Underpressure Photography - Blog about underwater and nature photography

Dive Report - Pt Loma, Kinane Pass 1/14/12

2012-01-15T20:08:00.000-08:00

Mike Hallack and Red Gorgonian (Lophogorgia chilensis) in the Pt Loma kelp forest.

Date: 1/14/12
Location: Kinane Pass, Pt Loma kelp forest

Dive #1
Time in: 11:20 am
Time under: 50 min
Max depth: 77 ft
Ave temp: 57 F
Vis: Blue, clear on top, 10 ft at depth
Waves: Very small swells, glassy, but surgy at depth
Mix: 33%
Buddies: Mike H., Julie L.

Dive #2
Time in: 1:43 pm
Time under: 50 min
Max depth: 93 ft
Ave temp: 59 F
Vis: 15-20 on top, 15ft at depth
Waves: Very small swells, glassy, but surgy at depth
Mix: 33%
Buddies: Julie L., Mike H.

Photos: http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20120114-Scuba-Pt-Loma/

Proliferating anemones on kelp

Highlights: Great to join David H., Mikey B., Mike H. and Julie L. on David's boat. It had been too long since diving with them. Also, it was my first visit to Kinane Pass, named in honor of NOAA Jim Kinane.

Spectactular conditions topside and good company on David's luxurious boat. Out at the dive site, we saw 4 or 5 whales passing by, fluking. Conditions at depth weren't quite as nice, with green murk and surge, but it was still a great day out on the water. For the first dive, Mike and I were shooting wide angle, while Julie was trying out her new GoPro. Mikey and David dove on the second shift, playing with a friendly seal.

During the surface interval, Mike and I switched out wide angle for macro. A small pod of dolphins passed through the area along with a couple of sea lions. On the second dive, we found the awesome wall and crevice near Kinane Pass.

Thanks to David for taking us out!

Mike Hallack and California Golden Gorgonian (Muricea californica)

Scott

Dive Report - Shaws Cove & frogfish 12/29/11

2011-12-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

Probably a roughbar frogfish (Antennarius avalonis)

Date: 12/29/11
Location: Shaws Cove, Laguna Beach
Time in: 10:55 am
Time under: 81 min
Max depth: 40 ft
Avg temp: 57 F
Vis: 5-10 ft at depth, 15 ft in the shallows
Waves: Lake Laguna
Buddies: Mike H., Debbie K, DJ S, Cathy S

Photos: http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20111229-Scuba-Shaws/

Highlights: The frogfish, of course. We also saw a nice, large moray and a large horn shark. Finally visited Shelly of Shaws.

California Moray Eel (Gymnothorax mordax)

Mike and I joined Debbie and friends to go visit the frogfish. Without a guide, I don't think we would have found it, tucked away and camouflaged. As I always do when I set up my camera before a dive, I did some test shots. Those seemed to work without a hitch. Once underwater, however, my camera wouldn't fire reliably with the strobes on (fired once or twice and then no more). My guess is either the hot shoe flash connector on the camera or the TTL cable connectors weren't quite seated correctly. So I found myself going to visit the rare frogfish with a camera that wouldn't fire with strobes.

Probably a roughbar frogfish (Antennarius avalonis) and a treefish

I remembered Allison V. and Andy S.'s recent article on doing still photography with video lights and was inspired. I cranked up the ISO a bit, opened up the shutter and slowed down the shutter speed. I was using NOAA Jim's NiteRider dual HID light (thanks Jim, still helping me out!), which is basically a video light and was determined to make lemonade out of lemons. The photos needed a little more help in the white balance department, but actually came out ok.

Scott

Dive Report - La Jolla Shores 11/27/2011

2011-11-27T10:56:00.001-08:00

Catalina Triopha (Triopha catalinae) on Valecitos Pt.

Date: 11/26/11
Location: La Jolla Shores
Time in: 9:30 am
Time under: 57 min
Max depth: 86 ft
Ave temp: 55 F
Vis: 15-20 ft at depth
Waves: 2-3 ft, somewhat challenging
Buddies: Erin, Steve & Mike H.

Photos: http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20111126-Scuba-LJS/

Highlights: Beautiful day, good visibility at depth. My first clingfish.

Juvenile clingfish on a sea hare.

Had a nice dive with Erin, Steve and Mike. Mike found a tiny juvenile clingfish amongst the scattered dead market squid. I was also hoping to find the mantis shrimp below Valecitos point, but alas, didn't find any in our short time at 80 ft. My air was running low, so we quickly looked and didn't find any holes.

Dive Report - Pt Loma Birthday Dives 9/23/11

2011-09-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

Spencer photographing the reef near Train Wheels in Pt Loma

Date: 9/23/11
Location: Train Wheels, Pt Loma
Time in: 9:18 am
Time under: 44 min
Max depth: 90 ft
Avg temp: 54 F
Vis: 15+
Swells/surge: Calm swells, some surge
Buddies: Spencer, Marla, Kim, Mike H

Location: Lazy Days Wreck, Pt Loma
Time in: 11:17 am
Time under: 50 min
Max depth: 79 ft
Avg temp: 54 F
Vis: 5-10 ft
Swells/surge: None/none
Buddies: Mike H, Marla, Kim, Spencer

Photos: http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20110923-Birthday-Dives/

Mike H in the gloom off Pt Loma

Highlights: Fun day out on the water on the Humboldt. We were spoiled by Anita and Ryan and I had the pleasure of finally meeting Bethy. It was Kim's, Mike's and Marla's birthday and we gorged on cake, fruit, beer (root and otherwise). For the second dive, when I got in the water, I noticed a cold feeling around my waist and quickly realized water was coming into my drysuit. I quickly got my fins off and climbed back onto the boat, but the damage was already done. Apparently, my drysuit zipper was just about 1 inch away from actually being zipped shut. Oops. I completed the second dive, but was pretty cold, so I decided to sit out the third dive soggy and take photos of my dive buddies instead.

Scott

Birthday cake!

Dive report - La Jolla Cove 7/9/11

2011-07-17T22:55:00.000-07:00

Diver Julie Lorenzen in the murky kelp forest.

Date: 7/9/11
Location: La Jolla Cove
Time in: 8:56 am
Time under: 36 min
Max depth: 33 ft
Avg temp: 59 F
Vis: 5-10 ft
Waves: 1-3 ft, some breaking in the cove
Buddies: Julie L., Mikey B.

Photos: http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20110709-Scuba-La-Jolla-Cove/

Diver Mikey Bear in the kelp forest.

Highlights: Getting out and diving!

It was great to get out and dive with Julie and Mikey. Conditions were less than ideal underwater, but pretty darn nice above. We went searching for sevengills, but had to settle for just enjoying getting wet. I got to practice my closeup, wide angle diver shots (since vis was pretty bad).

Mikey Bear and Julie Lorenzen after the dive.

Tribute to 'NOAA Jim' Kinane

2011-07-03T22:44:00.000-07:00

I met Jim Kinane in 2008, when I went out diving on the Scuba Do. Jim was always there, ready to assist. He was always ready to give advice when asked and was always concerned with the safety of other divers. He would rarely ask for any help himself. He always kept us entertained above water with stories about technical dives he'd done in the past or stories about work. Jim was my favorite diver photo subject.

This past weekend (6/25/11), Jim joined Mikey, Barbara, Marla, my parents and me for a dive trip to the Pt Loma kelp beds on my parent's boat. Jim had a great day with us out on the water.

He passed away on Saturday, 7/2/11 due to health issues while on the surface, above the HMCS Yukon. He will be missed immensely by a great many people. This photo album is my tribute to him.

http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Underwater/NOAA-Jim-Kinane/17856086_XHKVsJ

Dive report - La Jolla Shores 7/2/11

2011-07-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

Yellow Dorid (Acanthodoris lutea)

Date: 7/2/11
Location: La Jolla Shores
Time in: 6:56 AM
Time under: 64 min
Max depth: 86 ft
Min temp: 54 F
Vis: 20+ below 60 ft and the thick green soup
Waves: 2-3 ft with some energy.
Buddies: Kim, Terry & Marla

More photos: http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20110702-Scuba-LJS/

Mating White spotted porostomes (Doriopsilla albopunctata)

Highlights: Nice relaxing dive at the old standby, LJS. My first photos of a Acanthadoris lutea (yellow dorid). Lots of juvenile octopi.

Met in the parking lot at 6 AM, trying to beat the Independence Day weekend crowds and got front row parking. Got out through the largeish surf and many surfers spread south past the life guard tower. Dropped down into the green gloom, the type where you can't see your fin tips very well from the surface. As we continued dropping past 60 feet, the visibility opened up into a dark expanse. We hit bottom around 85 feet and slowly made our way back up to the wall at 60 feet. Visibility wasn't as good along the wall, but not terrible either, probably 10-12 ft. Flashlights were handy for keeping track of dive buddies.

Mating San Diego Dorids (Diaulula sandiegensis)

There were many juvenile octopi out below the wall and at Vallecitos Point. Lots of mating nudibranchs and I saw two different yellow dorids. The point is also covered in various colors of spiny brittle stars. We exited closer to Vallecitos St and avoided the surf and surfers. Breakfast at Starbucks topped off the morning.

Sculpin

Scott

Dive report - Pt Loma Kelp Beds 6/25/11

2011-07-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

Jim scooters by the anchor.

Date: 6/25/11
Location: Somewhere near Camel Head, Pt Loma

Dive #1
Time in: 10:55 am
Time under: 47 min
Max depth: 79 ft
Min temp: 56 F
Vis: ~20 ft below the green gloom
Waves: 2-3 ft swells
Buddies: Marla, Jim, Mikey, Barbara

Marla swims over the reef.

Dive #2
Time in: 1:42 pm
Time under: 44 min
Max depth: 88 ft
Min temp: 56 F
Vis: ~20 ft below the green gloom
Waves: 2-3 ft swells
Buddies: Marla

More photos: http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20110625-Scuba-Pt-Loma/

Highlights: Getting out on my parent's boat with good friends.

Proliferating Anemone (Epiactis prolifera) on kelp.

I took 4 dive buddies out on my parent's boat to dive Pt Loma. Conditions were good, with sun and mild swells (for the first dive). There was a thick layer of algae down to about 40 ft and it opened up a little to about 20 ft vis below that. On the first dive, I shot wide angle, though conditions weren't very good for it with a lot of surge.

Club-tipped Anemone (Corynactis californica)

In between dives, we had a yummy black forest cake for Mikey's (22nd?) birthday. :) I switched to macro, but realized after dropping down that the focus limiter on the 60mm macro lens was on. Fortunately, it was still usable, so I had to practice taking photos with with a little more surroundings, rather than closeups.

Thanks to my mom for taking photos above water:

Barbara, me, Marla, Mikey, my dad and Jim.

Ready to do a giant stride.

Mikey, Marla and I ready to drop.

Dive report - La Jolla Cove 6/18/11

2011-06-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

Spencer in the kelp forest." alt="Spencer in the kelp forest.

Date: 6/18/11
Location: La Jolla Cove
Time in: 7:03 am
Time under: 76 min
Max depth: 31 ft
Ave temp: 63 F
Vis: 10-15 ft, hazy, but blue
Waves: 1 ft, easy
Buddies: Mike H., Steve L., Spencer T. with surface support from Laura C.

More Photos: http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20110618-Scuba-La-Jolla-Cove/

Highlights: My second dive at La Jolla Cove, hard to believe. The water color was still a nice blue. One small GSB.

Spencer in the kelp forest.

We decided to forgo our normal LJS dive and do an early dive at the Cove, looking for sevengill sharks. Unfortunately, we were skunked. I saw one giant sea bass swim quickly in between us (no one else saw it) and later on a school of what I think were white sea bass. Visibility was not as great as earlier in the week, but the water still had a nice blue tint to it.

Giant Sea Bass (aka Black Sea Bass) (Stereolepis gigas) in the murky water with a diver in the background.

Steve and Mike in the kelp.

Dive report - La Jolla Shores 6/12/11

2011-06-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

Date: 6/12/11
Location: LJS Main Wall
Time in: 7:39 am
Time under: 66 min
Max depth: 65 ft
Ave temp: 57 F
Vis: 20+ ft
Waves: 1-3 ft
Buddy: Steve, Mike, Newell

More photos:
http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20110612-Scuba-LJS

Highlights: Great relaxing dive with good buddies and good visibility. Good to be in the water again after a month. We saw all the usual suspects on the wall with the bonus of two octopi either mating or fighting. It was a tangled mess of tentacles.

A pair of mating or fighting Two Spot Octopus (Octopus bimaculatus or Octopus bimaculoides)

Two Spot Octopus (Octopus bimaculatus or Octopus bimaculoides)

Sculpin

Stearn's Aeolid (Facelina stearnsi) and Spiny Brittle Stars (Ophiothrix spiculata)

Sarcastic Fringehead (Neoclinus blanchardi)

Dive report - Pt Loma Kelp Beds 5/1/11

2011-06-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

Date: 5/1/2011
Location: Camel Head, Pt Loma Kelp Beds

#1
Time in: 10:11 am
Time under: 45 min
Max depth: 85 ft
Ave temp: 52 F
Vis: 15-20 ft
Waves: 2-3 ft swells
Mix: 33%
Buddy: Steve M.

#2
Time in: 12:24 pm
Time under: 44 min
Max depth: 83 ft
Ave temp: 52 F
Vis: ~15 ft
Waves: 2-3 ft swells, strong current
Mix: 32%
Buddy: Steve M.

