Capturing the Moment

Caloria indica (Indian Nudibranch) Unidentified Flatworm    Sea slugs, lobsters, crabs, shrimp, flatworms, and weird creatures galore can be found just off the beach here in Maui. And you don't even have to go to a beautiful coral reef to find them. In fact I think you will see even more if you go to a muck diving site like this one where all of these and more can be found on one dive. We never really know what to expect when we go muck diving here. There are almost always surprises. On this night the surge from the south swells had finally died down which meant we only had to deal with the clouds of plankton that would swarm your light if you stayed in one place for too long. This does make taking pictures very difficult as you have to get a good picture on the first or second try or else the plankton move in and ruin the shot. Guard Crab Baby slipper lobster, about 3inches Looking inside coral for creatures like this little guard crab can lead to great find...

  This morning I grabbed my macro setup to try and find some small underwater wildlife to photograph. Sometimes when you slow down and really look it can be amazing how many little creatures start showing up. I went to a dive site called five caves, aka five graves. It is a spot very famous for sea turtle encounters which means these little animals get passed over even more often than most.   Nudibranchs, harlequin shrimp, scorpion fish, and even peacock flounders showed themselves on this dive. It wasn't until I saw a couple of neon yellow juvenile frogfish that I knew who was going to steal the show. Surrounded by a cloud of tiny plankton the frogfish would open its mouth and gobble up some of the goodies.   These are Commerson's frogfish and will grow to about the size of a volleyball if they get old enough. Right now they could easily fit into the palm of my hand. Once they get bigger they will graduate from eating plankton to eating fish. They are one of th...

  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...

This beautiful red-margin spanish dancer nudibranch ( Hexabranchus pulchellus) put on a show in this shallow tide pool. Named after a flamenco dancer's skirt, these 'nudies' whirl and undulate as they swim through the water. This spanish dancer swam near the surface sometimes touching its own reflection.    Even though this nudibranch looks like it might be very toxic with its bright coloration it only has slight toxin in its tissues. They are able to absorb some of the toxin from sponges that it eats. It certainly does not rely on camouflage to remain hidden from site. Instead spanish dancer nudibranchs are nocturnal, coming out at night when visibility is low. The egg masses of a spanish dancer look like velvet roses attached to rocks around the reef. The egg mass is protected from predation since the adult passes on the toxins to the mass.   While most nudibranchs are very small, this one can someday grow to an amazing 15 inches! Our tidepool find happened t...

 There are many amazing sights in nature that people walk by every day. And while people do tend to take an extra minute to notice sunsets, coral reefs, and breaching whales here in Maui there is still a hidden world just beneath their feet. Many people walk right over tide pools without ever stopping to glance down into one. The amount of life that a four inch deep tidepool can contain is astounding.  When the low tide and the sun setting coincide Heidi and I go with flashlights to our favorite tide pool locations. I look at it as a snorkel without getting wet. Last night we found hunting moray eels, camouflaged octopus, and vibrantly colored nudibranchs. All three of these creatures were juveniles. Tidepools can act as a protected nursery for reef creatures. Protected until you stray too close to the moray eel! I was just about to take a picture of the eel last night when a fish swam in my way. As I hesitated for him to keep swimming all the sudden the eel snapped the fis...