Capturing the Moment

Great Oceana Trip in Review  Australia: Adventure Down Under Day 1 of the adventure    Four countries in a month and a half with Myles and Jack as my surfing, diving, and adventures buddies through it all. A lot of planning went into where we would go and what we would do but ultimately it would come down to weather, waves, and a little of that famous Gillespie luck to pull off what I had planned. Now that I am back home in Oahu, looking back at all the pictures and remembering all the experiences, I would saw that we accomplished 99% of everything we set out to do, plus a bunch that we stumbled upon on the way. Exploring inland Oz   It started for me back on Nov 15th with a long flight from Honolulu to Australia. Ending up in Brisbane, late at night, I was thrown into driving a right side steering wheeled car thru unfamiliar territory to a hostel with no way in. I fought the urge to rubber neck as I drove through downtown Brisbane and managed to unhi...

Peacock Mantis Shrimp Crabs, shrimp, and lobsters can all be big finds for an underwater macro photographer. Some of these crustaceans can give nudibranchs a run for their money when it comes to bold colors. Take this peacock mantis shrimp for example. It has so many shades of colors that it is named after a peacock!     Other crustaceans rely on small size to escape notice. Luckily our local divemaster had a great eye for some of these tiny critters that I would have swam right by. Still others rely on camouflage. This tiny wire coral shrimp was the same exact color of the wire coral until I flashed him with light from my strobe. Even then it would be hard to pick him out unless you zoom way in like this.   Alot of the reefs here are covered in soft coral. This soft coral waves back and forth in the surge and give the reef alot of movement which we don't see in Hawaii. I always think the soft coral would be a great place for creatures to hide but fo...

  Nudibranchs are a macro photographer's dream animal. They move slowly and boast some of the most vibrant colors and patterns of any underwater wildlife. Yet with all of their brightness it is still quite easy to miss them thanks to all the other colors in the reef. Our eyes are trained to look for movement so we glance right past the hiding octopus, the camouflaged scorpionfish, and even the ostentatious nudibranch....but not on this dive. Baby frogfish number one was tucked down into the rock, peering up at his reflection in the lens as I got in close for this shot on the left. Heidi found another wedged in amongst coral polyps. These juveniles will someday grow into volleyball size adults one day if they can avoid all the dangers on the reef. Now this guy was a real tough find. Once again master spotter Heidi pointed him out to me. I initially saw the fin but only the fin. I was amazed when I focused on the entire area and realized it was all one big scorpionfish! I h...