Capturing the Moment

Map of Reunion Island and the Indian Ocean The Best Ways to Explore and Photograph Reunion Island   It is good to have a plan when you end up on the other side of the world. No matter where you are coming from, Reunion probably falls into that category of 'other side of the world.' In fact for me coming from Alaska, my flight went straight over the North Pole and back down on the other side instead of heading across North America, the Atlantic, and then Africa. Reunion lies at around 20° South latitude and has a wonderful tropical climate.      I'm used to volcanic, tropical islands, about 20° away from the equator because that is exactly where Hawaii lies, just in a different ocean and north of the equator instead of south. It turns out that there are many similarities between the two: both are geologic hotspots with massive shield volcanoes, both have similar climates and ecosystems, some of the same birds can be seen, and the underwater life i...

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...

Getting some insider information Roxy and Julie got my contact info and sought me out to take them on a dive somewhere in Maui. Roxy was certified while Julie wasn't, so I had to find a place where she could snorkel at the surface and still stay with us. I also wanted to go somewhere with great wildlife and near where they were staying, in Lahaina. So after discussing a couple of options we decided on Black Rock. This has been a favorite dive site of mine on the west coast of Maui. On this day we got lucky, first with parking (which can be the big downside to this site), and with weather conditions. After snorkeling out to the point, past the cliff jumpers, Roxy and I said 'see ya later' to Julie and descended to the sandy floor. After a few minutes getting back in the feel and working on her buoyancy Roxy was back at it. And lucky for me the wildlife just kept showing up. Roxy and Juliet The water was crystal clear as we had numerous sea turtle encounters, n...