Photos: http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20110501-Scuba-Pt-Loma/

Red Gorgonian (Lophogorgia chilensis) and Kelp Rockfish (Sebastes atrovirens)

As always, on the first dive I was shooting wide angle, just in case there was epic vis. I'd rather have one dive with mediocre vis on wide angle than miss the chance to have 2 dives on wide with epic visibility. We dropped down the anchor line and I started photographing the reef. Next thing I know, I'm getting hit from behind. I slowly turn around (trying now to knock into Steve) and he's waving and pointing frantically, making the shark sign (fin on head). I missed it. Steve had seen a large sevengill shark. We spent the rest of the dive keeping one eye open for a return visit, but alas we didn't see it again.

Red Gorgonian (Lophogorgia chilensis) on a reef in the Pt Loma kelp forest.

In between dives, I switched to a macro lens and the current picked up. After backrolling off the side of his boat, we had to pull ourselves hand over fist using Steve's new granny line up to the anchor line. I pulled myself inverted down the anchor line, trying to get below the current. It slowed down significantly about 20 feet under. I reached the bottom and waited for Steve to arrive, unfolding my camera strobes. Steve helped me find the Hilton's Aeolid he had found on the first dive, in addition to numerous tritonia festivas, three lined aeolids, an aegires albopunctatus and of course too many hermissendas and spanish shawls to count.

Tritonia festiva

At the end of the second dive, I grabbed the anchor line to start ascending. Steve unhooked the anchor from the reef and the current immediately started Mr Toad's Wild Ride. :O I was hanging onto the anchor line at about 60 feet as the boat is being pulled by the current. The kelp was streaming past and I'm thinking that I better not let go of the anchor line, otherwise we're going to have a long, hard swim to the boat. Steve ascends and at one point is drifting along side me, but not holding onto the anchor line. The current was moving us at the same speed as the boat. :) We got back onboard with no issues and had a very choppy and slow ride back to the dock.

Diver Steve Murvine photographing in the kelp forest off Pt Loma.

Another excellent day of diving in Southern California!

Dive Report - LJS 4/16/11

2011-04-16T18:15:00.000-07:00

Date: 4/16/11
Location: LJS, Main Wall
Time in: 7:46 am
Time under: 63 min
Max depth: 65 ft
Ave temp: 54 F
Vis: ~5 ft in the shallows, 10-15 on the wall.
Waves: 2-3 feet, kind of annoying with a sinus rinse on the way out.
Buddies: Kim, Spencer & Robert

Diver Robert Casagrand and a tube dwelling anemone.

More photos: http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20110416-Scuba-La-Jolla-Shores/

Highlights: Back in the water after 2 and 1/2 months! And as a bonus, I still remember how to put my gear together!

It was great getting back in the water on such a beautiful day down at La Jolla Shores. Conditions were only so-so, with 2-3 foot waves, one right after another and mediocre vis on the wall, but we still had a good dive.

Yellow Crab (Cancer anthonyi)

I packed for wide angle, knowing that it was probably a macro day. Sure enough, in the crap patch were nudi's galore. Tons of hermissendas, dirona pictas and a couple of dendrotonus frondosus were out. We got buzzed by a cormorant at 60 feet, but it was too fast to get a photo. I busied myself playing around with the strobe settings and trying to photograph closeups (but not too close) of the 3 or 4 horn sharks we saw.

Diver Kim Mitchell above the sand at La Jolla Shores.

I turned around earlier than the rest of the group due to the cold and wanting to leave plenty of air in case the waves were still bad. I swam in under them, coming up in 5 feet of water and didn't have any problems exiting. Cap'n crunch french toast for breakfast with my dive buddies afterwards topped off the morning.

PS. don't forget the La Jolla marathon is tomorrow. Good luck to all of those running in it!

Scott

Black and whites

2011-03-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

Inspired by a recent article by Jim Patterson in California Diver Magazine, I decided to go back through some of my photos and try them out in black and white. In some ways, it's given new life to photos that I otherwise would not have shared, such as this one from Bali:

Sea anemone, Bali, Indonesia

And then there's one that was made for black and white. A market squid from the end of one of the recent squid runs off southern California:

Market Squid (Loligo opalescens) after a hard night

Usually colorful nudibranchs take on an even more otherworldly feel in monochrome. They seem to glow from within:

Hermissenda crassicornis

Wrecks also tend to lend themselves to good black and white photos, but the size and murky water around the HMCS Yukon makes the shape of the wreck much too large for a single photo. In this photo, I focused on the forward guns, with some giant white-plumed anemones as foreground subjects.

The forward guns of the HMCS Yukon

More black and white photos:
http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Art/Black-and-White/

Scott

Cabo San Lucas 2010 Posts Index

2011-03-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

Just Photos:
http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Underwater/Cabo-2010/Cabo-San-Lucas-2010/

- Cabo Part 1 - Local dive sites
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Cabo Part 2 - Local dive sites Cont.
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Cabo Part 3 - Cabo Pulmo dives
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Cabo Part 4 - Gordo Bank dives
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Cabo Part 5 - Snorkeling Cabo Pulmo
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Cabo Part 6 - Cabo Harbor macro dives
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Cabo Part 7 - Cabo topside
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Cabo San Lucas, August 2010 - Part 7 (Final)

2011-03-05T07:52:00.000-08:00

Cabo San Lucas, topside

Shore break and sunset on the Pacific Ocean in Cabo San Lucas, MX

We stayed at the Playa Grande hotel/timeshare on the Pacific Ocean side of Cabo San Lucas. A benefit of staying on the Pacific side is that the beaches are not as crowded and there's a nice breeze coming off the ocean. The downside is that the swells can be large and there's a nasty shore break, so swimming in the ocean is not advised. There are frequently strong rip currents as well.

Playa Grande, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

The last day of the trip was a 'no diving' day. We chartered a fishing boat out of the Cabo harbor and went south, into the Pacific Ocean. The swells were large, but the sun was out. We came across a large pod of dolphins and they followed us, surfing with the bow of the boat.

Dolphins off the Pacific coast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

We also saw sea turtles, swimming along out in the middle of the ocean. They initially look like a piece of flotsam, just floating there. As we approached, they would dive under and we wouldn't see them again.

The 'Arch' at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

There is beauty above and below the water at Cabo San Lucas.

Additional Photos:
http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Underwater/Cabo-2010/Cabo-San-Lucas-2010/

Scott

Imperial Sand Dunes and crashing on an ATV

2011-02-26T10:30:00.000-08:00

View of the dunes, with 2 quads in the background

Two weeks ago, we camped for a weekend out in the Imperial Sand Dunes off the 8 freeway. It was a fun trip with perfect weather - high of 75 F in the middle of winter. For those familiar with the Imperial Dunes, we took a ride out to Test Hill, where I decided to test out a Yamaha Raptor ATV. After driving up Test Hill 3 times with no issues, I brought my son up to the top and gave him my camera to shoot some photos of me.

In order to go up where he was shooting, I had to drive up a different face of the dune. This one was steeper and softer, with tracks erased by falling sand soon after they are made. I think I may have stayed on the throttle a little too long or not seen where the top was. In any case, the ATV started doing a wheelie at the top of the dune and I flew off the back of it.

With the camera shooting at 5 shots per second, the whole thing happened in about a second. I was on my way up the hill and the next thing I knew, I was laying on the ground, unable to breath.

Fortunately, the bar on the back of the ATV prevented it from flipping over or landing on me. The ATV was fine.. I was not so much. My back took the brunt of the impact and I had the wind knocked out of me. Fortunately, my family was nearby and drove me back to camp in my sister's dune buggy.

Two weeks later, I still have back pain, but it is definitely getting better. It's the reason I haven't been diving in a few weeks and it's going to be my excuse for not being ready for my first 10K run in 2 weeks. :(

Quads in the dunes

The telephone pole out at Gordon's Well

Imperial Sand Dunes:

View Larger Map

Scott

Cabo San Lucas, August 2010 - Part 6

2011-02-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

Cabo Harbor Dive

On the last day of diving for the trip, we were scheduled to do an 'Across the Bay' set of dives, but the swells were up and dive boats were not allowed out. So instead we did the type of diving that I'm most familiar with - shore diving. At the south-east end of the Cabo harbor, past the naval base, there is a small sandy beach complete with thatch roof umbrellas for shade.

Pacific seahorse (Hippocampus ingens) on abandoned rope

Our dive plan was to swim north-east from the beach, under the harbor entrance. I don't think the other divers were aware of the risk or were experienced enough to do this type of overhead diving. The type where boats are actively motoring above you during the dive. Fortunately, nothing bad happened...

Pacific seahorse (Hippocampus ingens) on abandoned rope

The terrain under the harbor entrance is a sandy bottom with gentle rolling hills. The marine life is concentrated in small clumps around small pieces of reef and boating trash. Tires, rope, bottles and cans provided the majority of habitat for macro life.

Argus moray (Muraena argus)

On two dives, we saw a couple of Pacific Seahorses, panamic arrow crabs, porcupine puffer fish, jeweled moray and argus moray eels and surprisingly only one nudibranch. I asked the dive guides afterward if there are usually more nudibranchs and they said that there had recently been a harbor cleanup that picked up a lot of the trash. It sounds like they also removed the habitat for the smaller inhabitants.

Chromodoris norrisi

Jeweled moray eel (Muraena lentiginosa)

Cabo Harbo:

View Larger Map

Cabo Photos:
http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Underwater/Cabo-2010/Cabo-San-Lucas-2010/

Scott

Common Dolphins off Pt Loma - 2/5/11

2011-02-06T22:08:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we went straight west from Pt Loma in search of migrating gray whales. We didn't manage to find any (neither did anyone else, apparently), but we did find a large pod of common dolphins.

More photos: http://underpressurephoto.com/Animals/Common-dolphins-off-Pt-Loma/

We met up with a small group that was heading towards the larger pod and slowed down to let them swim with us. After we met up with the larger pod, various groups would swim with the boat and then swim off.

The boat was surrounded for probably a half mile in any direction by dolphins, leaping out of the water.

After turning around and speeding back up, we had some that followed the boat, surfing and leaping out of the wake.

Short video of the dolphins playing at the bow of the boat:

Dive Report - Scuba Pt Loma 1/30/11

2011-01-30T20:29:00.000-08:00

Date: 1/30/2011

Dive 1
Location: Pt Loma Kelp Forest - Gayle's Spot
Time in: 9:51 am
Time under: 52 min
Max depth: 85 ft
Ave temp: 59 F
Vis: ~10-15 ft
Waves: 3-5+ ft swells, surge
Mix: 33%
Buddies: Mike H and Steve M

Dive 2
Location: Pt Loma Kelp Forest - Gayle's Spot
Time in: 12:08 pm
Time under: 51 min
Max depth: 84 ft
Ave temp: 59 F
Vis: ~10 ft
Waves: 3-5+ ft swells, surge
Mix: 33%
Buddies: Mike H and Steve M

More photos: http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20110130-ScubaPtLoma/

Mike Hallack on the reef off Pt Loma

Highlights: Another day on the water with beautiful reef structure, tons of gorgonians and lots of nudibranchs. First time photographing a white dendronotid (Dendronotus albus).

White dendronotid (Dendronotus albus)

We did two dives at Gayle's Spot, which Steve chose due to the weather conditions. The swells were large and choppy and the wind was blowing out of the south. On the first dive, Mike and I were rigged for wide angle. Conditions were borderline for wide angle, with lots of material in the water. There was a fair amount of surge and Steve taunted us by finding a red tipped dorid and a white dendronotid.

Spanish Shawl (Flabellina iodinea) and Club-tipped Anemone (Corynactis californica)

For the second dive, we switched to macro and went looking for Steve's nudibranchs. Visibility was less than the first dive, so I was happy I switched. We managed to find a couple of white dendronotids and Steve found the red tipped dorid at the very end. Unfortunately, it lept off the reef into the deep and I was running low on no-deco time, so I missed getting a shot of it. I think Steve found it again before he came up, so hopefully he got a shot of it. There's always next time for me!

Scott

Orange Cup Coral (Balanophyllia elegans)

Dive Report - LJS 1/23/2011

2011-01-23T21:40:00.000-08:00

Date: 1/23/2011
Location: LJS
Time in: 7:50 am
Time under: 62 min
Max depth: 70 ft
Ave temp: 54 F
Vis: ~10 ft, less in the shallows
Waves: 2-3 ft, not a big deal from the Lifeguard tower to Vallecitos. However, a bit of surge and a strong south current in the shallows.
Buddies: Marla & Spencer

Aeolidia papillosa

More photos: http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20110123-Scuba-LJS/

Highlights: Spencer found a large Aeolidia papillosa in the sand. I found a Panamic Arrow Crab on the south side of Vallecitos Pt, which I've only ever seen in Cabo San Lucas. We also found a couple of large Diomedes Tritonia.

Panamic Arrow Crab (Stenorhynchus debilis)

Despite the large surf advisory, we showed up to La Jolla Shores at 7 am to check it out. The surf was large to the north of the lifeguard tower and we could see it breaking in the cove, but it was pretty small in between. Kicking out, there was a strong southerly current in the shallows. We entered the water near the lifeguard tower and by the time we got out of the current, we were lined up with Vallecitos. We dropped down and headed north, hoping to reach the crap patch. Instead, we made it to Vallecitos Pt and a little further. The water was pretty silty, though doing macro photography, we didn't mind. On the swim back in, we encountered the current and a possible outgoing rip starting about 15 feet deep. We kicked hard and made it in just a little south of the lifeguard tower.

