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"The Blackwater World"
Aquarium of the Pacific, First Wednesday lecture series


I had the great honor of speaking at the Aquarium of the Pacific as a part of their lecture series called, "The First Wednesday" program. Getting the timing right on when to schedule the talk was tough as i spend most of my time in the field, which is a fancy way of saying, goofing off diving. We finally agreed on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022 which gave me an 8 month window to prepare from the first point of contact.

Doing talks like these are extremely important. They allow me to justify my "work" and to share the experience with people that might not ever dive or kid's etc. and experienced divers alike. All jokes aside, i find that doing these types of talks are not only my duty as an ocean lover to advocate and introduce people to our oceans inhabitants but to do it in a way that they understand. Connecting people to the unknown, giving them an understanding of what they see before them and hopefully encourage them to care for the oceans in the process.
I was also able to use portions of my book "The Blackwater World" during my talk giving the public a sneak preview of what that will be like as well, which was also very exciting.

In my belief system, we are ALL connected in someway. Discovering those connections is part of the human experience but it isn't exclusive. Animals that roam our planet above and below are just as much alive as humans with the same spirit of life and the will to survive, infact even more so. 

I was lucky enough to have photos taken during the talk in the AOP's Honda theater. The theater has a huge screen and seating for 300. Tickets were "Sold Out" online but the head count was aprx. 178.

Special thanks to everyone that attended, to my sponsors, Kraken sports, Sea and Sea, Retra and of course the Aquarium of the Pacific and to Emma Bodota and Crystal Blue Resort staff and my incredible dive team.

The You Tube link is below if you would like to watch the entire video, in my opinion, the video quality is much better than the live version.


Mike Bartick at the AOP


Me during my talk at the AOP 


A posing female blanket octopus posing for my camera


Champsodon sp. was just one of the fascinating creatures featured during my talk


I loved showing the audience just how large things can be while explaining that most planktons are tiny.
Thanks Kelda for posing next to this enormous Pyrosome.



Enjoy!

 

Happy homecoming


Ive long said, “special subjects require special lighting” and the past dive season in Anilao certainly dished up some special critters.
Upon my return to the resort in October of 2021, we immediately geared up and started diving. We dove 25 days straight, night and day, looking for critters, enjoying the water and drifting in the bay at night doing blackwater dives and working on my soon to be released book.


October is an interesting part of the year to dive in Anilao. The main portion of the rainy season is behind us, the water is warm and for the most part, glassy calm. Critters are a bit deeper due to the inclement weather and water temps being so warm, yet there are still a lot of things to see, particularly in the water column. 

Our first larval fish drop of the season occurs during this time frame, so blackwater dives are also great! 


Tongue sole


Once back to the resort, the first dives were of course, BW and this stunning Tonguefish was one of the first blackwater subjects we found that night. Only a few MM in length with long connected filaments and transparent body.


Vibrant Beatriz reef

Exploring the reefs by day and drifting by night, after the long hiatus of being away, the return to Anilao was and is always intoxicating.

Male Argonaut hians on a Jellyfish

The male Argo uses his 7th arm to reproduce, the bulge in the photo is that arm (hectocotylus) all charged up and ready to fire. 


Female Argonaut hians, carrying a stick

Surprisingly, we also had male and female Argonauts on the first few nights. The males were at their largest and the females were looking for mates. This stunning female was still fast despite her carrying this giant stick, crazy argo!

Glad and a turtle on Crystal Blue's House reef


Backlit Harlequin Ghostpipefish

Coconut was also rebounding from the typhoon that occurred 4 years ago, its nice to see some of our prime dive sites coming back online for guests to enjoy. Subjects like these Ghostpipefish make great photo ops for guests and with a little special backlighting, they glow!

A very small Nembrotha

Of course what post would be complete without at least 1 (or 2) slug shots from the Nudibranch capitol of the world. 


