Underwater Poker Match

                Underwater Poker

   This was not an easy thing to set up. The three of us were very comfortable in the water after going through our PADI divemaster certification together in Utila, Honduras. We wanted to push the challenge level up a bit so we grabbed a table, some beers, and a deck of cards to set up the ultimate poker game...30ft underwater.
  We took off our BCDs and tanks and hid them under the table. You can see Brian getting a quick breath from his regulator still. If you have ever been scuba diving you can understand the difficulty. Notice, no mask, instead sunglasses. What we hadn't counted on was the surge. Every so often a big wave would pass over head and even at 30ft down our poor poker table would get knocked over. With us soon following.

Lionfish Panorama

This underwater scene is from a vibrant dive spot called Verde Island. This can be reached on a day trip from the popular scuba diving destination of Puerto Galera, Philippines. The macro subjects like nudibranchs are plentiful here on the steep dropoff but it is the wide angle views that really make this site stand apart. If you find yourself near Puerto Galera then make sure that you save time to go diving here. It will be worth it!

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First Cathedrals Dive, Lanai, HI

Scuba diving inside the famous First Cathedral off the coast off Lana'i

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.

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.

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.

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.