Diomedes Tritonia (Tritonia diomedea)

Overall, a really nice dive, considering the dire predictions. It was good that we left plenty of air for the kick in however...

Scott

Dive report - Pt Loma 1/16/11

2011-01-19T23:00:00.000-08:00

Dive #1

Date: 1/16/11
Location: Pt Loma
Time in: 10:20 am
Time under: 52 min
Max depth: 83 ft
Ave temp: 55F
Vis: 20-30 ft
Waves: glassy, w/ occasional set. Some surge at the bottom.
Mix: 33%
Buddies: Mike Hallack and Steve Murvine

Dive #2 - 'Main wall'

Time in: 12:51 pm
Time under: 54 min
Max depth: 84 ft
Ave temp: 55F
Vis: 40 ft+
Waves: glassy, minimal surge
Mix: 32%
Buddies: Mike Hallack and Steve Murvine

More photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20110116-ScubaPtLoma/

Rockfish, red gorgonian and a school of sargo (Anisotremus davidsoni) in the kelp forest.

Highlights: Back in the water after more than a month. Beautiful topside conditions and good conditions underwater. 2 sea lions frolicking on the first dive and the shear size and life on the giant wall on the second dive.

Had two great dives. It was my first time on the Submariner, even though Steve has been inviting me for the last 6 months. Steve definitely knows the spots out there.

Giant Acorn Barnacle (Balanus nubilus) and Club-tipped Anemones (Corynactis californica)

First dive
- Shot wide angle. A bit of surge, but still beautiful structure, with gorgonians, sargo, sheephead and rockfish. 2 sea lions buzzed us throughout the second half of the dive over the deeper area. They didn't get close enough for a good shot, but as Steve so eloquently put it - Allison has spoiled that closeup sea lion shot for the rest of us anyways. :)

Gopher Rockfish (Sebastes carnatus) on a reef.

Second dive
- Switched to macro, but should have also switched camera batteries. Gorgeous wall, ~50 ft tall and stretching as far as I could see covered in life. There was so much to look at, like a kid in a candy store I had trouble focusing on any one part to look for nudibranchs and other macro subjects. About 10 minutes into the dive, my camera informed me that it was done for the day. I spent the rest of the dive enjoying looking at the scenery without the distraction of the camera and even tried a little bit of modeling for Mike, who was still shooting wide angle.

Blood Star (Henricia leviuscula) and Club-tipped Anemones (Corynactis californica)

Scott

Cabo San Lucas, August 2010 - Part 5

2010-12-14T22:13:00.000-08:00

Snorkeling Cabo Pulmo

One of the days of our trip, we journeyed to Cabo Pulmo for a full day of snorkeling. We gathered into one of the pangas with a group of about 7 people and were launched from the beach by a rusting 4x4 truck.

1st site - Playa La Sirenita

This was a shallow snorkeling site, protected from swells. The name comes from a rock on the beach, shaped like a mermaid. At this snorkeling site, we saw the usual tropical fish in amongst the reefs. It was a relaxing swim around the cove. The highlight of snorkeling at this site was a sea turtle that we saw near the end of our time there.

Sea lions at the "Sea Lion Colony" at Cabo Pulmo.

2nd site - Sea Lion Colony

We journeyed around the southern point of Cabo Pulmo and checked out the Sea Lion Colony. There weren't that many sea lions, but we gave it a go anyways. The swells were larger here and we were warned not to swim too close to the rocks that the sea lions were sun bathing on. We jumped over the side and swam towards the rocks. As I approached the pinnacles, the sea lions started to come down off the rocks to investigate us. I dove down about 15 ft and photographed the sea lions underwater. As I was photographing, one of them swam at me, blowing bubbles and clapping it's flippers. I'm not sure whether it was aggressive or not, but I was cautious and backed off after that. The sea lion made about 3 close passes at me and then lost interest and climbed back up on the rock.

Snorkeling with a large school of jacks at Cabo Pulmo.

3rd site - near El Bajo de los Meros

We rode the panga back to the north, out into deeper water. Our snorkeling guide and panga driver were looking for one of the large school of jacks that frequent the area. We ended up near the dive site El Bajo de los Meros and were told to start swimming as soon as we back rolled off the panga. The current was stronger here, though we were able to swim against it without too much trouble. We were in about 40-60 ft of clear, blue water and could see the sandy bottom below us. The guide had succeeded in finding the jacks. We slowly followed the jacks from the surface, as they swam as a school against the current. Every once in a while, one of us would swim down to them, ~20 ft below the surface and the school would split and weave back together. I got to try out a little bit of freediving and my ears suffered as a result of focusing on the camera vs equalizing pressure. Swimming against the current to keep up with the moving school also didn't help with swimming down to the school.

Freediving with the large school of jacks at Cabo Pulmo.

4th site - Reef near the dive shop

The last snorkeling spot was a shallow reef near to the dive shop and beach. There wasn't anything really special seen at this dive spot, but it was still filled with tropical fish over the rocky reef.

Next up are the macro dives I did under the Cabo San Lucas harbor.

Scott

Cabo Pulmo, Mexico

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Dive report - LJS North Wall 11/27/10

2010-11-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

Date: 11/27/10
Location: LJS, North Wall
Time in: 11:13 am
Time under: 70 min
Max depth: 80 ft
Min temp: ~50 F, very cold the entire dive
Vis: 15-25 ft
Waves: 1-2 ft, slightly larger on exit
Mix: 32%

Buddies: Mike, Marla, Virginia, Patricia and Robert

Berthella californica with gills out

Photos:

http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20101127-Scuba-LJS-North-Wall/

Highlights: Mmm, nitrox. Great visibility, nice blue color. Tons of sheep crabs above the North Wall.

We had planned on a boat trip to Pt Loma, but it was canceled due to concern about the afternoon weather. When we arrived at the shores, it was calm and flat. Since we'd gone through the trouble of getting nitrox for the boat, we decided to do the North Wall. Mike, Marla and I were on nitrox and Virginia, Patricia and Robert were on air, so we split into two groups, with the air group heading back early. Early on the swim out, we had 3-4 dolphins pass by within about 20 ft, between us and shore. We dropped down after the long surface swim, made longer by my decision to try switching to blade fins from split fins for better control underwater. The water was clear and cold, with a nice blue tint. We followed the wall, stopping to take pictures of a couple of Berthella californica. There were small patches of squid eggs and a few dead squid, scattered here and there.

Market Squid (Loligo opalescens) after a hard night

In addition to using blade fins, this was a test run for a couple of home made snoots. The ones I made are just extension tubes for the DS-125s and have an exit aperture roughly equal to the strobe. They make a bit of a difference in getting just the subject lit and reducing the light on the surroundings. The good news is that they didn't fall off and they didn't completely ruin pictures. I call it a successful test run :)

Market Squid (Loligo opalescens) showing off colors

On the plateau above the end of the North Wall, there were tons of sheep crabs. Probably 10-15 scattered about. I don't know if they are usually there or whether it's just their season. We turned around and headed back, following the contour at about 50-60 ft, avoiding the blue water swim. On the way back, we found a few living squid with some small groups of eggs. At about 20 ft, the water became more cloudy/green and the detritus was churning. The wind had picked up a little and there was a small swell from the south west. As we exited the water, another dolphin passed by further out.

Sheep Crab (Loxorhynchus grandis) portrait

Scott

Cabo San Lucas, August 2010 - Part 4

2010-11-17T22:23:00.000-08:00

Divers hanging on the anchor line in strong current at Gordo Bank. Photo taken at about 80 ft.

Gordo Bank (advanced dive site)

Gordo Bank called to me when I read the description. The chance to see schooling hammerhead sharks, schools of tuna and the possibility to see large mantas or whale sharks. Gordo Bank is about an hours boat ride from Cabo San Lucas. It is located north of San Jose del Cabo in the Sea of Cortez. The dive site is a pinnacle in the middle of the Sea of Cortez that comes up to about 120 ft below the surace. There can be strong currents - like the day we dove there. Gordo Bank is an advanced dive site and is recommended for more experienced divers only. Kevin, one of the owners of Amigos del Mar dive shop, advised me that August was not the best time of year to dive Gordo. Even though I didn't come back with any good photos to share, I'm still glad I experienced it.

School of Panamic porkfish (Anisotremus taeniatus) at Cabo Pulmo

We did two dives with an anchor line down to the pinnacle. The current was strong enough that we needed to use a granny line to get to the anchor line at the front of the boat. I was glad to have a good surface marker buoy (SMB) and jon line for these dives. If anyone had lost their grip on the anchor line, they would quickly drift out of site of the boat. As we descended for the first dive, I followed the dive guide down the line to about 70 feet. The current was ripping and I was glad to have gloves on. As we got below 70 feet, the anchor line suddenly jerked as the anchor broke free of the pinnacle and the temperature dropped dramatically, causing me to sharply inhale. We hung on as we briefly swung free in the current until it caught again. I continued down to about 90 feet, while the dive guide pulled himself down the line to make sure the anchor was set. The top of the pinnacle was just visible from 90 feet. Later he shared that the anchor was at 140 feet. From 90 ft, we could make out schooling hammerheads in the distance. A group of them was herding a school of tuna. Unfortunately, they were too far away to photograph and they kept phasing in and out of our visibility. As we ascended up to above 50 ft, jellyfish and small siphonophores drifted quickly by in the current. Also drifting by was excrement from both the hammerheads and tuna. We were downwind from a lot of fish.

A school of jacks at Cabo Pulmo.

The other two divers almost didn't join us on the second dive. They were newer divers and were a bit nervous because of the current and a little sea sick from the large swells. They also didn't have an SMB or even gloves. I decided to switch to macro for the second dive in the hopes of photographing the passing jellys. On the second dive, the current was still strong, but as fate would have it, the tuna came closer. We also saw some hammerheads closer, but they were well below us in the dark. I didn't go as deep, trying to stay within the range where the jellys were. I used my jon line to hook into the anchor line so that my hands were free to use the camera. I tried, unsuccessfully, to photograph the jellyfish and siphonophores as they passed by. Right about the time I was get the camera focused to the right range, they would be floating passed me. It was quite an experience and I would like to try it again during the right time of year when visibility is better and the sharks are more numerous.

2010-11-14T13:18:00.000-08:00

Date: 11/14/10
Location: LJS, North Wall
Time in: 8:02 am
Time under: 67 min
Max depth: 76 ft
Avg temp: 57 F
Vis: 15-20 ft
Waves: 1-3 ft
Buddies: Mike, Kim, Spencer, Steve, Terry

Hermissenda crassicornis

Photos: http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20101114-Scuba-LJS-North-Wall/

Highlights: Visit to the rarely dived North Wall at La Jolla Shores.

Brown Rockfish (Sebastes auriculatus)

Inspired by the recent reports from the North Wall, I convinced everybody to join me in the long(er) surface swim. Led by Kim, we found it after dropping down and a short swim at 50 ft. The North Wall is bigger and more populated than the often dived main wall. There were lots of spiny brittle stars stars covering the wall and large holes occupied by lobsters. Painted greenlings chased each other around and large sheephead kept watch. There was a large brown rockfish that followed us for a little while, plopping down and watching until we got closer. Then he'd move along and plop down nearby until we caught up. There was some macrocystis kelp, a patch of red gorgonian and the start of some elk horn kelp stalks. Kim also found a couple of cockerell's dorids. Mike and I didn't really find any other nudibranchs on the wall, though our time was limited by trying not to do into deco. Next time we'll need to bring nitrox.

Sheep Crab (Loxorhynchus grandis)

On the way back, a large sheep crab wanted to take me on in a boxing match, falling over as he lifted himself up on his back legs. After the blue/green water swim, we found an old green bottle with an octopus safely tucked inside and lots of hermissendas in the detritus. The last find was a dirona picta, but I was getting low on air and couldn't stick around to try to get a good photo.

Macrocystis Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera)

Scott

Cabo San Lucas, August 2010 - Part 3

2010-11-11T07:24:00.000-08:00

Reef scene at Cabo Pulmo.

This is Part 3 of my photos and dive reports from Cabo San Lucas.

Cabo Pulmo

Cabo Pulmo is the best place to dive near Cabo San Lucas. It is a ~90 minute car ride north from the city, with 6 miles of the drive on a bumpy dirt road. Located within the Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park, the site is safe from fishing and the pollution of the cities and includes the only living reef in western North America. There is a small village that has three restaurants, a couple of dive shops and a small resort, but not much more. We traveled there 2 days in a row - one day of diving and one day of snorkeling.

School of Panamic porkfish (Anisotremus taeniatus) at Cabo Pulmo

Maps:
http://www.cabopulmopark.com/maps.html

We did two dives inside the park, one was at La Esperanza, looking for large sharks, and the other was a drift dive at El Bajo de los Meros. The diving was done out of a panga, with no shade. To get the boat in the water, they had a rusty, old 4x4 truck that pushed the boat into the small surf. It reminded me of being in Bali, though this location made Bali seemed civilized. On the first dive, we spotted two large bull sharks off in the distance. Unfortunately, they were too far away to get a good photo.

Reef scene at Cabo Pulmo.

