large schools of herbivorous fish like these tangs are an indicator of a healthy coral reef ecosystem. Corals thrive in nutrient poor environments around the tropics. But if there is an influx of nutrients then algae can quickly overgrow and smother the reef. These fish schools help keep that algae in check.

Green Sea Turtle in Hanauma Bay

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle

 The Hawaiian green sea turtle has made a remarkable recovery since being protected by the federal government. Nowadays an encounter like this one in Hanauma Bay, Oahu is an experience that many people get to enjoy.

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Pod of Spinner Dolphins (Stenella longirostris)

A pod of Hawaiian spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) cruise silently past me near the ocean floor. A few eyes turn up to check out this new creature sharing their habitat.

Sea Turtle Juvenile

Everyone loves a good sea turtle encounter. I swam with this young green sea turtle in the crystal blue waters near the Halona blowhole on Oahu. I was surprised at how comfortable this juvenile turtle was with me taking photos of it. I wasn't using flash but young turtles usually are way more timid that the bigger adults. Maybe this one was a bit on the curious side.

Dolphin and Diver

There was one baby dolphin already in this pod of spinner dolphins. My friend Nate was checking this dolphin out closely to see if there was perhaps another baby on the way.

Spinner Dolphin Close Encounter

A close swim by from a pod of spinner dolphins. I liked this picture because it seems all four dolphins are looking right at me. It is incredible to be in the water with such beautiful and intelligent animals.

Sting Ray vs Nudibranch

I'm watching you. A blue spotted stingray lies in wait and eyes a nearby phyllidia sea slug off the little island of Kanawa, on the outskirts of the Komodo Islands National Park.

Spear Fisherman

 Sometimes when I see a large, dark shadow at the edge of my vision while scuba diving it turns out to be a shark, and I get really excited. Other times it turns out to be a spear fishermen, and I get a little nervous. Even though I prefer to shoot fish with a camera, rather than a spear, I do acknowledge that spearfishing is possibly the single greatest way of being a selective fisherman. If done correctly the by catch, or catch that you don't want, should be zero. Plus it takes a lot of skill to be a good spear fishermen.

Spinner Dolphins B&W

 A pod of spinner dolphins off the west coast of Oahu silently cruise by. I saw them approaching from far off as I was snorkeling a site called electric beach. I took a big breath, dove down 30' to the sandy bottom, held my camera up, and waited.
  About ten seconds later they appeared out of the blue and slowly swam only a few feet away from me. The closest one turned and looked at me as it passed.

Turtle and Sunburst, Oahu

 A Hawaiian green sea turtle glides above me in the shallows near the Halona Blowhole. Hundreds of tourists stop above the blowhole everyday to watch from the cliffs, but very few people venture into the water here. It can be a bit risky going diving here but the rewards can be worth it.

Desirable Nudibranch

A desirable nudibranch clings to a dangling piece of algae, holding on in the surgey waters off western Oahu. I have never seen this nudibranch on Maui but encounter if quite often at Electric Beach dive site on Oahu. It is easy to see why it garnered the name "desirable".

Juvenile Emperor Angelfish

Juvenile Emperor Angelfish

The juvenile emperor angelfish is one of my favorite fish to photograph. When they are babies this angelfish has some of the most striking colors and marking. The psychedelic patterns may help through off and confuse predators, but they attract me right in. This little guy was using the massive wreck of the U.S. Liberty in Bali as him playground.

Hungry Bull Shark in Fiji

 Almost every day near Beqa Island in Fiji a few highly trained divers take to shark infested waters with chum and tuna heads in order to perform the world famous shark feeding dive. Scuba divers descend 85ft and stand behind a rope to witness the spectacle. Up to eight different species of sharks are possible to appear: white tip, black tip, grey, tawny nurse, silvertip, bull, sickle fin lemons, and tiger sharks.

  This picture is of a big female bull shark opening wide to chomp a large tuna head. It all happened very fast and before I knew it the tuna head was gone. Moments later the shark was out of sight as well. A tornado of other fish block your view until a shark swims right through the middle. It is a wild experience for the divers because you never know where the next shark is going to come from.