Caprelid dancing on stage

Although this shot was taken much further into the dive season, I couldn't resist posting.


All shots taken with my:
Nikon D850 | 105mm for macro, 60mm for blackwater and 15mm sigma for wide angle | 2 YSD2 mark II strobes or Retro pro strobes and Backscatter mini flash and snoot.

Diving in Anilao is great nearly year round, come out and enjoy the Anilao area and let us show you around. You can come alone, with friends or join workshop to learn new photo techniques or to work on some old ones. Our Critterfest workshops have opening in January 2023. send me. note or an e-mail for more information .
Mike@DiveCBR.com





The Blanket octopus is one of those animals that legends could be made of. Imagine being at sea hundreds of years ago fishing day and night, fighting the elements, battling giant fish and encountering large sea faring animals without knowing what they are. I think of this whenever I read about "sea monsters" or giant krakens that have taken down ships and drowning the entire crew. Is it all fish tales by drunken fishermen or is it possible that some of these stories actually have roots in reality, regardless of the rum. After my first encounter with a full sized female blanket octopus, I was told such a story exists about a giant octopus type creature that lives in the Balayan bay. Oddly enough, this giant creature was told to exist in roughly the same area that we had our once in a lifetime experience. Having that encounter and considering what these early fishermen experienced is enough for me to draw a direct line to connect the dots from the present to the past and to realize, these are the creatures that legends are made of.

The Blanket Octopus is perhaps one of the most mysterious sea creatures of all times. They are a pelagic octopus that live their entire lifecycle in the open ocean which not only make’s them hard to find, but even harder to study. Much of what I know about them and the information presented here is gleaned from books, the internet, and further formed by personal observations from having multiple personal encounters with them. What i have learned is that the Blanket octopus is a complex animal with intriguing behaviors which range from the way they mate and reproduce to hunting strategies and defense. One thing is for sure, nothing can truly prepare you for the moment you encounter one of these incredible sea creatures.

Small Male Blanket Octopus

My first encounter with a fully grown female Blanket Octopus was truly an unforgettable experience that was instantly seared into my memory as if it happened a few hours ago. It was late in the evening, the water was cold and I was the last diver in the water. We had guests visiting from Belgium that wanted to experience blackwater diving but sadly on this night, the dive was rather slow. As I was finning back to the downline i saw a huge shadow pass cross our strand of lights. At first, i thought it was a massive jellyfish, then as i got a bit closer it looked like a fat ray of some kind. Preparing for the shot as I finned towards it, the details of this large mystery creature began taking shape. Suddenly, It turned towards me and quickly closed the gap between us. The first thing I noticed was it's basketball sized head and coloration's of white and pink. It had black golf ball sized eyes that were deepset and seemed to be looking straight at me as it nearly ran me over. It was then, at that exact moment that I overwhelmingly knew what I was looking at, this bizarre sea creature is a giant blanket octopus! 

Its at moments like these that I hear the words of my mentor, Joe Liburdi screaming in my head, "Chance of a lifetime, don't F*** it up" and I had every intention not too.


A fully grown female Blanket Octopus with eggs ( T. gracilis)

When your shooting with a 60mm lens in this circumstance the only thing to do is "BTFU" so I began finning backwards to put some space between me and the monster occy, but it kept coming straight towards me. I did everything i could to get a shot, any shot. No one would believe me if i only came back with a story.  As I was struggling to photograph this beast, I was continuously shining my powerful hand torch towards the surface hoping one of my guests would see the commotion and jump back in. Realizing that the octopus was as curious of me, as I was of it,  I began to relax and observe it   casually orbiting our lit downline. Finally, I saw lights from my buddy coming down from the surface   and the two of us had our first experience of a lifetime, together with this incredible beautiful creature.