During the safety stop, we found ourselves surrounded by small jelly fish. I spent the rest of the trip with jelly fish stings on my hands and face. One of the other divers, a young lady from Australia, faired worse with stings all over her legs. As a side note, gloves are not allowed to be worn in Cabo Pulmo in order to protect the reef.

A school of jacks at Cabo Pulmo.

During a short surface interval in the panga, we motored over to the next dive site - El Bajo de los Meros. This dive site offered a beautiful line of reefs that we drifted along. Abundant life, hard corals and gorgonian sea fans adorn the reef. We saw schools of bright yellow panamic porkfish, puffer fish, eels and large schools of jacks. Near the end of the dive, we jumped from one line of reefs to another. El Bajo was my favorite and the richest dive site that I dove while in Cabo.

Freight train of jacks.

Additional photos from Cabo Pulmo are located at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Underwater/Cabo-2010/Cabo-San-Lucas-2010/

Dive Report - La Jolla Shores 11/7/10

2010-11-07T17:56:00.000-08:00

Date: 11/7/10
Location: La Jolla Shores
Time in: 8:01 am
Time under: 66 min
Max depth: 70 ft
Avg temp: 64 F
Vis: ~10 ft, hazy with lots of stuff kicked up
Waves: 1-3 ft, northerly longshore current
Buddies: Spencer & Bill

Blue-Ring Topsnail (Calliostoma annulatum)

Photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20101107-Scuba-LJS/

Highlights: Beautiful topside conditions, a little rough underwater. Photographed a nice blue ring topsnail and saw a couple of juvenile horn sharks.

Three Lined Aeolid (Flabellina trilineata)

There were sets of waves that came through that were in the 2-3+ ft range, but they were easily timed. They seemed to be getting bigger after we got out though. Underwater, there was still a northerly longshore current that prevented us from swimming very far south of the lifeguard tower. We were aiming for Vallecitos Point, but never got close. Along the canyon, there was a steady surge that we had to fight to swim south and visibility was better in the shallows than below 20 ft. I brought the 105mm lens for a change and spent a lot of the dive fighting it to focus at close range. Spencer was shooting wide angle, so along the canyon rim I tried to model a little. Overall, not that great of conditions, but it will still really nice to get out and take a few pictures.

Juvenile Horn Shark (Heterodontus francisci)

Speckled Sanddab (Citharichthys stigmaeus)

Scott

Cabo San Lucas, August 2010 - Part 2

2010-10-31T14:00:00.000-07:00

Divers under the dive boat with a sandy bottom at Pelican Rock, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

* Local dive sites - Neptune's Finger

During our surface interval after diving Pelican Rock, we motored around to the Pacific side to see the sea lion colony, Lover's Beach and Divorce Beach. We decided that conditions weren't getting any better and headed to Neptune's Finger for the second dive.

Bullseye stingray (Urolophus maculatus) next to a reef with divers in the background

Neptune's Finger is another pinnacle, in the sheltered bay side. Again, we swam around the pinnacle, down into the canyon to about 80 ft and back up the other side. Near the end of the dive, conditions became rough with a large swell passing through. The large surge pushed us down into the canyon and back up again. The sand kicked up, bringing visibility down dramatically.

Pelican Rock looms above the coral reef with small fish in the background

For a little while, we lost our dive guide on the other side of the pinnacle. Our group stayed together and I helped make sure the less experienced divers didn't panic. We returned to the dive boat a little weary from fighting the surge.

Porcupine puffer fish (Diodon hystrix)

Sunset at Windansea, La Jolla CA

2010-10-30T21:11:00.000-07:00

Sunset at Windansea, La Jolla, CA

It's been months since I've gone to shoot the sunset. With the brief storm that we had pass through this morning, the air was crisp and clear and there were large, puffy white clouds. Unfortunately, all the clouds were to the east over the mountains and there were very few clouds over the ocean when the sun went down. I was also working against a high tide, which reduces the amount of reef that is visible. Because of both of these factors, I decided to head to Windansea in La Jolla. I knew there would be sandstone bluffs and exposed reefs, even near high tide.

When I arrived, I was happy to see bright green moss on the exposed sandstone. Visibility was awesome and you could see for miles up and down the coast. The tide was receding and I had to step carefully, the damp bluff was slippery. Nearby, another photographer was shooting a model in a bikini on the beach. Must stay focused! As the sun was setting, I captured this shot of the moss covered sandstone, pock marked from erosion and covered in green moss, kissed by the last rays of the sun. I would have preferred a few more red clouds, but we work with what nature provides.

Windansea, La Jolla CA

View Larger Map

Scott

Dive Report - Wreck of the HMCS Yukon 10/23/10

2010-10-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

Date: 10/23/10
Location: HMCS Yukon
Time in: 12:03 pm
Time under: 48 min
Max depth: 97
Avg temp: 57 F
Mix: 29%
Vis: 40+
Swells/surge: Minimal
Buddies: Mikey, Dave H., NOAA Jim

Time in: 2:02 pm
Time under: 41 min
Max depth: 84 ft
Avg temp: 59 F
Vis: 30+
Swells/surge: Minimal
Buddies: Dave H.

More/larger Photos: http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/2010-10-23-Scuba-Yukon/

The forward guns of the HMCS Yukon

Highlights: Great visibility, great company and good topside conditions. Saw my first mola mola, even though I didn't get a photo of it.

We motored out under drizzly skies to the wreck of the HMCS Yukon. When we got there, the dive charter boat Humboldt was tied up at the bow line. Fortunate for me, they left while we were suiting up, so we moved the Scuba Do over to the bow of the Yukon. I was hoping to get some more photos of the forward guns. As the Humboldt was leaving, they were kind enough to warn us that the conditions were terrible at about 5 ft vis and that it probably wasn't worth diving. Jim convinced me to ignore them and stick with a wide angle lens for the first dive. After all, I could always switch to macro on the second dive and get a few shots.

A diver hovers near the forward guns on the HMCS Yukon

When we got in the water, we could see a nice blue tint and very good visibility on the surface. Dipping my head under, I could see Jim's legs underwater 20+ feet away, where he was waiting at the buoy. That didn't mean it would be good 80 feet below us. As we dropped down the line, we could see the bow of the Yukon from about 50 ft, coming out of the darkness. It was going to be a good dive.

A pair of divers near the crows nest on the HMCS Yukon

My first target was the forward guns. I found a small patch of large white metridiums to anchor the photo and took a few photos. After that I got a closeup on the barrels of the guns and lined up another shot with a metridium. Fortunately, Dave H. swam into my shot, giving me a nice model as he swam through the frame. We all proceeded to head towards the stern of the ship, passing the crows nest and the boiler exhaust. I saw NOAA Jim flashing his lights at Mikey, but didn't think clearly enough to go investigate. Apparently, he'd found a large mola mola hanging out at the stern. I was at my turn around air pressure, so I started heading back to the bow line. On the way back up, there was a depth that you could clearly make out the bow of the Yukon and see the Scuba Do on the surface.

Club-tipped Anemone (Corynactis californica) and blacksmith (Chromis punctipinnis) on the wreck of the HMCS Yukon

After hearing about the large mola mola and seeing Jim's video footage, Dave and I agreed to take one for the team and do a second dive. Mikey was kind enough to be lending me his other tank and wasn't feeling completely better from last weekend, so he and Jim sat it out. I was on air for the second dive, so I knew it was going to be a limited bottom time dive. The plan was to head straight to the stern of the ship and look for mola molas. We headed back along the Yukon, trying to stay towards the 'top' of the ship. The visibility wasn't quite as good as the first dive, but still better than normal. After passing the crows nest, boiler exhaust and the radio tower, I was the first to the large cargo opening. Sure enough, as I'm peering into the dark rectangular opening, I see a thin, frisbee like fish swimming straight towards me. It was much smaller than the one that Jim saw, but still the first mola mola I've seen underwater. As it swims by me, it heads towards Dave, who's still over by the radio tower. I got a nice blurry photo of the mola mola swimming towards Dave, who's taking a photo of it. With the low lighting and only seconds to shoot, my camera didn't find anything to focus on. I think Dave got a good photo and will hopefully share it.

White-plumed Anemones (Metridium farcimen) and the radio tower of the HMCS Yukon

At this point, I had about 7 minutes of no-deco time (and about 2000 psi) left. I gave Dave the turnaround signal and started heading back to the bow. As I swam, I had to keep heading up to prevent going into mandatory decompression time. Fortunately, vis was really good and there wasn't a current above the wreck. Usually, the wreck shelters you from any strong ocean currents and surge, but in this case I was able to swim above the wreck without a problem. Back at the bow line, I hung out at about 25 feet until I saw that Dave was heading up as well. Since I had plenty of air left, I took my time coming up, admiring the view from the below the Scuba Do. Even after that, I still managed to get the skin bends on my now 'usual spot', covering my left shoulder.

Dave Hershman photographs the boiler exhaust

Back on the surface, the Humboldt was back with a fresh set of divers moored near us, loudly explaining how they had hot showers, compressors to refill tanks and food waiting. We just smiled and waved from the Scuba Do. While we were getting our gear stowed, a large bait ball was being attacked by sea birds nearby. We noticed that it was drifting closer, until suddenly we saw dolphins leaping out of the water and herding the fish around the Scuba Do and the Humboldt. Many divers from the Humboldt were still in their wetsuits and jumped in with masks and snorkels to look for dolphins.

It was a great day out on the water with beautiful conditions on the Yukon.

Scott

Diver Mike Bear with NOAA Jim and the Scuba Do visible on the surface

Cabo San Lucas, August 2010 - Part 1

2010-10-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

The 'Arch' at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Cabo San Lucas is not the first place you'd think of when planning a dive trip to Mexico. Cabo San Lucas is better known for sport fishing and silver jewelry. There are other, more exotic places like the cenotes in the Riviera Maya, Mexico, the Sea of Cortez off La Paz, Mexico, Cozumel, Mexico or a live aboard at the Socorro Islands (which happen to leave out of Cabo). But if you do find yourself going to Cabo San Lucas, I would highly recommend bringing your scuba gear and camera. There are a few local dive shops, including Manta Scuba and Amigos Del Mar. I did my diving with Amigos Del Mar (amigosdelmar.com), based on a recommendation from another underwater photographer.

Gorgonian sea fans with a school of small fish in the background.

* Local dive sites - Pelican Rock

Right outside the Cabo harbor lies a number of local dive sites. Charter boats are there daily and get you to the dive site 5 minutes after boarding. Because the swells from the Pacific side were up the week we were there, we were limited to the more protected sites.

Panamic arrow crab (Stenorhynchus debilus)

Pelican Rock is a large pinnacle that lies on the edge of the canyon, surrounded by sand and close to shore. There were many snorkelers and other dive boats all contending for space. As we swam around the pinnacle to the canyon edge, a manta ray was visible in the distance, though too far to photograph or catch up with. There was also sand falls - a seemingly never ending underwater stream of sand, falling over the canyon edge.

Snorkelers swim around Pelican Rock, with its gorgonian sea fans and schools of tropical fish

Next I'll describe the dive at Neptune's Finger and share some more photos from the local Cabo dive sites.

Snorkeling at the Marine Room 10/10/10

2010-10-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

Photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20101010-Snorkeling-Marine/

Leopard Shark (Triakis semifasciata) at the Marine Room, La Jolla CA

After seeing the leopard sharks in the knee deep water last weekend and hearing from Kevin that they were still there on Friday, I decided to do what I've wanted to try for some time - go snorkeling with the leopard sharks with my camera. Unfortunately, conditions were pretty bad and I chose high tide as the time to go. The small waves were crashing up against the Marine Room and the sea walls of the surrounding houses. Visibility was maybe 10 ft in some spots, but much less in others. I made a wide loop, heading north in shallow water and then ended up well south of the Marine Room entry way, where the kelp became too thick to comfortably snorkel through. Even with all that against me, I managed to find a nice sized angel shark in about 8 ft of water. It was determined to not be disturbed, even with me swimming down to photograph it from a foot away. On my way back in, I got lucky and a couple of leopard sharks swam towards me, making a couple of passes before disappearing. Then one must have been completely oblivious and swam right underneath me in about 5 ft of water. I'll definitely be coming back next summer, when the conditions are better and there are more sharks out.

Angel Shark (Squatina californica) at the Marine Room, La Jolla CA

Scott

Dive report - La Jolla Shores 10/3/10

2010-10-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

Date: 10/3/10
Location: La Jolla Shores, CA
Time in: 7:36 am
Time under: 74 min
Max depth: 66 ft
Ave temp: 61 F
Vis: 10-15 ft
Waves: 1-2 ft
Buddies: Spencer, Terry, Merriane

Yellow Crab (Cancer anthonyi)

More photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/2010-10-03-Scuba-LJS/

Highlights: Large halibut at about 40 ft, stearns aeolids, visiting Vallecitos Pt after a long time away.

We met up at La Jolla Shores as the sun was unsuccessfully breaking through the clouds. The waves were small and the water was deceptively calm. On the swim out, we quickly got caught up in a long shore current pulling south. About half way out to the drop point, the current ceased. Conditions were pretty clear (15+ ft vis) when we dropped into 60 ft of water, but didn't stay that way. 4 photographers, each shooting macro in their own little world spread out along the south wall. Some of us met up at Vallecitos Point, where the calm was invaded by new student divers.

