Top 10 of 2015

Below are my 10 favorites for 2015, in roughly chronological order. This past year, Carolita (CrtrGrl) and I did two awesome backpacking trips. One to the Northern California redwoods and the second to the High Sierra Nevada mountains, both cut short due to issues (gear issues and an injury). We also did a trip to beautiful Pennsylvania for the fall colors. Underwater, we got in 11 local dives. Unfortunately, I had a minor camera flood mid way through the year, so half the dives were sans DSLR. As a result, the bulk of my photos are more outdoor adventure photos and less underwater. This year, I finally created accounts on Instagram - undrpressrphoto on Instagram and Vine - undrpressrphoto on Vine, exploring the different options in social media. Let me know in the comments if you have a favorite!

1. Straining my neck while backpacking through the old growth forest shrouded in mist in Redwood National Park, CA.

Giants in the Mist

2. Tepona Point at Luffenholtz Beach County Park, Trinidad, California.

After our short 3 day backpacking trek in Redwood National Park, we decided to take it easy and explore the area along the coast near Trinidad, CA. At Tepona Point, we were treated to an amazing cliff-side view of stacks being slammed by an angry sea. It wasn't raining yet, but you could tell it was coming.

Tepona Point at Luffenholtz Beach County Park

3. Roosevelt elk near Humboldt Lagoons State Park, CA. The elk gather in the meadows in the afternoons.

Roosevelt elk

4. Forest scene on Brown Creek Trail, Prairie Creed Redwoods State Park, CA. This one is a lush forest scene that really reminds me of hiking and backpacking there. I want to be there!

Forest scene on Brown Creek Trail

5. Tube dwelling anemone, Mission Bay, San Diego CA. The anemone is eating, by collecting small creatures in its tentacles and then sweeping them into its mouth.
Tube dwelling anemone

6. Tylodina fungina, Mission Bay, San Diego CA. Also known as a mushroom sidegill, these soft, external shelled sea slugs feed on yellow sponge, giving them their color. You can see the simple eye spots in this shot.

Tylodina fungina

7. Mountain peak reflection, Sabrina Basin in the John Muir Wilderness, CA.

After passing Blue Lake, Carolita and I came upon a small pool of water that was protected from the wind. It provided the perfect reflecting pool for the nearby mountain peaks and clouds. It's these small, hidden gems that I love to photograph, more so than the standard photographer favorites.
Sabrina Basin reflection

8. Sunset at the end of summer, Tamarack State Beach, Carlsbad, CA. Our local beach.
Tamarack State Beach sunset

9. Long exposure of the Tuscarora Falls, Ricketts Glen, PA.

I'm drawn to water. It's in my blood. When Carolita told me about Ricketts Glen and that there were over 20 waterfalls, I couldn't wait to go hiking and photograph there. Add fall colors and cloudy/rainy skies and I was in fantasy land.
Tuscarora Falls

10. View looking over the Sheldon Reynolds Falls, down Kitchen Creek, Ricketts Glen, PA.

Even though you can't see the falls in this photo, it's one of my favorites from Ricketts Glen. It shows the canopy of fall colors over Kitchen Creek and the carpet of fallen leaves that color the ground. If you look closely, you can see a person sitting on the banks of the river. Her boyfriend/husband was hiking barefoot and had climbed up to the base of the falls, just underneath me with a big grin on his face.
Looking over the Sheldon Reynolds Falls

Dive Report - Marine Room, La Jolla 6/20/15

Date: 6/20/15
Location: Marine Room, La Jolla
Time in: 11:03 am
Time under: 38 min
Max depth: 70 ft
Min temp: 54 F
Vis: 20-30 ft
Waves: Small, 1-2 ft
Buddies:Carolita & Virginia

More Photos

Highlights: Great vis at depth, but cold!





Cold! The thermocline was at only ~15 ft, which was fine for me in my drysuit, but was a challenge for Carolita in her wetsuit. Virginia didn't seem to mind much in her 5mm (!). We did a surface swim out to the edge of the canyon, navigating the chop and northerly current and dropped down into ~25 ft of water. From the canyon wall, we headed north to see the part we missed last weekend. Below the thermocline, the vis opened to 20-30 feet and we could clearly see the outline of the small canyon wall and the slope down into the abyss. We didn't see too much in the canyon - a brown crab, sarcastic fringehead and an octopus were the notable creatures. We then turned up slope and headed back to shore for the long swim.



More fun GoPro photos this week. I get my housing back on Tuesday, so I'm really looking forward to getting back underwater with the DSLR!