A female blanket Octopus can reach 6 plus feet in size without opening its blanket. **

The encounter ended only when the flood light on my camera began to blink red which now turned this once in a lifetime encounter into a rescue mission to save the evidence. We lumbered back onto the boat stunned, giddy and crazy with adrenaline as we shared our experience with the other's on the boat who were now all kicking themselves for not joining. Later that night and only after downloading the images, i realized that our “blanky" was obviously a female as she was also carrying eggs. WOW! i yelled, Oh my god, this is *#*# insane!. It was 3:00am and im sure i woke up the entire resort!

The Blanket Octopus Contains 4 known species:

1 T. gelatus-a gelatinous deep water Tremoctopus, cosmopolitan and found in tropical and temperate waters

2 T. robsoni-Known from the waters off of New Zealand

3 T. gracilis-Palmate octopus-Found in the Indo-Pacific Region **

4 T. violaceus, violet colored- Lives in the Atlantic

The four different octopus can be found in almost all of the planets oceans but each inhabit a different region, sans the polar regions. Their lifecycle can last up to 5 years and have been observed hunting in the same area for an extended period of time. Being a pelagic animal means they don’t make a burrow in the sand or create a home like other octopuses do. These Octopus mate, hunt, feed and thrive in the open ocean and can roam from the depths of the dark zone to the surface, truly master’s of their domain.

Over the last few year,  I’ve been lucky enough to have multiple encounters with the Male’s and Females and have also been lucky enough to come away with a few decent photos. To have these kinds of encounters requires a willingness to stay out all night on the sea along with a huge scoop of luck.

                                    A Male Blanket Octopus, about the size of a garden pea, fully grown!

Unique in appearance and unique in behavior the Tremoctopus are immune to the deadly nematocysts of many cnidarians including the Man O’war jellyfish. It is reported that juvenile Tremoctpus rip the stinging tentacles from the jellyfish then holds them with their lateral arms, whipping them about to sting their prey and perhaps to protect themselves. Many photos show the trailing tentacles and clearly illustrate that this is indeed a common behavior. Oddly enough, we don’t have a population of Man O’war jellyfish in our bay which leads me to assume that they aren’t selective and will use the tentacles of any venomous jellyfish. 


A female Blanket towing cnidarians tentacles of some kind

The sexual behavior is also quite interesting. The male of the species exhibits the highest degree of sexual dimorphism yet to be discovered. The female can measure up to 2 meters in length while the males only reach a size of  2 centimeters, size and weight ratios differ as much as 10,000 times. Male Tremoctopus use a specialized arm called the hectocotylus like other male octopus which contains its sperm pack. The male only needs to touch the female with this specialized arm as it instantly sticks  then snaps off, perhaps without her even knowing. The arm then creeps down or somehow finds its way into the ovum of the female where she crushes it, releasing the sperm and fertilizing her eggs when the time is right. Hatching is intermittent.

The male, like other octopus having completed his life’s work, now dies. However the female still has a long life ahead, brooding and caring for her eggs until she finally dies from starvation much like other Octopus. Research says the eggs are kept in a “sausage shaped calcareous secretion” but i couldn'tmake that out from my photos.


Rocky, the flying squirrel !

The Tremoctopus gets is common name from the blanket that it can quickly unfurl and retract. When fully extended they resemble “Rocky, the flying squirrel” and fly through the water in much the same manner. The texture of the blanket looks like an exaggerated version of the webbing that a common octopus has and uses to web over their prey when hunting. However, these guys deploy the blanket to make themselves look bigger and perhaps to hunt and catch crustaceans or other cephalopods like the paper nautilus. The thin membrane is colorful and ocellated much like the feathers of a peacock with a pink, purple-green hue.

Other cool facts:

  • They can also detach their webbing to ensnare a would be predator or to evade as well as ink.  
  • The web is attached to the 3rd and 6th arms of the female, palmated by the 4th and 5th arm.
  • They will snap their arms outward repeatedly, tightening the blanket as it moves through the water.