California halibut (Paralichthys californicus)

Reaching the turn around air pressure, we started heading east, up the slope. Spencer and I found a relatively large California Halibut (~3-4 ft long). With my macro lens, all that I could get a picture of was it's misshaped face. In honor of opening weekend for lobsters, I took a couple photos of a lucky lobster, safely tucked away in the nature preserve.

California Spiny Lobster (Panulirus interruptus)

Scott

Dive Report - La Jolla Marine Room 10/2/10

2010-10-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

Date: 10/2/10
Location: Marine Room, La Jolla
Time in: 10:47 am
Time under: 71 min
Max depth: 99 ft
Avg temp: 61 F
Vis: ~10 ft
Waves: 1-2 ft, easy
Buddies: Julie L., Mikey, NOAA Jim

Spanish Shawl (Flabellina iodinea)" alt="Spanish Shawl (Flabellina iodinea)

More photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/2010-10-02-Scuba-Marine-Room/

Highlights: Leopard sharks in the shallows, lots of lobsters on the canyon rim (hiding in the preserve), a couple of sheep crabs, a cormorant, tons of pipefish, lots of small nudibranchs. Oh yeah, my 200th dive and first dive with my new (used) Transpac and wing (thanks Rob!).

Three Lined Aeolid (Flabellina trilineata) laying eggs

Had a really nice dive with Julie, Mikey and Jim. Mikey and Jim headed down the hill as soon as we dropped down, so Julie and I stopped around 95 feet and hung out taking macro photos. A cormorant buzzed us at about 60 ft and there were lots of small nudibranchs in the shallows (20-30 ft), so we took our time heading in. I'm working on getting an ID on the last photo (thanks Terry, Kim and Mike) - the tiny nudibranch. The transpac worked great and keeping good trim was super easy compared to a jacket BC.

Feather duster tube worm

As we were exiting, we were surrounded by leopard sharks in ~4 feet of water. It was awesome seeing them at our feet and through the small breaking waves. One of these days, I need to snorkel at the Marine Room with them.

Scott

Dive Report - Shaws Cove 9/25/10

2010-09-27T21:58:00.000-07:00

Date: 9/25/10
Location: Shaws Cove, Laguna Beach
Time in: 10:01 am
Time under: 83 min
Max depth: 44 ft
Min temp: ~59 F
Vis: 15-25 ft, w/ 30+ vertical
Waves: 1-2 feet, nothing big
Buddies: my pony

Simnia (Delonovolva aequalis) on red gorgonian (Lophogorgia chilensis)

More photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100925-Scuba-Shaws-Cove/

Highlights: Beautiful conditions above water and below water. My first simnia, a few cockerellis, hopkins roses, spanish shawls and a moray.

Abstract Spanish Shawl (Flabellina iodinea)

I had a nice, long relaxing dive at Shaws on Saturday morning, before the weather turned freakishly hot. Conditions were great and visibility was spectacular. I decided to push past the initial canyon swim through and explore the outer reef. There were lots of students in the water and I wanted to get out past them. When I got to about 40 feet deep, I found the large canyon walls, 30-40 feet vertical and filled with life. The garibaldis were out in force guarding their eggs, spanish shawls were munching on hydroids, juvenile treefish hiding sheepishly in the crevices, and blacksmith were all over the place. I spent some time just exploring the canyons that link Shaws Cove and Crescent. The kelp forest is coming along nicely (thanks!) and the snails have taken up residence. On the way back in, I stopped in the initial large canyon area to visit the hopkins roses.

Moray Eel (Gymnothorax mordax) and red shrimp

I've only dove Shaws Cove 5 times and each time I find something that surprises me. Definitely more to explore in the canyons, when the conditions are right.

Shaws Cove, Laguna Beach

View Larger Map

Scott

Dive Report - La Jolla Shores Night Dive 9/11/10

2010-09-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

Date: 9/11/2010
Dive # 197
Location: La Jolla Shores, CA
Time in: 7:26 pm
Time under: 81 min
Max depth: 64 ft
Vis: 15-20 at depth
Waves: 1-2 ft, with wind chop on the surface
Buddies: Mike H., Terry and Kim

Bay Pipefish (Syngnathus leptorhynchus)

More photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100911-Scuba-LJS-Night-Dive/

Highlights: A rare night dive for me. We saw the usual suspects - lots of shrimp, octopi, crab, sarcastic fringehead out of their holes, and a lone market squid.

Horn shark (Heterodontus francisci)

Had a nice long dive with Mike, with occasional sightings of Kim and Terry. We spent a large portion of the dive in the crap patch before heading south looking for the D. iris. We either didn't make it far enough south or they're not there anymore. We didn't find a hole lot of nudibranchs out other than a few hermissendas. Visibility at depth made it easy to keep an eye on each other from a distance, but above ~25 feet, it was cloudy. Lots of bio luminescence in the water.

Red Octopus (Octopus rubescens) and sand dollars (Dendraster excentricus)

Scott

Dive Report - La Jolla Shores 9/4/10

2010-09-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

Date: 9/4/10
Location: La Jolla Shores, Main Wall
Time in: 7:53 am
Time under: 48 min
Max depth: 64 ft
Vis: ~15 below 25 ft
Waves: 1-2 ft
Buddies: Spencer and family, Mike H, Marla, Terry

Free swimming Dendronotus iris at La Jolla Shores.

More photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100904-Scuba-LJS/

Highlights: Getting back out at LJS with good friends, seeing all the D. iris nudis.

We all met up for Spencer's 'bachelor party' dive and to take his sister and brother-in-law out for a dive. I was shooting wide angle, so the D. iris photos are not quite what I would have done with a macro lens.

Dendronotus iris orgy, with eggs.

It was good practice, in any case and it was really cool seeing them spread out all over the sand at ~25-30 ft. Some were mating, some were swimming, some were having an orgy.

Free swimming Dendronotus iris at La Jolla Shores.

Scott

Dive Report - La Jolla Shores 8/7/10

2010-08-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

Date: 8/7/10
Location: La Jolla Shores, Main Wall
Time in: 7:29 am
Time under: 73 min
Max depth: 77ft
Min temp: 53F
Vis: 5-7 ft above 65 ft, 15+ below
Waves: small
Buddy: Mike, Spencer, Bill

Mike in the gloom at 70 ft.

A couple more photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100807-Scuba-LJS/

Highlights: Seeing the gang at La Jolla Shores and experimenting with wide angle shots in low vis.

Dendronotus iris on the sand at 45 feet.

It wasn't a good day to go wide-angle, but I had hopes of seeing some more jellyfish. I haven't seen a fried egg yet, mostly because I haven't been diving LJS. Needless to say, we didn't see any. Not because they weren't there, but because we couldn't see them in the pea soup above 65 ft. It was a nice long, relaxing dive and it was good to see Mike H., Spencer, Bill, Terry, Kim and Newell.

Mike looking for nudibranchs along the South Wall at La Jolla Shores.

Scott

Dive Report - N Crescent / Seal Rock 8/1/10

2010-08-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

Date: 8/1/10
Location: N Crescent, Laguna Beach (Seal Rock)
Time in: 8:06 am
Time under: 92 min
Max depth: 27 ft
Min temp: 59 F
Vis: ~10 ft or less
Waves: sets of 3-4 footers, rip current and surge
Buddies: Graham & Brad

More photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100801-Scuba-Seal-Rock/

Highlights: Lots of quality time with a frisky bunch of sea lions.

Graham, Brad and I headed out to Seal Rock on Sunday morning. There were large sets coming in, but there was a long lull in between and it was easily timed (for the patient). On the way out, I noticed how easy it was swimming. Turns out there was a bit of a rip going out along the west end of the reef, probably a result of the south swell being diverted through the reef. Visibility wasn't great, but the sea lions were very frisky. We could see them leaping out of the water and frolicking on the surface as we approached Seal Rock.

We parked ourselves at the base of Seal Rock and waited for them to come to us. We didn't have to wait very long before we were being buzzed by the curious ones. Underwater, you could hear them barking and a large (momma) sea lion kept watch as juveniles would swim around us. Photography was very challenging as we couldn't see them until they were right next to us. They would swim up, stare you in the face (or blow bubbles like they did to Graham) and then jet off in another direction. We also saw them rubbing their backs and bellies along the reef.

Seal Rock, Laguna Beach

Brad had to leave after 1/2 hour and Graham and I stayed until we were below 1000 psi. It was a long swim in, made even longer by the outgoing rip. I charged straight in and noticed that Graham kept getting farther away. He finally made it through and we easily timed the large sets to walk out to a full beach and sunshine. Later in the day, we heard that the beaches in Laguna were closed to diving due to the surf.

Seal Rock:

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Scott

Dive Report - 2 dives off Pt Loma 7/24/10

2010-07-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

Date: 7/24/10
Location: Lazy Days Wreck, Pt Loma CA
Time in: 11:29 am
Time under: 51 min
Max depth: 81 ft
Min temp: 54 F
Vis: 15-20 ft on average
Waves: 1-2 ft swells w/ a little bit of surge
Buddy: Mikey, Z (Elizabeth), Julie w/ a NOAA Jim sighting

Location: Broomtail Reef, Pt Loma CA
Time in: 2:09 pm
Time under: 50 min
Max depth: 73 ft
Min temp: 54 F
Vis: 20-25 ft
Waves: 1-2 ft swells w/ surge
Buddy: Mikey

Black Sea Nettle Jellyfish (Chrysaora achlyos)

More photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100724-Scuba-Broomtail-Reef/

Highlights: Many black sea nettles (a first for me), another McFarland's chromodorid, good conditions and great company.

Spanish Shawl (Flabellina iodinea)

I joined the Scuba Do for another great pair of dives off Pt Loma yesterday. Conditions topside were cool and overcast (our new summer norm) and it was cold at depth as well. The first dive was on the Lazy Days wreck. Before getting in the water, we spotted two different black sea nettles float by near the surface. I was rigged for wide angle and was looking forward to seeing one underwater. I followed the anchor line straight down to the wreck with Mikey and Julia. Soon after, Z joined us. As I was trying to find a good composition for wide angle on the reef, Z tapped me on the shoulder and motioned to follow her. She led me to a nice size black sea nettle floating in the water column. I spent the next 10 minutes photographing the black sea nettle. After that, I dropped back down to photograph the reef and gorgonians some more until NOAA Jim zoomed by. He motioned for help getting his flashlight unhooked, I helped him and he was quickly on his way again. Soon my time was up and I slowly made my way up the anchor line.

MacFarland's Chromodorid (Chromodoris macfarlandi)

For the second dive, I switched to macro and we lost Z and Julie due to the cold. Mikey and I dropped down and headed east towards the pinnacles at Broomtail Reef. We spotted two more black sea nettles and I was able to shoot a hitchhiking crab on one of them. I waved Mikey off as I spent the rest of the dive one the closest reef structure. There I found dozens and dozens of hermissendas, many spanish shawls, a McFarland's chromodorid, a porters chromodorid, a couple of catalina triopha, a yellow spotted cadlina, a tritonia festiva, a large yellow edged cadlina, San Diego dorids, and white spotted porostomes. I also found a blue-ring topsnail to finish off the dive. Mikey let me know when he was low on air and I reluctantly followed him up, knowing that the rest of the group was waiting topside. The vis opened up a bit on the way up and it was actually somewhat blue in the 30-50 ft range in the kelp. A beautiful way to end a day of diving. On the surface, the sun was breaking out through the clouds and the waves were getting a bit choppy. It was time to head home.

Red Gorgonian (Lophogorgia chilensis) and kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera)

Scott

Dive Report - Shaws Cove, Laguna Beach 7/17/10

2010-07-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

Catalina Triopha (Triopha catalinae) aka Clown Dorid

Date: 7/17/10
Location: Shaws Cove, Laguna Beach
Time in: 7:51 am
Time under: 84 min
Max depth: 28 ft
Min temp: 57 F
Vis: 10-12 ft
Waves: 1-3 ft
Buddy: Graham

Photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100717-ShawsCove/

Christmas tree worm

Highlights: An abundance of life in shallow water. Saw a (single) hopkins rose, one clown dorid, one zebra goby (no pics), a couple of rockpool blennies, a moray eel deep in a crack and lots of garibaldi eggs.

Urticina mcpeaki anemone

It was beautiful above water, but cold below! Graham and I dressed for summer - thin gloves and Graham with no hood. Even though we stayed shallow, my hands and Graham's feet ended up numb. We still had a fun time exploring the outer reef, while large groups of students stayed in the shallow sand. There was a bit of surge that made taking macro photos all the more exciting. Graham stayed lower on the reef while I ventured up higher where there was more life. We stayed down as long as we could, but in the end, the cold got to us and we had to return to the warm sun.

Shaws Cove, Laguna Beach:

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Scott

Dive Report - Woods Cove, Laguna Beach 7/11/10

2010-07-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

California Moray Eel (Gymnothorax mordax)

Date: 7/11/10
Location: Woods Cove, Laguna Beach CA
Time in: 7:40 am
Time under: 83 min
Max depth: 26 ft
Min temp: 65 F :)
Vis: 10-15 ft, lots of surge and particulate
Waves: 1-2 w/ occasional 3+ set
Buddy: Graham and Brad

Photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100711-Scuba-Woods-Cove/

Highlights: A California moray eel. This was my first diving wet since Bali and it was a lot of fun cruising the reefs in Laguna Beach.

