Capturing the Moment

White bumped nudibranch   It had been some time since Heidi and I had been nudibranch hunting in our old diving grounds on Maui. The weather tried to foil us by flooding Kihei with late season downpours and sending surf from the south, but we still managed to find more species of nudibranchs on a few dives than most dive instructors working in Maui see all year. It's all about where you look, and it's not always where you would think to look. Thecacera pacifica, or pokemon guy   We spotted some of our old favorites like imperial nudibranchs, white bump nudibranchs, and gloomy nudibranchs. We were also pleasantly surprised to see some of the rarer species like our little orange nudi that we affectionately call the 'orange pokemon guy.' Tambja morosa with green gills The green gilled new-comer   We found quite a few gloomy nudibranchs ( tambja morosa ) at our secret nudi dive spot but we did notice a much higher percentage with greenish gills than o...

 Muck Diving in Amed, Bali  We had always heard about the muck diving possibilities in Amed, Bali. For the past three trips we had traveled just north of this community to stay and dive in Tulamben, where the big shipwreck is as well as good muck diving. It would be possible to drive between the two but since we had a few extra days at the end of our Indonesia time we decided to give Amed the go-ahead and really dive into what it has to offer. Tiger Shrimp Elusive, Tiny, Tiger Shrimp  We stayed at a place just outside of town called Puri Wirata, because it had a pool and its own dive shop. We flew into Bali in the middle of rush hour but managed to do some weaving in and out driving to get through it rather quickly. It was getting dark by the time we were making our way up the coastal road. I wouldn't want to drive in Bali in the daytime, so I found myself glad that Heidi had nodded off and wasn't watching our driver continue to bob and weave even in the dar...

Giant Mantis Shrimp Orangutan Crab  Even though I am partial to nudibranchs as my go-to favorite tiny marine creature to look for in Bali, the crustaceans are not that far behind. They also come in a wild variety of colors and patterns with wild adaptations that allow them to survive on the rich reefs of Indo. From the incredible fast mantis shrimp to the sea star eating blue harlequin shrimp, to the little boxer crab that carries anemones in its claws like tiny pom poms, these animals are a macro photographers delight. Boxer Crab Boxer Crab Harlequin Shrimp Harlequin Shrimp eating a sea star Best Camouflaged Crab Ever Purple Squat Lobster

Joruna funebris Nudibranchs of Bali:  It’s time for a treasure hunt, Bali-style. One of the guarantees of scuba diving in Indonesia is seeing lots of nudibranchs. The warm tropical waters here in Bali are home to hundreds of different species of beautiful sea slugs, some of which have probably yet to be identified. Even though they are brightly colored with psychedelic patterns it can still take a trained eye to find them. They are usually small, relatively still, and can blend in with all of the colorful coral and sponges that also live on the reefs. The amazing diversity of the nudibranchs here would be enough to satisfy the most experienced diver anywhere in the world….and to think that nudibranchs are just the icing on the cake to all the other amazing critters waiting to be found and photographed underwater.     Thecacera sp.5 Nembrotha feeding Thecacera sp.7 Doriprismatica atromarginata So far we have found some of our old favorit...