Most extreme example of sexual dimorphism in nature, yet to be discovered 

Male Blankets might be small, but they are mighty and have a complicated relationship with the female. Its also reported that she might not even know when she mated as the sperm loaded arm from the male, snaps off after making contact with the female then finds its own way to the holy grail. If you think about this a little, it makes sense. The female, being so large can glide through the water making contact with multiple males while she is fertile,  increasing the odds of a higher rate of fertilized eggs. 


A female Blanket, hunting at the surface in the Balayan bay

Blanket Octopus Movie

 

Like a said above, there is nothing quite like encountering one of these majestic animals in the wild and i'm looking forward to learning more about these incredible creatures. The Blanket Octopus is nothing short of incredible!


All images were shot with Nikon D500 and D850|60mm lens|Sea and Sea Strobes, Housing and Ports| Kraken Sports downline and torches | ultralight clamps

Video shot with

Nikon D850|60mm + Kraken wide angle conversion lens| Kraken 12k torches

Now get out there and have an adventure!


Mike Bartick


 



 From time to time I'm asked to share my experiences with dive clubs or conventions, even schools. Its such an honor for me and at the same time, I feel that sharing my work with others not only completes part of the circle but is my responsibility. Advocating for the ocean and inspiring others to dive through my work is really the pinnacle of what I do.

Please click on the link below to see the talk, its a bit long so relax, grab a drink and enjoy. At the end there is a short QnA. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and ill be more than happy to answer. 

Disclaimer: I am not a scientist and am self taught. If there are mistakes or if I've misidentified any subjects, be kind and email me so I can learn more.

Also please visit the blackwater photo group on Facebook for your daily feed of plankton!





Marine County dive club-August 2021


Enjoy!

A Friday phone call from a friend had me packing my gear and heading to the oil rigs on Saturday morning. I could never pass on the chance to dive the rigs! 

Testing new gear is always fun, especially when it works. Today I had a chance to test the new cutout clamps from ultralight, The new 8K torch from Kraken Sports and the new Sea and Sea YS-D3 Mark 2 strobes.

The local oil platforms in Socal. Ellen, Elly and Eureka, regarded as "The Rigs" to local divers, are active, oil producing and processing facilities just a few miles offshore in the San Pedro escarpment. The Pillars, beams and crossmembers that supports these bohemoth megastructures have become an incredible habitat for fish, sea lions and other marine life. From the waterline the rigs are all business. Loud with banging and hissing, pipes banging, catwalks, burn off valves with flames, truly an un-natural and industrial site above water.

Map of the oil platforms in the Southern California area

All of the dives are performed live with the boat backing as close as possible allowing divers to jump in and swim into the underbelly of the beast. The industrial noises are joined by barking sea lions which you can hear once the boat is close enough.

Ellen and Elly are an oasis in a desert of open water

Swells rise and fall around the pilings creating vertical surge as well as horizontal, the constant movement around the pilings can make for a tough dive so be ready for a rodeo.


Rows of bit guides

Man and industry put the rigs here but nature is trying to claim them with growth of all different varieties. The platforms are somewhat antiquated and many are scheduled for removal but what then? The argument being that the benefit of leaving the structures in place far outweighs those of removing them. One look at these structures underwater and its easy to see that it might be better to leave them. 

Colorful cup corals

Underwater the hardscape of the rigs are alive and thriving with life. Often surgy, the current moves through the rigs carrying all kinds of organisms that sticks to the supports under the structure. The growth recruits more animals, creating a thriving secondary habitat for wildlife. Cup corals, muscles, scallops, giant sea stars and anemones, even colorful brittle stars, carpet everything. Like an oasis in the open ocean, these man made structures are vertical reefs pushing up from the deep providing shelter for rockfish and more.


Colorful Anemone's and brittle stars    

Diving here is possible year-round although the conditions aren't always favorable.  My favorite time to dive here is July/August and lasting through October when the water is calm  the visibility is at its very best and there's plenty of sunlight. 