I joined my OC scuba buddies for a dive at our old stomping grounds - Woods Cove in Laguna Beach. Weather was overcast and conditions were mixed. There were occasional 3-4 footers, but they were long periods of calm in between. Underwater it was surgey, but clear considering. You could see the surface from 20 feet under water, though horizontal vis was about 10-15 ft. I was hoping to photograph a moray and Graham delivered near the end of the dive. I also found a red gorgonian that was covered in skeleton shrimp. Click to see the larger version:

Skeleton Shrimp (Caprella sp.) party on Red gorgonian (Lophogorgia chilensis)

I was plagued with camera issues throughout the dive and is something I need to resolve before diving again. With the Ikelite TTL housing and strobes, if the primary strobe isn't working the camera won't fire. However, even after turning off both strobes, for periods of time the camera wouldn't fire. I tried turning on each strobe individually and no luck. Just about when I would give up, suddenly they were working again. This happened about 3 times during the dive.

Woods Cove, Laguna Beach:

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Scott

Dive Report - Early dive at La Jolla Shores 6/27/10

2010-06-27T21:26:00.000-07:00

Blue-Ring Topsnail (Calliostoma annulatum)

Date: 6/27/10
Location: LJS, Main Wall
Time in: 7:17 am
Time under: 68 minutes
Max depth: 72 ft
Min temp: 53 F (cold!)
Vis: 10-15 ft, thermocline w/ better vis below 35 ft
Waves: 2-4 ft, easily timed
Buddy: Marla

Octopus on Sand Dollars (Dendraster excentricus)

More photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100627-Scuba-LJS

Highlights: Lots of interesting small creatures - a couple triophia maculata, a trio of hermissendas, a small blue-ring topsnail, a tiny juvenile lobster that I thought was a copepod and a juvenile cabezon.

Marla and I met up at LJS early this morning and took a chance on the swell. Fortunately, it sounds like it was much smaller today than yesterday - 2-3 ft w/ an occaisional bigger set. We made it out through the surf without any problems and only had to duck under a few waves. We started out a bit north and never really made it to Vallecitos, but that was just as well. On the way down the hill, there was a thermocline at about 35 ft and the visibility opened up a bit, probably helped by the incoming tide. We both noticed that there wasn't much surge at depth, but it sure got cold. We were both on the look-out for fried egg jellyfish, but unfortunately we didn't see any. We took our time slowly meandering south along the slope, with Marla helping me find interesting things to photograph. I found a tiny lobster on a blade of kelp that looked like a copepod with long antenae and Marla spotted a juvenile cabezon hiding amongst the detritus. I signaled to head back up the slope at about 1500 psi and was happy that the temperature quickly picked up to the high 60's F in the shallows.

My pictures from LJS never turn out quite as nice as the ones from Pt Loma. The conditions are a lot more challenging and the creatures always seem to be flat on the sandy bottom (which I always manage to kick up). But practicing at LJS sure makes all the other spots that much easier to shoot at. :)

Scott

Dive Report - 2 dives off Pt Loma 6/19/10

2010-06-22T22:50:00.000-07:00

A Giant Spined Star (Pisaster giganteus) on a kelp holdfast.

Date: 6/19/10
Location: Pt Loma Kelp Beds, Lazy Days wreck
Time in: 10:44 am
Time under: 44 min
Max depth: 81 ft
Min temp: 54 F (Uwatec)
Vis: 15-20 ft
Waves: 4-5 ft swells, a bit of surge even at depth
Buddies: Mikey, Ruth Harris
Setup for Wide Angle

Hermissenda crassicornis

Location: Pt Loma Kelp Beds, Broomtail Reef
Time in: 1:16 pm
Time under: 55 min
Max depth: 67 ft
Min temp: 53 (Uwatec)
Vis: 20-30 ft
Waves: 4-5 ft swells and surge
Buddy: Mikey
Setup for Macro

The Lazy Days wreck off Pt Loma at 80 ft.

Highlights: 2 great dives off Pt Loma, which always provides great subjects. I got my first photo of a MacFarland's chromodorid, even if it's not the greatest photo. At the time, I thought it was a Porter's chromodorid, as it looked more blue than purple. In addition to all of the nudibranchs seen on the second dive, I also saw one of the most beautiful red anemones I've ever seen, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to capture a photo that I thought did it justice.

Macrocystis Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) and Proliferating Anemone (Epiactis prolifera)

I also finally got to meet and dive with Ruth, after a previous failed attempt. She was kind enough to lend me her second tank after problems with mine. For the rest, I'll defer to Mikey's writeup on his blog with about the excitement with the sea urchin diver that we assisted:
http://raptureofthedeep.org/index.php/2010/06/19/reef-survey-on-the-lazy-days-wreck/

Mating White spotted porostomes (Doriopsilla albopunctata) surrounded by a Giant Spined Star (Pisaster giganteus).

The rest of the photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100619-Scuba-Pt-Loma/

Scott

Dive report - 6/5/10 La Jolla Shores

2010-06-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

Date: 6/5/10
Location: La Jolla Shores
Time in: 8:05 am
Time under: 64 min
Max depth: 67 ft
Min temp: 53 F (Uwatec)
Vis: 10 ft
Waves: 2-3 ft w/ occasional 4-5 footer
Buddy: Rob Johnson

More photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100605-Scuba-LJS/

Highlights: Getting through the waves without getting pummeled. Going diving!

Waves were 2-3 ft with an occasional 4-5 ft. Visible thermocline at 60 ft, with pea soup above and 10 ft vis below. A bit of surge at 60 ft and a south current, yet somehow we ended up exiting north of where we entered. Definite potholes on the way in.

Scott

Dive Report - 5/30/10 La Jolla Shores

2010-05-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

Date: 5/30/10
Location: La Jolla Shores, CA
Time in: 6:53 AM
Time under: 70 minutes
Max depth: 62 ft
Min temp: 53 F, cold
Vis: 5-10 ft, mostly 5 w/ pea soup.
Waves: 1-3 ft w/ occasional 4 footer
Buddy: Mike Hallack

Highlights: Happy to be diving at all with this el nino. Saw stearns aoelids, lots of lion nudibranchs, a school of juvenile rockfish.

Weather topside is beautiful today and the waves weren't too bad. On our way out, I had to dive under one 4+ ft wave that was breaking right on us, but came out unscathed. It was pea soup green underwater, with vis less than 5 ft at the surface. At depth it got up to 10 ft in some spots. Mike and I had to use our lights to keep track of each other.

We saw the usual suspects, with lion nudibranchs crowding the remaining shreds of kelp. At Vallecitos Point, there was a knot of kelp all bunched together about 10 feet off the bottom. There was a group of lion nudibranchs and a school of juvenile rockfish all huddled inside. We surfaced in 5 feet of water with an uneventful exit.

More photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100530-Scuba-LJS/

La Jolla Shores:

View Larger Map

Scott

Dive Report - 5/16/10 La Jolla Shores

2010-05-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

Date: 5/16/10
Location: La Jolla Shores
Time in: 7:59 am
Time under: 52 min
Max depth: 80 ft
Min temp: 53.6 F (Uwatec) - Spencer recorded 49 F
Vis: about 10 ft, less in the shallows, a tiny bit more at depth.
Waves: 1-3 ft, occasional bigger one. Easily timed.
Buddies: Spencer and Bill S.

Highlights: First dive in 7 weeks, first dive back at La Jolla Shores in 7 months.

It was really nice to get a dive in... finally. Waves were easy to get through and the vis was not spectacular, but with shooting macro, it didn't really matter. We dropped in a little north (Bill was 2ft off on his depth estimate at the drop in point, knowing that Spencer aims for 35 ft :) ) and stopped at the crap patch on the way south. We never quite made it to the Vallecitos Point, but that was fine with me. I had some buoyancy problems on the way in and up, since I was wearing an extra vest undergarment. Apparently, I need to add more than a couple of pounds. It was good to be shooting underwater again, since it's been forever.

More photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100516-La-Jolla-Shores/

La Jolla Canyon:

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Scott

Last rays of the setting sun at Moss Point, Laguna Beach, CA

2010-05-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

Almost a month ago was another weekend, high and dry with no diving. I needed to get my fix at the beach, so I headed up to Laguna Beach for a Saturday night sunset. I knew the tide was going to be high, so I wore my scuba booties in case I needed to wade back to the stairs. I managed to time the waves to get over to the reef on the far left side of the cove.

I decided to shoot looking perpendicular to the sun to get the warm setting sunlight on the sandstone cliffs, combined with the texture of the sandstone reef I was perched on. This also meant I was getting splashed from behind from the incoming large waves and had to keep one eye behind me in case a really big one came in.

Moss Pt Cove, Laguna Beach CA:

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Scott

24 hours in the Cuyamaca Mountains

2010-04-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

View from the top of Stonewall Peak with the last rays of the setting sun:

Last Saturday, we did an overnight camping trip to the Cuyamaca Mountains. We were staying at Green Valley Falls campground and were fortunate to get a spot very close to the falls. Soon after arriving, we took a walk down to the falls to see how much water was flowing through them and what they looked like. The last time I was there in January, the recent snow was melting, which created a nice river through the valley. Fortunately, there was still a nice amount of water running. With the warmer weather, however, it also brought out a crowd of people playing in the icy water and sunning on the warm rocks. We decided to come back Sunday morning for photos.

One of our goals was to hike up Stonewall Peak and catch the sunset from the peak. Stonewall is 2 miles up and 2 miles down, with a 950 foot elevation gain (photo from January - snow is all melted now):
Photo of Stonewall Peak

We started the hike around 4:30 pm, which ended up being a bit early. The wind on the peak was cold and blowing strong and we had a bit of time to kill waiting for the sun to slowly set. I'm glad we waited though, as the setting sun lit up the clouds to the east:

We started down the mountain after the sun passed below the peaks to the west. The ambient light was enough to get us about halfway down, after that we had to turn on our flashlights to avoid stumbling on the rocky path. That night, it got down to 32 F - we had frost on the tent and covering the ground the next morning.

I got up around 7 AM, trying to wait for the sun to warm me up a little bit, but still early enough so that it wasn't shining directly into the Green Valley falls. I was also the first person down at the falls and I had their peace and beauty all to myself.

I was able to shoot for about an hour before the sun started shining through the trees, straight down the valley.

Stonewall Peak:

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Scott

Spring sunset at Woods Cove, Laguna Beach

2010-04-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

After the past 3 years, I've spent a lot of time diving Woods Cove in Laguna Beach, but I haven't photographed it above water. Due to the marine layer that moved in late in the day last Saturday, I took a chance on it being clearer further north.

I love the rocky structure along the beaches in Laguna Beach. It provides a reef structure for life underwater, including kelp, sea anemones, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, sea hares and nudibranchs. It also provides safe harbor for garibaldi and other fish to lay eggs.

However, The rocks can make it harder to enter and exit the water. I've had my fair share of stubbed toes and trip ups from walking into a submerged rock with scuba gear on. At Woods Cove, there are two ways to enter the water - either to the right or left of the large structure on the left side of the photograph. The entrance on the left side is somewhat protected from waves and has fewer rocks and is the easier way to go.

Woods Cove, Laguna Beach:

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Scott

Dive report - 2 dives of Pt Loma 3/27/2010

2010-03-28T23:09:00.000-07:00

Mikey Bear above the pinnacle:

Dive #1

Date: 3/27/10
Location: Pt Loma kelp beds
Time in: 12 pm
Time under: 42 min
Max depth: 89 ft
Min temp: 54F
Vis: 15-20 ft
Waves: periodic large swells, but no problem
Buddy: Mikey, Dave Hershman
Setup for Wide Angle (hoping to see a sevengill shark)

Hermissenda crassicornis on the reef:

Dive #2

Time in: 2:18 pm
Time under: 42 min
Max depth: 79 ft
Min temp: 56F
Vis: 15 ft
Waves: swells
Buddy: Dave Hershman
Setup for macro

Highlights: Exploring two large pinnacles covered in life. Nudibranchs seen: porters chromodorid, spanish shawl, hermissenda crassicornis, tritonia festiva, stearns aeolid, flabellina trilineata, cadlina luteomarginata. I also saw my first underwater spiders. It was really nice to 'hook up' with Steve Murvine and Gayle Van Leer out on the water.

Mikey holding onto a kelp holdfast:

It was a beautiful day out on the water after a month of storms. The sun was shining brightly. There were occasional large swells, but with a really long period, they were hardly noticeable.

Red gorgonian with kelp in the background:

For the first dive, I was setup for wide angle, hoping for good visibility and a sevengill shark. Even without seeing a shark, the twin pinnacle structures that Gayle and Steve found were amazing, going from about 65 feet down to the bottom at 95 ft. In between was a sandy channel littered with shells and rocks, almost like an underwater river bed. Mikey and I did the dive together, with Dave joining us later due to some equipment issues. It was a pretty cold dive, partly due to a leaking right arm in my mostly dry suit.

Stearn's Aeolid (Facelina stearnsi):

After an hour and a half surface interval, complete with lunch and cookies and wringing out my undergarment, I switched my camera over to macro. Mikey sat out the second dive due to a leaking inflator valve on his drysuit. Right as I got in to the water, Gayle and Steve surfaced and shouted that they had seen a sevengill. But it was too late to switch the lens back, oh well... Dave and I dropped down to the same pinnacles again, looking for macro life to photograph. I didn't explore as much of the structure this time, closely examining the reef for nudibranchs. About half way through the dive, I noticed that my pictures were getting awfully dark. Turns out, my strobe batteries weren't lasting as long as they normall do. By the end of the dive, only one of them was firing... On a positive note, my drysuit stayed dry on this dive.