Scott

Dive Report - Marine Room, La Jolla 6/13/15

Date: 6/13/15
Location: Marine Room, La Jolla
Time in: 11:57 am
Time under: 66 min
Max depth: 42 ft
Min temp: 55F
Vis:10-15 ft
Waves: Tiny
Buddies: Carolita

GoPro Photos: Photos at Underpressurephoto.com

Highlights: Lots of octos, sarcastic & yellowfin fringeheads, giant bat rays in the shallows

I haven't been diving as much lately, partly because of events in my personal life (like getting married) and partly because I've been doing other outdoor things, like backpacking/hiking. But the best part is that my wife is now a certified scuba diver (thanks V!). We've been focused on training dives, getting her comfortable in relatively shallow water and learning the joy of beach entries with surf. I haven't had much to report other than getting my butt handed to me in Laguna Beach back in April and then having my camera housing partially flood on the 10 minute dive after. Also, for my birthday, Carolita took me over to the Catalina dive park for my very first dive there.



Yesterday, we decided to visit the canyon in La Jolla. Rather than brave the La Jolla Shores parking lot, we went to the Marine Room and scored good parking close to the restaurant. Waves were tiny and there was just a little bit of surface chop. On the surface swim out, there was a slight current pushing north, but by half way out it ceased. We dropped down into 15 feet of water, but fortunately at the point that it starts to slope down from there. We hit the thermocline at about 30 feet and the mini wall at ~40 ft and turned south.



Carolita got to see her very first octopi on a dive. And not just one, but about 4 of them. She also got to see her first sarcastic fringeheads (that I've talked so much about), the smaller yellowfin fringeheads, and a pipefish. She was fascinated by the wart-neck piddock siphons. We didn't see any of the normal nudis other than navanax. The wall gently sloped up to about 25 feet where it sort of disappears and a current started pulling us south. We drifted south for a little bit before turning east to head in. On the swim in, we found another small octo hiding in kelp and watched it for a little bit. Then in the shallows, we came upon giant bat rays feeding, creating giant clouds of sand and swooping off to find their next meal.







I'm still waiting for my camera housing to come back from the shop, so I'm learning how to make the most of a GoPro. Apparently they don't focus as close underwater as they do on land. :)

Scott

Top 10 of 2013

Below are my top ten photos from 2013. The year brought with it new adventures both locally and on the road. Crtr Grl and I took a road trip to Olympic National Park, Washington and I got my second opportunity to dive with sevengill sharks in La Jolla, CA. We got lost at sea (for an hour) and we also completed our first half marathon in Las Vegas, NV. I didn't do as much diving as in the past, but made up for it with adventures on land. Crtr Grl is working on getting SCUBA certified and that means we'll be doing a lot more diving in the future!

2014 brings with it a lot of new opportunities, including a backpacking trip and a surprise we'll be announcing after the new year. We're super excited about all the adventures that await us. Now, without further ado are my top ten.


Heads & Tails - A pair of criss-crossing sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) at La Jolla Cove.


Dance of the Sea Lions - Young California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) converge to examine the approaching divers, at the Lobster Shack dive site at the Coronado Islands, MX.


Aquanaut - Astronauts Of The Sea - Rebreather Diver coming back from the depths.


Patience - Dive instructor and students at La Jolla Shores, CA.



Strip-O-Bacon - Colored rock strata in the Valley of Fire, Nevada.You can barely see a couple of hikers at the base of the rock tower for scale.



Quenching Thirst - After seeing the forecast, we decided to head to the desert and try to capture the storm. We weren't disappointed, with strong winds, fast moving clouds and rain. While driving along Pegleg Road (S-22) outside of Borrego Springs, the sun exploded through the clouds, illuminating the mountains. At the same time, rain was falling on the windblown sand at our feet.


Storm at La Jolla Cove



2nd Beach, Olympic National Park, WA.Our first outing in the Olympic National Park was to 2nd Beach. After a short 3/4 mile hike through beautiful forest, the trail leads to a set of steps down the hillside and drops you off on a beach that time forgot. Like a set out of jurassic park, the beach is covered in drift trees and off the beach are island 'stacks' with their own mini forests. Bald eagles fly overhead as they return to their nests in the trees off the beach. The sun never broke through the low clouds, but that didn't dampen the beauty of the rugged hidden beach.



Small waterfall along the Hoh River valley trail, Olympic National Park, WA.This small lush waterfall was up the hill from the main trail. We quickly agreed to take the trail to see how close to the waterfall we could get. Once we got up to the base of the falls, the only way to get across was a narrow tree that had fallen across the small ravine created by the stream. I ditched my backpack and with some encouragement from Crtr Grl, I carefully scooted across the log with camera and tripod.I successfully made it across and took my shots along a steep muddy trail that continued up and over the falls. On my way back, I lost my balance and fell into a bush along the side of the stream. As I fell, I was able to hold onto the bush to stop from falling all the way into the small ravine, but I think Crtr Grl's heart stopped. Another scoot across the fallen log and I was back on the right side of the stream. Everything is slippery in a rain forest, even if it hasn't been raining!