A bright orange Damsel fish, caring for her eggs

I prefer to shoot wide angle on the rigs. Yes, there is plenty of macro to shoot here but the story is best told with wide angle photography. Im using my tried and trusted wide angle conversion lens to cover both bases, just in-case. 
The water can be bluer near the surface but quickly darkens in the shadows and as you get deeper, the water closes in, becoming jade green. Having strong lights helps to navigate through the maze and to bring out the color. 

Plumose anemone-Metridium

At around the 100 foot mark the alabaster white colored plumose anemones can be found growing amidst the cup corals. The white detail is tricky to expose while maintaining a bright background. Im using Sea and Sea YS-D3 strobes with domed diffusers which helps to even out the exposure for this. Using a low powered strobe flash and slow shutter speed helps to retain decent lighting for both.

Salp chain drifting through the structure of Elly

Jellyfish and salp chains drift through the structures regularly so keep an eye on the water column. Fish, such as these chubs and senoritas eat the little crustaceans that live on the salp chains as well as feeding on the salp.

Static lighting using the Kraken 8k WRGBU video light

I used static lighting on dive 3 to shoot this really large sea star that was attached to the piling. The white balance of the Kraken 8K torch is spot on. 

Cabazon at rest, Static lighting using the kraken 8K WRGBU video light

Cabazons can get enormous heads resembling pitbulls and often times found on eggs. They are a subject that I seek out whenever i'm diving the rigs. 

A Cabazon in. defensive posture-Sea and Sea strobes

Another great day to be on the water with friends and on another adventure at sea.

Dive Boat Magician

I highly recommend diving the oil rigs whenever the chance arrises. The unique habitat of hard and soft scape created by nature and man have never married together as well as they do here.

All images shot with Nikon D850 | Sea and Sea Housings | Sea and Sea YS-D3 Mark 2 strobes | domed diffusers with the exception of the Starfish and Cabazon.
60mm with the Kraken wide angle conversion lens 


Special thanks to:
Sea and Sea underwater imaging. See my review here-YS-D3 review
Kraken Sports Kraken Sports
Ultralight Underwater Control Systems ULCS
Erika Helms for inviting me
Magician dive boat for surface support


For years, i've wanted to visit Cozumel but was discouraged by the mixed reports of the lack of macro subjects and strictly drift diving and that it's not really for seasoned divers. Fortunately, after being encouraged by a friend and having had both vaccination jabs, i decided to hop down from So-Cal and check it out for myself. What I found was clean blue water, colorful reef's, great macro and a fun filled community of divers!

The island of Cozumel in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo is in the Caribbean sea, across the channel from Mainland Mexico's Playa Del Carmen on the Yucatan peninsula. Its a small island with a small town feel, great restaurant's and many ex-pat locals that call Cozumel home. The people are warm and friendly and there are also some great dive operations and guides. Not just "fun dive" dive- guides either but serious macro guides that know there stuff. 

Getting here was easy too. I flew from LAX with quick connectors through Dallas, right to the island. The water is 84º in May with the lowest temps of 78º'ish in January, so warm most of the year. The water color is a truly beautiful mix of cobalt and powder blue, reefs bright and punchy with fans and sponges and a topography of cuts, caverns, walls, pinnacles and even a few wrecks, and yes, there's is some great macro to be had as well. 


SI at a local beach


A diver passing one of the many cracks you can explore around the Columbia reef system

One thing about diving in Cozumel is that there are alot of divers here with all different skill levels. If your a photographer i suggest finding a nice place and then wait for a few minutes, a diver is sure to pass by and make for a great set up if you don't have a model.

The reefs are stunning and full of color. The reef systems are well managed by the government and the guides watch after them too. All dives are live drop, so no anchors are thrown onto the reefs. As a result, there are massive sponges, healthy sea fans and corals.  