Mikey pointing to the reef:

About an hour after getting back to the dock, I noticed my left shoulder was a little itchy and felt hot. I looked in the mirror and noticed a mottled appearance with some reddish/black/blue areas. Apparently, I had skin bends on the same shoulder that got the Type 1 DCS hit a little over a year ago. I immediately called DAN, who recommended I go and get checked out, even though breathing oxygen was the only treatment really needed. On my way to UCSD/Hillcrest, I got a call from the diving doctor to confirm what DAN had told him. It was a busy Saturday night at the ER, but they finally got me my on O2 by about 9 pm. The rash went away pretty quickly and they decided no chamber ride was needed (yay!). Now no diving for another 6 weeks :( Our best guess is that I'm not getting enough circulation in my left shoulder, either due to suit squeeze or just low blood pressure.

Diver Dave Hershman looking for macro subjects on one of the pinnacles:

The rest of the pictures are up at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100327-Scuba-Pt-Loma/

Scott

Cloudy sunset at Bird Rock, La Jolla

2010-03-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

I was working on finding a good composition for beach sunsets at Bird Rock in La Jolla on an overcast spring day. I could have used a little help from the clouds and sun. I like the way the halo in the clouds echoes the shape of Bird Rock, but the shot is missing some color. This spot is really special at low tide and I plan on heading back to try to catch a colorful sunset.

Bird Rock, La Jolla (green arrow is approximately where the photo was taken):

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Scott

Saturday morning on Mt. Baldy

2010-03-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was staying near the base of Mt. Baldy, so I took a morning drive up the mountain. I only had a couple of hours, so I didn't make it all the way up to the ski resort. Along the way, I stopped to take a short hike down to San Antonio Creek, which was running pretty good from the snow melting.

I continued up the mountain, looking for scenic spots to take photos. I ended up needing a one day adventure pass for the remaining hour I had. I just made it out of the ranger station with the pass, when a whole troop of Boy Scouts came marching down the road and lined up to go inside. There were hikers and other people up on the mountain looking for snow to play in.

A little further up the road, I came across a really scenic spot with the San Antonio Creek running through a beautiful grove of trees, complete with ivy covering some of the trees. It was about 9:30 in the morning, so the shadows were still long and they were wreaking havoc with the photos I was trying to take. It was one of those spots that was really scenic, but I couldn't figure out how to make a good composition between all the trees and the bright and shady spots.
I'd like to go back to that area again some day and figure out how to capture the beauty. I ended up with the following photo of the creek bed, as the trees made it way to busy:

Further on up the road, there was a parking area next to the trail that leads to the Ice House Canyon. I didn't have much time left, so I parked quickly and walked down to the trail. The San Antonio Creek was running alongside the trail and there was snow/ice in the shady areas. I walked down the dry part of the creek bed to see if I could line up a shot of the snowy peak, the creek and the snow nearby. I never found such a lineup, but I did stumble upon a massive amount of ladybugs. They were bunched up in the bushes and on low hanging branches in the hundreds to maybe thousands. As I turned around, I realized I'd probably walked over/on a few of them. They were mostly in large bunches but there were a few stragglers scattered all over the place. I ended up with them landing on me and the tripod. Trying to photograph large bunches of them didn't turn out too well, so I decided to take some macro shots of just a few that weren't crawling around quickly:

The large mass of lady bugs were at the green arrow on the map, just off the trail near the parking lot:

View Larger Map

Scott

Flowers in the desert

2010-03-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

Desert Sunflower with Sand Verbena in the background:

I'm finally sharing some of my flower closeups from Anza Borrego. The sun was a little harsh on Friday but better on Saturday with cloud cover. The sand verbenas were my favorite of the flowers that were in bloom. Hopefully there are more in bloom now that the weather has warmed up and it hasn't rained in a whole week. The desert mustard had to be weeded out of the small patches of flowers that were in bloom.

Sand Verbena macro (click on the picture to see a larger version):

The sand verbena flowers are about the size of a cotton ball. Another favorite are the Desert Lupine, of course with sand verbena in the background:

A few more photos:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Flowers/Anza-Borrego-Flowers-2010/

Scott

Desert landscapes

2010-03-08T21:14:00.000-08:00

Sunrise breaks through the clouds:

I took an overnight trip to the Anza Borrego desert this past Friday to check out the spring wildflower bloom. It had been way too long since I'd camped out and I really enjoyed getting back to nature. It sure opens up a lot of possibilities as far as cheap mini vacations to good photo spots.

Sunrise and wave clouds:

The weather on Friday was nice and warm, with high clouds. On Saturday, it started out overcast and the sun took longer to break out, but the clouds were spectacular after that. Conditions were good all around and the rain waited until after we'd left. The flowers are just getting started and should improve with all the rain. The blooms were sparse and we had to explore a lot of different areas just to decide where to shoot the sunrise. We went off-roading into the badlands area just east of the airport and into Coyote Canyon. It's unfortunate that sahara mustard weed is taking over the area. There were whole fields that usually bloom that were covered in the weeds. The weeds grow faster than the flowers and smother them. In the area where I shot the top photo, a nice lady was weeding the flower patches.

Mountains near the park visitor's center:

This was my first attempt at some landscape photography that didn't involve the ocean or water. Let me know what you think! Next up will be some of the closeup flower photos that I took.

A few more landscape photos are up at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Places/Anza-Borrego-Desert/

The top two photos were taken at a small patch of flowers along Henderson Canyon Road:

View Larger Map

Thanks,
Scott

Sunset at Batiquitos Lagoon

2010-02-28T22:08:00.000-08:00

Sunset Sunday evening in Carlsbad.

I'm always looking for new places to shoot that are close to my house. Since I didn't have a lot of time before sunset, I headed down to Batiquitos Lagoon in Carlsbad, to try shooting looking west. This spot requires following a muddy dirt path that turns into hopping across large boulders, crossing under the freeway, and finding a good spot in the mud next to some fishermen.

The ducks behaved pretty well, as they didn't move around too much and the jet contrail lit up nicely. I packed up my gear after the color seemed to fade from the horizon. But... right after packing, a train passed by on the tracks. Next time I'll have to find out the train schedule and time it better. And then on the hike back to my truck, the sky lit up in pinks and reds. Of course.

Batiquitos Lagoon:

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Scott

Sevengill Shark

2010-02-28T00:42:00.000-08:00

Since it's raining outside (again) and the swells are up, not the mention the tsunami watch, I decided to take another look at some of my photos. I've been wanting to reprocess this one in black and white and finally got the opportunity. This photo is probably my most well known, since it was included in an article in California Diving News and prominently featured on Mike Bear's Sevengill Sightings Blog, and even made it into the California diving community's Divebums calendar for 2010.

This is a female broadnose sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus). According to Mark Ball, Head Aquarist at Birch Aquarium, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, she was around the maximum size of 9 ft long (we didn't stop to measure her). They are named for their unique number of gills, as most sharks only have 5 gills. They are found along the west coast, with a higher concentration in Northern California, where San Francisco Bay acts as a shelter for young.

Barbara Lloyd (http://vimeo.com/stellalunaprod) and I encountered this shark while diving as a team in the kelp forests off Pt. Loma, CA. We did one dive shooting macro subjects and then switched to wide angle for the second dive. About 30 minutes into the second dive, after photographing Barbara shooting video and the kelp forest, the large shark appeared out of nowhere. I got off a few quick shots, but was not prepared for it. Barbara and I were both extremely excited to have seen it and very apprehensive at the same time. My pulse sped up and I became much more alert to my surroundings. We both kept looking behind us just in case the shark was going to sneak up on us. Apparently, Barbara's frantic motioning meant she wanted us to watch each other's backs.

Approximately 3 minutes later, the shark came by for another pass. Barbara and I were both ready for it this time. The shark was level with us in the water, providing a nicer background of the kelp forest instead of shooting down towards the sea bottom. However, realizing that the shark was interested in us and wasn't put off by our noisy bubbles and bright flashing lights was not a comforting thought.

The final pass by the 9 foot sevengill was approximately 7 minutes later. At this point, I was getting nervous and concerned that the shark was a little too interested. Not knowing the exact species at the time and how dangerous they were (or weren't, in this case), we decided it was time to start heading for the surface. The entire time we were returning to the surface, I kept thinking "...sharks like to attack from below". There was a thick layer of green gloom near the surface, which made it even more difficult to see anything below us. We did our safety stop and got back onto the boat without any problems, except for our jealous friends who hadn't seen the shark on their dive. Much later, while reviewing my photos from earlier in the dive, I noticed a dark shadow of a shark tail in the corner of one of them. Apparently, the shark had been with us a lot longer than we knew about.

I'll never forget that dive and what could have been a once in a lifetime encounter with a large apex predator. After reading more about the behavior of sevengill sharks, I wouldn't mind seeing one in the wild again.

Pt. Loma kelp forests:

View Larger Map

Scott

Dive report - Shaws Cove, Laguna Beach 2/19/2010

2010-02-21T19:16:00.000-08:00

Date: 2/19/10
Location: Shaws Cove, Laguna Beach
Time in: 9:31 am
Time under: 61 min
Max depth: 21 ft
Min temp: 61.5 F
Vis: 5-10 ft in some places
Waves: 1-3 ft with the occasional large wave
Buddy: pony bottle

Highlights:
First dive in 2 months! I spent the whole hour in the large crevice with the Hopkins roses. I also saw a colorful polyclad flatworm (Stylochus insolitus) and a Cockerell's Dorid (Laila cockerelli). I stayed outside the area of the first choke point, where the surge starts to get really strong. The were a large number of waves in each set (4-5?), so I had to time photos in between the surge. I'm really glad I got the dive in before the storm and large waves came in.

For this dive, I was focused on dialing in my macro photography, since I'm out of practice (and wide angle was out of the question). I spent the time needed to get the lighting from my strobes where I wanted it. With the Ikelite housing set to normal TTL, it is usually too bright even at 1/250s, f/20. For most of these shots, the TTL knob was set to -1 or darker.

I searched for the larger Hopkins roses that were not flat against the vertical wall, in order to use the depth of field and shadows to highlight the subject.

Hopkin's Rose (Hopkinsia rosacea)

For the Cockerell's dorid, it was so small that I couldn't tell which orange spot was the rhinophores, but fortunately, I got the whole nudibranch in focus.

Cockerell's Dorid (Laila cockerelli)

For the featherduster worms, I had to find one that wasn't light sensitive. Typically, they retract as soon as you shine a light on them. They are also very sensitive to water movement. This one stayed extended for a few shots and allowed me to get relatively close.

Featherduster worms

Shaws Cove, Laguna Beach:

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More photos up at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20100219-Shaws-Cove-Laguna/

Scott

Bolsa Chica birds at sunrise

2010-02-17T20:54:00.000-08:00

Scott Gietler (http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/) and I got up early Monday morning and met at Bolsa Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach to do some birding. We arrived just past sunrise. There were still large pools of water near the entrance from all the recent rain, so if you go for a walk there, expect to get a little muddy.

The highlight was seeing the great blue herons (Ardea herodias) building nests and hearing them croaking in the trees. Every once in a while, one would swoop down onto the ground, pick up some branches and carry them back to the new nest.

Nearby a crowd gathered to photograph a great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) nest with eggs. Everyone is waiting to see the babies. It was at the limit of the my 300mm telephoto, but I was able to crop it a bit without losing too much sharpness.

The snowy egrets (Egretta thula) were out in number as well, looking very majestic. Overall, it was a beautiful morning with good company.

Parking lot for Bolsa Chica Conservancy:

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More photos at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Animals/20100215-Bolsa-Chica-Birds/

Scott

Break in the storm

2010-02-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

After shooting La Jolla Cove during the day on Saturday, I ventured further south along the coast, hoping to catch the sun popping out under the clouds during a break in the storm. It popped, but not quite the way I was expecting. I caught these sun beams shining down on the horizon about 20 minutes before sunset. Soon after this photo, it started raining again. The sun made one more brief appearance before slipping into the ocean and then heavier rain started coming down.

Scott

Caught in the storm - Animals at La Jolla Shores

2010-02-11T21:24:00.000-08:00

California is experiencing more storms and rain this year than we have in some of the previous years combined due to an 'El Nino' condition in the Pacific Ocean. The jet stream is dipping south and delivering strong winter storms that usually stay farther north in Oregon and Washington. These constant (for us) storms have come with strong winds and even a few tornadoes.

This has taken a toll on the wildlife that survives along the coastline. While visiting La Jolla Cove this past Saturday (in between storms), there were at least 6 dead pelicans scattered around a bluff where they usually congregate.

Even the California sea lions were massed on a small rock all trying to rest. Every once in a while, another one or two would swim up and attempt to jump up onto the rock during a swell, often falling back into the water.

More wildlife from La Jolla Cove:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Beaches/20100206-Storm-at-La-Jolla/

Scott

Whale watching with the Laguna Sea Dwellers and the Ocean Institute

2010-01-31T16:36:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, I met up with the Laguna Sea Dwellers to go whale watching with the Ocean Institute out of Dana Point. They were a very nice and welcoming group, even though I wasn't a member of the dive club. We were on the Sea Explorer, a well equipped boat for whale watching. On our way out, we stopped to play with a small pod of bottlenose dolphins (tursiops truncatus). A few came right under the boat:

and another leaped out of the water, coming back to land with a large splash (click on the image for larger versions):

Next, we found a large pod of Risso's dolphins (grampus griseus), which are the largest dolphins found off of California. As they age, they acquire more and more scars, so the oldest dolphins are almost white. This pod was relatively young, with many baby dolphins.

