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.