Capturing the Moment

  Snorkeling under the rainbow off the coast of Maui. So that is why they call this the 'Rainbow Isle!' The first thing I saw when I jumped in to our snorkel was a broad stingray swimming below me. This is a very rare sight out here in Maui. The fish were plentiful today at our snorkel sight. Here is a school of a thousand yellow fin goatfish. A green sea turtle hovering over the coral covered wreckage of the old Mala pier. A sea turtle hovers mid water as some of our group looks on from above. To get this shot I swam down below the turtle until I could angle the camera up at the snorkelers. I'm not sure if this turtle knew I was above it. It was drifting up higher right at me. This is the same turtle, coming right towards me. Two sea turtles hovering at the cleaning station. Face to face with a green sea turtle. This is my colleague, Sam, who is posing perfectly for this turtle shot. Turtle diving down with snorkelers behind. Tichelle was our kayak lifeguard today, and got...

  This behavior of opening its mouth underwater is a bit unusual. It gives a nice look at the tooth-like bony structures in the mouth that it uses to scrape algae off the rocks. The old Mala Pier on Maui, situated in Lahaina, is a poignant relic of the island's maritime history. Constructed in the early 20th century, this wooden pier was once a bustling hub of activity, crucial for the shipping and transportation needs of the region. Its location at the edge of the serene Mala Wharf area made it an ideal spot for cargo operations and passenger disembarkation. Over the years, the pier witnessed the ebb and flow of Maui’s development, reflecting the changes in the island’s economy and infrastructure. As time passed, the pier fell into disuse, overtaken by modern ports and updated transportation methods. Today, the Mala Pier stands as a picturesque, albeit weathered, remnant of a bygone era. The structure's aging pilings and rusted fixtures tell a story of resilience against the e...

  If you are looking for a wonderful scuba dive, that you can do from shore on Maui, then look no further than the old Mala Pier. The colors underwater are out of this world, and the turtles and sharks are usually in plentiful supply. I've snorkeled here and dove here many times, and it never gets old. In fact, it is one of the 'must-see' places I take people to when they visit me here in Maui. Today I left the wide angle camera at home. I've taken lots of turtle and shark pictures here before. I was on the hunt for some of the more secretive animals. I was on a treasure hunt for things like nudibranchs, eels, frogfish, and whatever else I could find hiding amongst the corals and wreckage. Using a special macro lens on my Canon 5d, I was able to get in close, add flash, and bring out the true color of all of the marine life. Take a look at some of these photos below and see if you agree with me that this might just be the 'Most Colorful Dive on Maui!" A gloomy ...

Mala Pier  The sun was out and the wind was light as usual on Maui's west side. This bode well for a couple of scuba dives that I had planned to show off a bit of the Hawaiian underwater world to my friend Corie. The first spot we hit up was the wreckage of the old Mala pier, just north of Lahaina. This has always been one of my favorite sites to dive for underwater photography. The water here is almost always clear, the wreckage covered in beautiful coral, and charismatic megafauna abounds.  Bleached Coral Head  Imagine my surprise when I drop down and the first thing I see isn't clouds of fish, or turtles, or beautiful colors....it is a big vibrant white coral. It had almost entirely bleached. There has been a lot of news surrounding Maui lately with the increase in water temperature leading to mass bleaching events around the island. This happens whenever something like increased water temperature, sedimentation, acidification stresses the coral causing it ...