Palancar reef system

The prevailing current turns most dives into drift dives. We had gentle currents for most of the trip pushing us along the sprawling reefs, im not a drift dive kind of guy but can appreciate the benefit of constantly moving water. The current keeps the reefs bright, vibrant and full of life which is easy to see as you drift through the vast beauty of the protected dive park area.


DM-Miguel, exploring a small swim through

Using the domed diffusers of the new Sea and Sea YSD-3 strobes added to the beam spread of the strobe flash. The light was easy to manage and really bumped up my shooting experience. I can honestly say that the YSD-3 is like shooting with the 250-pros sans the weight and bulkiness. 


A Yellow Faced Pike Blenny flaring in an aggressive posture 

If you like Blennies like I do then diving in Cozumel will make you very happy. Blennies in Cozumel are generally small but depending on the type you find, its smaller size is made up for with giant sized personalities and packed with character. While they are photogenic they can also be somewhat challenging to shoot. The Yellow Faced Pike Blenny is known to be somewhat shy when approached but If you take your time with them, they will become quite animated. Pike bennies are known to quickly spring up from their hole and begin bobbing up and down while flaring and posturing, particularly when they are within eyeshot of another pike blenny. This can actually be said for most bennies so when you see one acting up. bit, take a look around. When hunting Blennies, I've found it to be very helpful to keep your eyes trend forward and be on the lookout for movement. 


Spiny Cheek Blenny


With my blenny eyes on the ready, I spotted this over caffeinated little guy darting in and out of his hole.
My idea was to capture a photo of it moving through the water column but after a few humbling frames, I decided to re-work that strategy and go for something more realistic.  Spying the green background, I opened my aperture to give the image a nice bright feel and interesting bokeh.  

One of the wrecks at 2-boats


One of my favorite sites in Cozumel is called 2-boats which is in the downtown area.  The dive site is sprawling with large colorful blocks forming a trail that leads divers from one wreck to the next. Both wrecks and the reef blocks rest in shallow water and allows for long bottom times and plenty of sunlight. When im shooting wrecks, I feel there is an ALL or nothing feel and even though most stories are told in bits and pieces, the story of a wreck demands more for impact. Showing a large wreck in its entirety is important to me but it isn't always possible. Both of the wrecks at 2-boats are just small enough to frame well while large enough for intrigue. Im shooting without strobes and using ambient light and converted to black and white in Lightroom.

Across the channel from Cozumel is yet another place that should be visited at least once for every photographer, the Cenotes. Cenotes are basically sink holes and pits that are filled with fresh spring water, interconnected by a system of underground streams. The difficulty of diving these ranges from neophyte skill levels to the extreme. We booked with a local dive shop that handled all of the logistics once we arrived and because of that, we were able to make a day trip out of it. 
We grabbed the 8:00am ferry from Cozumel to Playa. The ferry was fast and clean and not that spendy but the schlepping of gear was a bear. I suggest doing this one-way and flying out through Cancun at the end of a trip. 
Ive never tried cave diving of any kind but im glad I did. I found the caverns, stalactites and stalagmites to be fascinating along with the giant cavernous rooms and melting limestone formations. Cave diving is certainly on my repeat list and knowing what I do now, I hope to be able to grab some better images.

I suggest using video lights and strobes for lighting, ask your guide to assist in lighting and defer to your guide for the best photo-ops. 


The Bat Cave

We dove the "Dos Ojos" cave complex that runs two separate circuits, the "Bat Cave" and "The Barbie line". Both were perfect for the day trip and for our skills as a group. The hardest part of diving the Cenotes was getting there and is definitely worth checking out.


The Barbie line


Aptly named for the Barbie being devoured by this mysterious fresh water crock!



Worlds best model-Gladys passing stalactites on the Barbie Line circuit


My buddy Walter shot a great video which you can watch by following the link below for a better idea and feel of our experience.

In addition to all of the other great diving, we also found time to work in some exploratory blackwater dives. 

