Capturing the Moment

Scuba Diver Silhouette Entering Cathedrals Diving Cathedrals I off Lanai   Cathedrals is one of the best dive sites in Hawaii. Not only do you get an incredible cavern experience, with eerie blue light illuminating this underwater 'cathedral', but once you are outside there is wildlife everywhere, from rare nudibranchs to bandit angelfish. Divers Exploring Cathedrals Cathedrals Dive Site, Lanai, Hawaii   This is also one of the best places in Hawaii for underwater photography. It takes some time to balance your camera settings for the low blue light but the rewards if you get it right can be amazing. And while the empty cavern looks cool enough, having some of your dive buddies swim under some of the skylights brings a better perspective to the different rays of light flooding the chamber.   Luckily our dive guide was pretty laid back about Heidi and I hanging back from the group to continue getting pictures inside. And being the first group in i...

Frigates Passage, Fiji View from the boat Long walls at Frigates    The big reason for coming to Waidroka, on the south east corner of the main Fijian island of Viti Levu, was to surf a wave way out at sea called Frigates. Frigates is a reef passage that picks up way more swell than any of the local breaks. It takes about an hour to drive out there by boat but it is usually worth the extra effort. We spent the last two days exploring Frigates above and below the waves, and sometimes right through them! Just under the surface- Frigates Checking out the wall at Frigates Twilight Cavern   The reason that Frigates has such massive waves is because the force of those waves from the south are totally unobstructed until they smash upon a huge wall rising from the depths here. Our mission today was to explore that wall. What we found is that instead of being a solid wall, it is pocked with deep canyons, swim throughs, and caverns. Light filters down thro...

Hanauma Bay, Oahu   Oahu's southeast shore is very rugged and has some real gems if you look hard enough. A very popular one is Hanauma Bay. Over a million visitors come to this idyllic bay every year to sunbath and go snorkeling. But just around the corner you can find almost deserted beaches, hikes out to lighthouses, and some amazing shades of blue water.    Hanauma bay is so popular because of the easy, protected inner reef. It is a great place for people learning how to snorkel or who just want to sunbath and take a quick dip to cool off. This spot use to be notorious for people walking on the reef and the effects of this can still be seen today. Old, dead reef, which should have new coral growing on top of it still remains dead close to shore. Luckily conservation efforts were slowly put into place, and in 2002 visitors were required to pay a small fee and watch an educational movie about how to not harm the reef ecosystem. It will take a while for the inner re...

Small church overlooking Tadoussac Bay The famous Tadoussac Hotel Whale watching and a Fjord Minke Whale feeding In a beautiful little town called Tadoussac, people bundled in warm clothes sip lattes and read French newspapers before heading out on a whale watch. But this little slice of exotic paradise might not be as far away as you may think. Tadoussac is located at the mouth of a mighty fjord emptying into the St Lawrence river in Quebec, Canada. Humpback Whale Humpback Whale   After hearing there are whales in this very usual habitat we decided to undergo the seven hour drive from Vermont to see for ourselves. What we found was European experience and lots of whales. Being able to drive to a place where everyone speaks a different language made me feel like I was back in Europe, easily crossing borders into a new country. Little coffee bars serving up giant bowls of latte are hotspots from early morning until late afternoon. Summertime is the bus...

A Loving Couple On the search for a mate    Mission accomplished! Ever since first seeing a photo of a rare fish called a mandarinfish, ( Synchiropus splendidus ), I have wanted to see one for myself. I had high hopes for seeing them in Lembeh, Indonesia last year but both Heidi and I came down with sickness that kept us from scheduling a mandarin dive. That just made me double my efforts at my next dive destination, the Philippines. I wasn't sure where in the Philippines these fish could be seen but I committed myself to the mission.  First a little about the mandarinfish and why it is such a rare fish to encounter. It lives in tropical waters in the Pacific, and is a bottom dweller spending most of its time hiding in rubble or coral. One might think that their bright colors would make them easy to spot but their small size, about 6 centimeters, makes it tougher still. The best time to find and take a photo of these timid fish is right after sunset. This is ...