Capturing the Moment

  One of the more well known shore snorkels/dives on the Kona coast of the Big Island is a place called Two Step, or O'Hanaunau Bay. Not only is this the site of a ancient city of refuge for the Hawaiians, but quite possibly some of the most stunning snorkeling in Hawaii that is easily accessible from shore. There is parking nearby and even though it is a lava rock coastline there is an easy entrance formed by two smooth lava rock shelves that you can step down into the calm water from. Two Step is located about 20 miles south of Kona town. My dad's sea turtle encounter   Big schools of yellow tangs graze the expansive coral reef in the shallows. Sea turtles are also in the area, often napping under ledges or feeding on algae in the shallows. The water here stays clear and calm almost every day of the year thanks to the direction the bay is facing and the lack of runoff due to being in an arid environment. Spinner dolphins diving down   One bonus that som...

  It is pretty amazing what you can do with just one week, a boat, and an adventurous spirit here in the Hawaiian Islands. This past week onboard the Safari Explorer I had the benefit of a smaller charter group who had a focus on photography. I tried to go all out in their itinerary giving them ample opportunities for amazing photos and after looking through all of my photos I think the rest of the crew and I delivered big time.   Some of the stops this week were the normal places we usually go with the Safari Explorer, however we added a few extraordinary ones with the focus on photography. One of these was a morning dedicated to snorkeling with spinner dolphins. This was a bit tricky for me to organize because on some islands this just isn't done (Maui County), and even on the Big Island it is only accepted in one area.   Right in Kailua-Kona bay a circus of snorkelers and boats happens every morning, dropping people in with a small pod of resting spinner dolphin...

 We came across this rarely seen dolphin in deep water off the coast of the Big Island. We noticed some dorsal fins breaking the surface near one of the 'FAD's, or fish aggregating devices off Hawaii's Kona coast. I hadn't seen this species of dolphins in several years.    The rough-toothed dolphins are easy to identify if you know what you are looking for. They have an enlarged melon and relatively short beak which gives them a uniquely sloped forehead. It is rarely seen and poorly known. They live in very deep warm tropical waters around the world.  I sent these pictures in to our local odontocete research group so I'll report back with any updated news on this pod. There were about 12 individuals, one of which had a very easy to identify dorsal fin. You just never know what you are going to come across in the deep waters of the ocean.

  All season we had been looking for pantropical spotted dolphins with no luck. Finally last week we spotted a huge pod of playful spotteds. The wind was nonexistent so the ocean was glassy, giving off some interesting reflections of the dolphins when they would jump. The guests were delighted with the dolphins riding the bow wave but I was more interested in the one riding our stern wake.   I always tell my photography classes to try and get pictures of animals coming towards you. This will make the scene more dramatic and shows your audience that you were not scaring the animal. It also shows some expertise, and that you either put yourself in the right position, have researched and put in the time with your subject, got lucky, or a combination of all of them.  Check out more pictures of dolphins on my photo site: http://www.daimarsphotos.com/Wildlife/Dolphins/

      Underwater Photos of Dolphins     This week's adventure from Molokai to the Big Island brought us up close to some very fun charismatic megafauna. We saw some of the season's first humpback whales, we came across a mother and calf Blainsville's beaked whales, bottlenose dolphins, manta rays, and several pods of spinner dolphins. The spinner dolphins were curious enough that on two separate occasions, one from a kayak and one from a skiff, I was able to put my underwater camera in the water and get these shots. Their playfulness shows their underlying intelligence and their family bonds show off a highly sophisticated social network.  It is always a pleasure to be in the company of intelligent life...especially in the ocean! Check out my photo page for high res underwater photos of dolphins: daimarsphotos

Lava overlook SFX Crew   After seven months of working in the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and Alaska, I am finally back in the Hawaiian Islands. I'll be running the expedition side of things again on the UnCruise boat Safari Explorer. The trips are one-way, week long, adventures from the Big Island to Molokai, or vice versa. I am excited to see alot of veteran crew back again this year as well as some fine new additions. Bowriding Spinner Dolphins Backflipping dolphins   We managed a few days of training before the boat showed up and again I took advantage of that time to get the crew over to the Hilo side of the Big Island to see the active volcano. The flow has moved a little from last year and is just trickling into the ocean now compared to the fire hose that caused a huge steam cloud last winter. We tried to walk uphill towards the fresh surface flows but were eventually turned around by the sheer distance across the treacherous terrain. ...