It’s springtime #underwater around the California coast up and down the state and #nudibranch nerds are scouring reefs, docks, piers, muddy sand flats, and even tide pools to search out their favorite colorful #seaslug. Divers around the #channelislands are no different and over the last few weeks there have been some wonderful finds! Of course the goal is always finding one that’s rare or not been seen in a while, but these common ones still bring a smile to my face. This small collection is from a couple of weeks back around #anacapaisland. If you’re a nudi-nerd, it’s time to brave the cold water and start searching through the algae for the next good find! Images with @canonusa gear inside @ikelite housing with lighting control accessories from @ultralightcamerasolutions .
Just can go wrong with a #garibaldi #kelpforest. Despite the calendar saying it’s spring, the conditions around the island were more like summer water a few weeks back, and I took the opportunity to shoot some #underwaterwideangle. Images with @canonusa gear inside @ikelite housing with lighting control accessories from @ultralightcamerasolutions .
Some personal space invasion by the locals for close-focus-wide-angle shooting with the @canonusa RF 7-14mm fisheye while shooting around the #channelislandsnationalpark. Images with @canonunderwater gear inside @ikelite housing with lighting control accessories from @ultralightcamerasolutions . #underwaterphotography #uwphoto #californiadiving
After test shooting the @canonusa RF 7-14mm f/2.8 lens in the Galápagos Islands, I was lucky enough to hold onto the lens for a few extra days and dive it in the #kelpforest conditions around #anacapaisland in the #channelislandsnationalpark. I was a bit dubious because springtime conditions are not always great for wide angle shooting, but Mother Nature must have felt like I’d been good lately because she graced me with a day of pristine conditions including healthy #kelp, sunshine, and clear water. It was a treat to capture the sun rays and burst’s of light with that lens, and I also had some great close-focus wide-angle work that I’ll post soon. Images with @canonusa gear inside @ikelite housing with lighting control accessories from @ultralightcamerasolutions .
The last day of #galapagos diving we visited Santiago Island, which turned out to be a virtual shark-fest with calm and patient white tip reef sharks. Unlike many other sharks, these beauties let us get close enough for some nice photo opportunities. Images with @canonusa gear inside @ikelite housing with lighting control assistance from @ultralightcamerasolutions . #underwaterphotography #shark #scuba
On our 2nd to last day diving the #galapagosislands, we stopped at Wolf island again to revisit the #hammerhead and #galápagos #sharks. We found them co-mingling and basking under the sun rays cascading down from above for some amazing #underwaterphotography options. Images with @canonusa gear inside @ikelite housing with lighting control accessories from @ultralightcamerasolutions aboard the @tiburonexplorer .
Of course among all the life, the #galapagosislands had HUGE shoals of fish. From grunts to jacks to literal clouds of creole fish, sometimes the schools blocked out the sharks and other #underwaterphotography attractions. Images with @canonusa gear inside @ikelite housing with lighting control accessories from @ultralightcamerasolutions .
One of the top attractions to diving the #galapagos islands is the presence of schooling scalloped #hammerhead #sharks. This trip aboard the @tiburonexplorer didn’t disappoint, though the sharks were wary and mostly stayed a ways away, testing the limits of my strobes. I was stoked for the one perfect close pass (image 3) but learned the hard way about shooting through the wicked thermal mixing that created some of the greasiest visibility I’ve encountered anywhere in the world. Great color, but a blurry image from shooting through an underwater mirage. Still, no regrets and happy with the images that did work out to show off what it was like to be in this special place in the presence of these amazing animals. Images with @canonusa gear inside @ikelite housing using lighting control accessories rom @ultralightcamerasolutions .
The #galapagos islands have their own unique species of #sealions… the Galapagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki). These guys are smaller than the ones I’m used to back here in California, but they’re every bit as agile, curious, and fun to dive with! Images with @canonusa gear inside @ikelite housing with lighting control accessories from @ultralightcamerasolutions .
One of my #underwaterphotography bucket list creatures from the #galapagosislands was the #marineiguana. We got one dive in the shallow surge with them, but they were active and feeding for us. These incredible marine reptiles sun themselves until they are warm enough, then dive into the ocean where they feed on underwater algae, staying underwater for up to 15 minutes. This was truly a dive that I’ll never forget and I was happy to bring home some good images! #ocean #sea. Shot with the @canonusa 7-14 fisheye lens on an R7 using @ikelite housing and strobes with lighting control accessories from @ultralightcamerasolutions off the @tiburonexplorer .
You can’t go to the #galapagosislands🐢 with out some tortoise time! Before boarding our dive boat from Santa Cruz Island, we spent some time looking for these gentle giant tortoises. They’re only found on the Galápagos Islands and many of the islands have their own endemic species. Boy are they big! Turns out they’re pretty easy to find just cruising around the countryside. There easy to photograph, if you spend some effort, and the encounter was worth the voyage! I promise, underwater photos coming soon! #gianttortoise #endangeredspecies.