Home Is Where I Lay My Bed - Long exposure at the Oceanside Pier, Oceanside CA. After the stormy day, the skies around the pier actually cleared for the sunset. After the sunset, however, clouds started coming in again fast. And yes, that is a hammock. A kid strung it up to the pier pilings in the surf zone and was laying there over the water as the sun went down.

Dive Report - Pt Loma Kelp Beds 2/16/13

Date: 2/16/13

Dive #1:
Location: Pt Loma Kelp Beds
Time in: 8:46 am
Time under: 53 min
Max depth: 78 ft
Ave temp: 57 F
Vis: 15-20+
Waves: Flat
Mix: 33%
Buddies: Kim, Mike H, Marla, Virginia


Giant Spined Star (Pisaster giganteus) and Spanish Shawl (Flabellina iodinea) nudibranch in the kelp forest off Pt Loma, CA.

Dive #2:
Location: Pt Loma Kelp Beds
Time in: 10:46 am
Time under: 59 min
Max depth: 64 ft
Ave temp: 55 F
Vis: 15-30+
Waves: Flat
Mix: 33%
Buddies: Kim, Mike H, Marla, Virginia


The fate of the blue planet is in my hands.

Photos: http://www.underpressurephoto.com/Dive-Reports/20130216-Scuba-Pt-Loma-Kelp/
Older dive reports/photos: http://www.underpressurephoto.com/share/y8kKlJq8A5w4g

Highlights: 1st dives in 2 months! Pimped my drysuit with dry gloves and a new silicone neck seal, which were awesome. Great conditions, great weather and great company.

I joined my dive buddies on a local charter boat (thanks Anita and Ryan!) and enjoyed beautiful topside and under sea conditions in the kelp beds off Pt Loma. Everything went right on this trip - I was able to get suited up with dry gloves for the first time by myself (being self sufficient getting suited up or unsuited is important). No leaks in the drysuit or in my camera housing. The first dive was spent playing with my camera underwater and just enjoying being warm and dry. During the safety stop, we were treated by a school of mackerel hanging out in the top 5 feet of water.


Three Lined Aeolid (Flabellina trilineata) on the reef off Pt Loma, CA.

I switched to macro for the second dive and remembered why I love hunting for treasure on the reef. Marla, Virginia and I hung out around 55 ft on the reef looking for nudibranchs and other reef creatures. Some of the highlights included a porters chromodorid, many three lined aeolids, a yellow spotted cadlina, my first sea spiders (with eggs!) and a pair of moray eels who seemed annoyed at each other. At the end of the dive, Marla and I saw a large jellyfish (not sure of the ID) just floating by underneath the swim step.

Scott


Three sea spiders (Anoplodactylus species) carrying eggs off Pt Loma, CA.


A pair of California Moray Eel (Gymnothorax mordax) in a crevice off Pt Loma, CA.

Favorites of 2012

It's that time of year again and time to share my favorite photos from 2012. Limiting it to 10 is hard, so I decided to do a top 12 of 2012. It just sounded right. This past year, I've upgraded my camera, started playing around with macro photos and video and most importantly, discovered that one of my favorite photo subjects are scuba divers in gear, above water.

There are definitely less underwater photos this year as I spent more time exploring the world of air. I'm hoping that next year I'll have more underwater photos to share, but I'm also excited about all the new adventures above water that 2013 has in store for me. Let me know which one of these is your favorite in the comments. Without further ado, here are my favorites of 2012, in no particular order:



Rusting gears and fall leaves, Sugar Pine Railroad, Fish Camp, CA




Shortfin Mako shark off La Jolla, CA.




Tech diver Charlie after a dive to the dive site named Murray Head, 170 feet deep off La Jolla Shores, CA.




Broken wagon wheel and fall leaves, Sugar Pine Railroad, Fish Camp, CA




Stream through the snow covered forest near Bass Lake, CA.




Winter storm waves at the Oceanside Pier.




Black crowned crane (Balearica pavonina).




King tides in Cardiff, CA.




Andrew, founder of UTD (Unified Team Diving).




Freediver Bryan in blue water off La Jolla, CA.




Mountain coyote (Canis latrans lestes) along Glacier Point Road, Yosemite CA.




Storm surf at sunset at La Jolla Cove, CA.



Prints for all photos are available at my photo website:
http://underpressurephoto.com

Thanks!
Scott

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

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