Capturing the Moment

  The humpback whales are here in force right now. Maui is the epicenter of the humpback migration. It where many of the North Pacific humpback population comes to mate and have their babies. My kayak team got an amazing look at this surfacing whale. I've had some pretty amazing weeks aboard the Safari Explorer, here in the Hawaiian Islands, but this past week may have taken the cake. We had manta rays show up during our night snorkel on the Big Island, we had sunrise humpback whales swimming under our small boats at Maui, we discovered rare nudibranchs while snorkeling in Lana'i, and hiked to secret waterfall pools through the rainforest of Molokai. Our guests were able to meet interesting and passionate locals on the different islands, helping to immerse into these amazing locations. We are only expedition ship that sails between the Hawaiian Islands, so we are able to provide a very unique adventure. Most people stay in Waikiki, and don't make it far from the hotel pool....

  What a week for sharks here in Hawaii! On our first snorkel at Shark Fin Rock, our small boat noticed a dolphin about 30ft away from me at the surface. So I quickly headed that way. I caught a glimpse of it as it swam away, but then was happy to see another headed my way. However, I quickly realized it was not another dolphin, it was a big pelagic shark! It looked like a sandbar shark while I was in the water, but after looking at the photos I'm not quite sure.  I followed it for a minute, then it turned right towards me. I snagged a couple of photos with my little olympus tough waterproof point and shoot camera. Rare encounter with a large shark off in the blue. This was a about a six to seven foot shark swimming with me. Seeing white tip reef sharks is much more common for snorkelers around Hawaii. We saw six of them at our snorkel spots this week! It is still rare to find even white tips, I was pretty excited. I've been checking under this ledge at Kealakekua Bay all seas...

Hungry Whale Shark      Whale Sharks, ( Rhincodon typus ), are the world's biggest fish. They are a shark, but unlike their more well-known relatives the whale shark does not have teeth. Instead it uses gill rakers to filter out tiny plankton from the ocean water. While it may seem daunting to jump in the water with these gentle giants the truth is you couldn't be with a safer, more harmless animal. And if you are lucky they might just stick around long enough for you to get a feel for just how big they really are. Emerging out of the blue    This is what happened on a recent trip to Baja, Mexico. I was sent on a photography assignment for UnCruise Adventures on their small ship cruise down in the Sea of Cortez . Every week the passengers have a chance of encountering whale sharks as the Sea of Cortez is one of their favorite haunts. It is never guaranteed but this week we were lucky. The upwelling brings in nutrients which powers the phytoplankton...

Galapagos Shark   A few years ago I went on the shark cage dive tour on the North Shore here in Oahu. They took us three miles out of Haleiwa harbor, dropped us in the cage and we were able to see lots of pelagic sharks in very clear, blue water. Since then I have been wanting to lead a mission back to this spot with our own boat and jump in for pictures without the cage. Another Close Pass Curiosity   I put the mission idea out there to some friends of mine on the North Shore and was surprised how quickly the plan was put into action. My buddy Alex has a jet ski he uses to tow surf into big winter swells. Now we just had to wait for the perfect morning with light wind conditions. With room for three on the ski our friend Nani jumped on board and away we went. Now we just had to retrace my steps from years earlier to find the cage 3 miles off where the sharks gather. Nani with 2 Galapagos Sharks   The first buoy we came across must have been for fi...

Heidi exploring a Philippine reef One of my favorite shots from the Philippines 2013: A Photo Year in Review Myles and Jack diving with a turtle, Great Barrier Reef Cuddly Koala, Australia Zoo Lounging with Kangaroos 2013 has been a whirlwind of a year. I was lucky enough to travel to 6 different countries (Philippines, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Fiji), captain some amazing trips with the Pacific Whale Foundation on Maui, get paid to take photos of breaching humpback whales, visit Savannah, make it to the infamous Stave Island Party in Vermont, and make a big move over to Oahu in time for some serious North Shore surfing. I tackled famous surfing waves like Sunset Beach, Honolua Bay, Uluwatu, Padang Padang, Frigates, and Cloudbreak which felt like a mini "Endless Summer" of my own. I logged over 100 scuba dives including a liveaboard on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, shipwrecks in Bali and Hawaii, and a full 3 weeks of divin...