Atlantic flying fish
Our blackwater exploration turned out to be very encouraging. The shallow channel allows for deepwater subjects to wash in and through with every tidal cycle and I enjoyed the blackwater opportunities immensely. The BW diving in Cozumel shows a lot of promise!

Larval lionfish


As I said in the beginning, I was hesitant to visit Cozumel and didn't know what to expect. I suppose dive trips and life for that matter are what we make of them and we certainly made the most of our visits. I found Cozumel to be easily accessible, fun and after the first trip, left me eager to return. With great Blackwater, beautiful wide angle, macro critters and cave diving, Cozumel is certainly someplace everyone should visit at least once....or twice!

Links to Walter's videos including the Cenotes and Blackwater are below, check them out!

Cenotes video-Walter Marti

Cozumel Blackwater


All images were shot with:
Nikon D850|sigma 15mm 
Nikon D850|60mm with Kraken wide angle conversion lens
Nikon D850|105mm

Sea and Sea housing and the new YS-D3 lighting strobes using domed diffusers.

Special thanks to Scuba Playa  https://scubaplaya.com

and Aldora Divers. https://www.aldora.com

And a huge thanks to my sponsoring dive team that make every dive possible for me:
Sea and Sea underwater imaging http://www.seaandsea.com
Kraken Sports https://krakensports.ca
Ultralight Control Systems https://ulcs.com



















Southern California is showing off in terms of Visibility. We took advantage of the great viz and did a couple bluewater jumps, this time off the coast of Palos Verde or PV as we like to call it. We then hit the bio-dome for macro (dive 3) to track down "Fringehead Freddy".


Small camera table on the Giant Stride Dive Boat

Butterfly and "Scuba Bob" Nikon D850|60mm|Kraken wade angle conversion lens| YS-D3 Strobes

The water was teaming with sea butterflies and other subjects, it was cold but well worth the efforts.


Walter shooting a giant salp chain
Nikon D850|60mm|Kraken wade angle conversion lens| YS-D3 Strobes


We found giant salp chains drifting at about the 80 foot mark with even more a little deeper. The best bluewater critters are usually found deeper in Socal which makes it tough to get really even exposures but that's half the challenge!


Deeper salp and Walter |
Nikon D850|60mm|Kraken wade angle conversion lens| YS-D3 Strobes

Depending on your depth and angle of the shot, it can actually looks like a backwater dive. PV isn't our usual place for Bluewater dives. Typically the water around the PV area is much chunkier and green  not to mention the water temps are noticobly a bit lower.


Freddy the Fringhead-D850|60mm|AOI +12 Diopter

Freddy is a local resident at the Bio-Dome, although im to convinced this is Freddy, the Ciri above the eyes seem to be much larger than last week. 

Spanish Shawl with eggs-
Nikon D850|60mm|AOI +12 Diopter|Backscatter Mini flash and snoot

I can't seem to get over how striking a Spanish shawl is, there body shape and colors are too much for me to resist. This one is on eggs  and caught my eye. I was demo'ing a new diopter which really helped to frame this smaller slug really well.


Purple striped sea nettle and medusa fish 
Nikon D850|60mm|Kraken wade angle conversion lens| YS-D3 Strobes w/ dome diffuser  

I was lucky to see this lovely purple striped nettle at the end of dive 2. Just the jelly and me in the open sea, 2 drifting spirits. 

Buddy Kevin and Walter during our SI







Bluewater diving is incredible off the Socal Coastline. The Giant Stride Dive Boat, is a 6 pack charter  the owner can be reached through Facebook.


Camera Gear:

Nikon D850 | 60mm + Kraken wide angle conversion lens | 2 Sea and Sea YS-D3 Strobes

Macro shots were made with D850|60mm + AOI diopter and Backscatter Mini Flash and Snoot

Special thanks to Kraken Sports, Backscatter Underwater Photo and video, Sea and Sea and Ultralight Control systems and of Course Captain Jim on the Giant Stride.





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