Our time with the large pod of Risso's was cut shut, when the captain heard that a gray whale was spotted closer to shore. We caught up with a small armada of other boats that were following a single gray whale (eschrichtius robustus). The first sight you see is the brief surfacing and spout of moist air as the whale exhales:

This whale was about 30 ft long. The whale breaths about 3 times before going for a deep dive and typically stays under between 5 and 6 minutes. On the last breath before the deep dive, its fluke would sometimes come out of the water, in order to give a big push downward.

During this time period, the various boats would jockey for position, trying to predict where the whale would surface next, yet keeping a distance in order to not disturb it's migration south. As the 5 minute mark approached, everyone on the boat would start scanning the horizon to spot the first breath. After about 5 diving/surfacings, it was time to head back to the docks.

Location of the Ocean Institute at Dana Point Harbor:

View Larger Map

More photos are up at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Beaches/20100130-Whale-watching-cruise/

Scott

Sunrise at Batiquitos Lagoon

2010-01-30T16:43:00.000-08:00

I got up early this morning and caught the sunrise before heading north for a whale watching excursion. I've had this spot stuck in my head for sunrise/sunset for a couple of weeks and today was the day to try it out. Unfortunately, the clouds lit up to the west of where I was shooting, rather than to the east. With my back to the freeway, I tried to capture the silhouettes of the trees and hills, with the thin layer of fog over the water.

Here's a map of where I was standing (green arrow):

View Larger Map

Scott

Sunset at the Oceanside Harbor Jetty

2010-01-29T21:33:00.000-08:00

We had a nice range of cloud types covering the sky today. Near the end of the day, it was looking a bit hazy, but I took a chance that the sun would pop through the clouds for sunset. I wanted to try a new spot and had some time to explore, so I headed down to Oceanside, past the pier to the harbor.

It turns out there's some nice restaurants and large parking lots along the beach and adjacent to the harbor. The only down side is that parking is a minimum of $5 at the beach. On the other hand, they have overnight parking/camping for $10/night.

Fortunately, there was a break in the clouds near the horizon, so the sun lit up the underside of the clouds nicely. To get this shot, I ventured out on the jetty, past the groups of people fishing and climbed down, closer to the water's edge. After the sun had set, I timed the shot to get a wave crashing against the jetty.

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Scott

Cuyamaca Mountains

2010-01-27T21:34:00.000-08:00

On Sunday morning, I got up early and took a drive past Julian to Lake Cuyamaca. I had heard that large crowds were turned away from the Sunrise Highway to Mt. Laguna the day before, so I planned on arriving early and hiking to the Green Valley Falls.

I stopped for a sunrise photo in San Pasqual Valley, seeing the fog transposed against the clear sky and realizing I wasn't going to make it to the mountains before the sun was up.

When I drove past Julian, I could see snow blanketing the surrounding mountainsides. I stopped for a few pictures at Inspiration Point (on the 79), meeting a nice couple that lived near Julian. Continuing along the 79, I found Sunrise Highway was still closed. At the Lake Cuyamaca store, the park office that sells parking permits didn't open until 10 am, including the Chambers Park. As a result, I was either going to have to shoot at the lake later in the day or skip Lake Cuyamaca altogether. I continued south on the 79, heading for Green Valley Falls campground.

I almost got stuck in a small turnout packed with snow. I got to try out all the features of my 4x4 and finally managed to get out by going forward, further into the snow. In California, I don't get much practice driving in deep snow.

I finally arrived at the Green Valley Campground, only to find out they were closed for the winter, due to California's budget cuts. It also meant there was no parking near the Green Valley Falls. I drove back to the nearest parking area, about 3/4 of a mile away and decided to hike a connecting trail back to the closed campground.

The deserted Green Valley Falls campground was eerie and after slipping on ice on the roadway, I decided I needed to be more careful. I finally found the trail to the Green Valley falls on the opposite end of the campground, where it was just a short 1/2 mile hike down a hill. There were about 3 different levels of falls. I spent the most time at the upper falls, crouched precariously on a smooth rock in the middle of the river. My boots were damp and muddy and the water was icy cold. I then hiked down river to the next two sets of falls, stopping to take pictures as I went.

When I arrived back at the parking area, it was wall to wall packed with cars. Large crowds were playing in the snow in the open area near the parking. Cars were also bumper to bumper heading north towards Lake Cuyamaca, the closed Sunrise Highway and my way home. I decided to head south towards the 8 freeway and take the long way home.

Here's a map of where the parking area and Green Valley Falls are located:

View Larger Map

More photos are up at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Places/20100124-Cuyamaca/

Scott

Storm day 5 - La Jolla Cove

2010-01-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

This wave is another reason for why we're not diving (again) this weekend. This photo was taken at La Jolla Cove.

On my way down to La Jolla on Friday, I was rear ended on the freeway. Fortunately, it was nothing serious, but not a nice way to start a Friday. After calling my insurance and all of the other little details, I was on my way again.

The storm was nearing its end on Friday, so the rain was intermittent. However, each time I'd find a place to park and get out to take pictures, within 10 minutes it would start pouring again. Also, the waves were not crashing as cleanly against the shore as I had hoped. At the Childrens Pool wall, the wave energy was mostly lost by the time it hit the wall.

A few more pictures are up at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Beaches/20100122-Storm-in-La-Jolla/

Scott

Storm day 4 - Oceanside Pier in the morning

2010-01-23T11:45:00.000-08:00

With predictions of 20-25 foot surf, I headed down to the Oceanside Pier. A fortunate break in the rain and wind allowed me to get out onto the pier with my camera. Unfortunately, the waves were not as large as I'd hoped. They didn't seem much bigger than 10-15 ft, similar to last week's large surf.

Even though they weren't giant, there were some nicely formed waves breaking alongside the pier.

After about 45 minutes of shooting waves and surfers, the wind suddenly picked up. One of the other photographers on the pier commented that 'this surf session is over'. Within a couple of minutes, the rain started to come down hard and the surfers caught the next waves in.

More pictures of the waves plus a few surfers at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Beaches/20090121-Oceanside-Storm/

Storm day 2 - Seal Beach Pier

2010-01-22T17:54:00.000-08:00

On the second day (Tuesday) of the big storm that hit California, I decided to head down to the Seal Beach Pier for sunset after the main band of rain had passed. Earlier that day, a tornado struck about 2 miles from the pier, flipping an SUV and tossing some boats in the marina.

The clouds opened up for the sunset and were mostly gathered against Mt. Wilson to the east. A large number of people gathered at the beach to check out the storm surge and wind.

I would not enjoy being out on the oil rig or one of the other cargo ships in the Long Beach harbor. The waves were pounding from the south west, into an area that is usually protected from the westward wind and waves.

View Larger Map

More photos at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Beaches/Storm-Seal-Beach-Pier/

Scott

Sunset at Hermosa Terrace in La Jolla

2010-01-22T07:11:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, I managed to get down to La Jolla for the sunset. The clouds were looking really good, with the high pressure system starting to break down, but not yet gone. I really wanted to get out before the big storms hit Southern California.

While driving down the coast road in La Jolla past Windansea, I saw a large exposed reef at Hermosa Terrace Park and thought that it might make for a good shot.

There was a guy way out on the reef in rubber boots. He warned me that the tide was lowest at 4 pm and was starting to come back in. The water level was only going to get higher. I decided to see how far out I could get, jumping from one reef to another to get out most of the way.

As the sun was setting, I was shooting, knowing the tide was coming back in. As I'm shooting, parts of the reef in my composition are disappearing. The nice smooth reflection in a pool of water turns into a rippled, flowing stream. At the time, I remember thinking - "I'll figure out how to get back to the beach later" and "I'm sure it will be worth it for the shot".

After the sun set and the water level continued rising, I decide to start heading back towards shore, only to find my path across is now underwater. I realize that I can't jump across the water and that I'm going to have to get a little wet. As I'm packing the camera into my backpack, the tide continues to come in further and the water level is rising.

I ended up with one foot soaked in cold sea water, but made it back to the beach. From there I took some more pictures. The irony is that in the end, I didn't really like any of the pictures I had taken far out on the reef, except for this one well before the sun had set and the tide had come in:

More pictures are up at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Beaches/Reefs-at-Hermosa-Terrace/

Scott

Large surf at the Oceanside Pier

2010-01-15T22:11:00.000-08:00

This week, we were forecast to have 10-15 ft swells coming in from the North. I stopped by the Oceanside Pier Thursday morning, expecting to see either epic surf or the pier being washed out. Turns out, the pier is pretty sturdy and it would probably take 20+ ft waves to damage it. From the pier, I had a great vantage point on the waves and surfers. Every couple of minutes, a set of three or four ~10 ft waves would come in. The surfers would all make an attempt to catch them and oohs and ahhs would erupt from the small crowd on the pier watching.

I went back Friday morning and the surf was a bit smaller, but still nicely formed with the santa ana winds blowing off the beach. They were still big enough for surfers to get a bit of air coming off them.

The pier provides an interesting view point, where the surfers are going past. It allows for different angles than you can get from the beach or a breakwater.

I've been wanting a nice classic tube shot that I could crop and use. I got one that I'm pretty happy with - it's at the bottom of the page. More photos at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Beaches/Large-Surf-Oceanside-Pier/

Scott

Sunset and large surf near Hermosa Terrace Park in La Jolla

2010-01-11T21:36:00.000-08:00

All day Sunday, the high altitude cirrus clouds were making interesting patterns in the sky, from repeated scallop patterns to a partial rainbow halo around the sun. We decided to head south to La Jolla, past Windansea where there were large crowds gathered to watch the surfers take on the large waves. In a residential area south of Windansea, we found a small path that led down to some relatively private bluffs overlooking the water.

Epic surf and high tide combined to make this sunset special. I was perched on a bluff, about 5 feet above the roiling water. Every once in a while, a large set would come in and I would have to grab the camera and jump to higher ground. Many locals had gathered higher up on the bluff for the nightly ritual of watching the sunset. Some surfers were still off in the distance, catching waves far offshore. I definitely want to come back to this location at low tide and catch another sunset.

Here is a Google map of where we were at:

View Larger Map

Scott

Sunrise and surf at the Oceanside Pier

2010-01-10T12:27:00.000-08:00

The day started off with a nice sunset. There weren't as many clouds in the sky as I had hoped, but enough to light up a little bit. There were only a couple of surfers there before dawn, so I was fortunate that they were surfing on the sunrise side of the pier. I think the waves were actually better on the other side, which the bait shop owner yelled to them, but they seemed content to surf where they were at.

The offshore santa ana winds combined with the large surf made for spectacular streams of spray coming off the waves.

This is a view looking south towards the Encino power plant in Carlsbad.

There was a friendly local California Brown pelican who guarded the bait shop on the Oceanside Pier. Some visitors to the pier tried to take their picture with the pelican, but he wasn't friendly enough for group shots and used his beak to snap at them when they got too close.

Later in the morning, there were many surfers out and even a few other photographers. For more wave and surf shots, go to the complete photo album at:

http://underpressurephoto.com

Scott

Boston in December

2010-01-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays, we went to Massachusetts to visit family. During the trip, we took a bus into Boston and spent saw various parts of the city. My favorite place in Boston was the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge. It's a new, modern cable bridge that was built as part of the "Big Dig".

I was hoping to create a panoramic of the Boston skyline at night. This was the closest I got, taken from the top of the Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775) monument, on top of Breed's Hill. It is a 221 foot (67 m) granite obelisk built between 1827 and 1843 in Charlestown, Massachusetts. There are 294 steps to the top. This panoramic was taken through a window at the top of the monument.

More photos from Boston at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Places/Boston-in-December/

Scott

First post!

2010-01-08T16:39:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd start out my first blog post with one of my most recent images. I haven't been diving since 12/20/09, so I've been taking a lot of landscape/nature photographs.

The clouds had been nice, wispy cirrus clouds all day and there was a good chance of a nice sunset. However, as it got late in the day, the clouds along the coast began to fill in. I wasn't sure whether it was worth the 6 mile drive to the coast. With only 1/2 hour before sundown, I decided to head down to the closest beach. I hadn't photographed the sunset at the south Carlsbad State Beach before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew there were some nice sandstone bluffs, but wasn't sure if there was much else. As I approached the beach, I could see the sun peaking through at the horizon. I also noticed that there was no parking, in an area where normally only winter surfers park.

After finally finding a parking spot, I hurried down to the beach. To my pleasant surprise (because I'd forgotten the surf report), the tide was very low and a lot of reef was exposed. There were crowds of people out on the reefs exploring the tide pools. I had to stake out a small patch of exposed reef a little ways down the beach from the crowd as the sun was starting to set.

A couple exploring the tide pools decided to stand right in front of where I was photographing, so I decided to make them part of the picture. I'm not sure if they were collecting creatures, but they each had a small bucket. I'm curious how they would have reacted if I'd asked them to pose. I was annoyed at first, given the amount of reef nearby they could have walked to, but this one ended up being one of my favorite shots of the evening.

The other photos from that evening are located at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Beaches/New-Years-Day-Carlsbad/

Scott