milisen

When you chase animals, you get tail shots as they swim away.  Let the animals  come to you.

This is a cool little find that was well captured.  Congrats on the image!

I came across a sea turtle at a popular local snorkel spot. Thanks for

looking.

I usually try to get more descriptive with my titles, but this little guy's

identification buggered me. Blackwater dives are conducted at night

many miles from shore exposing divers to some of the oddest creatures

you can't even imagine. This fish is the result of one of such dives.

A pyrosome lights up the otherwise black water. I have been working to

promote pelagic night dives fro Oahu and this is one of the odd critters

than made our first trial run a roaring success.

This is a salp (approx. and inch long), which is a type of tunicate (chordate but without a backbone) that lives a planktonic lifestyle.  The dive is designed to observe lots of gelatinous critters such as this one by throwing yourself into very deep water at night.  The tricky part is using the viewfinder to follow tiny, clear organisms that are floating in a completely different way than you.  You end up getting one in focus for every 40 or so that you take.  I'll put up some more in the next few days.

I've been working with a local dive company to start pelagic night dives

from Oahu. These dives, known commonly as "blackwater," expose

divers to a slew of very strange life-forms such as the salp pictured above.

The other night we did an exploratory night dive many miles offshore of

Oahu. This image of a salp is the result. Your comments are appreciated.

This little guy found me just as I was ascending to the surface for the night.

Any thoughts?

We stumbled across this big oaf while motoring along to our next dive site.

As much as I hate posting multiple images of the same experience fior risk

of wearing out the subject, this encounter was worthy of two images.

Again, comments welcome.

We call my friend "Big Jim."

My friend is surprised by the friendly nature of a whale shark. I welcome

your comments.

Hi Mike-

This was taken through an Ikelite housing with dual strobes while on SCUBA.  

Shooting large animals like this feeding manta ray underwater and at night

can be challenging. Please give me your thoughts.

Just a quick tip-your picture is one of a spotted eagle ray, not manta ray.  Best!

On a recent project I got to play with a few of these friendly critters and

would love to hear your feedback.

This looks like the rear flipper of a seal to me.

The flow of the water is the obvious attribute that makes the photo pop.  Excellent!

The real beauty in this shot is that everybody who visits Hawaii has a picture of a sea turtle, you just applied a bit of creativity to come away with a truly unique picture of sea turtles.  Well done!

You had all the makings of an excellent composition: sunset, a cow and an egret.  Unfortunately, it looks like you were driving by when you took the shot.  For something like this, try pulling over to the side of the road and frame the shot without the fence running through the middle of the picture.  Take your time so as not to scare the egret and wait for the cow to be in better position and take your exposure down a third of a stop to bring out the colors of the sunset and you'd have an excellent shot here.

I certainly never said that they weed out the weak or dying, but their monetary contributions and legislative numbers help preserve a lot of the nature that is left.  

That said, I am not a hunter or fisherman because I, too, don't believe in killing what I protect.  However, we are all a part of this ecosystem, which means we are all guilty of some infraction against the wild, whether it is killing a majestic bear, choosing plastic instead of recyclable bags, or the felling of trees to build your house.  Hunting does connect many with nature who might otherwise be indifferent urbanites.  

I came across these two turtles resting at a local cleaning station last

week. I really appreciate your comments.

This shot of the clownfish (ocellaris?) is fantastic! The focus on the fish in front is crisp, the anemone tentacles aren't hiding anything important, and the colors reallu pop! Kudos.

J