Capturing the Moment

   During his Hawaii visit Hunter wanted to not just get some diving in, but go deeper than ever before. So we signed up for an advanced shipwreck dive off of Oahu's southern coast. We decided to tackled the wreck of the Sea Tiger. Here is the online description of the dive:  "One of our favorite wreck dives on the south side!  The Sea Tiger is 168 ft of artificial reef, sunk in 1999.  An amazing array of marine life is already taking advantage of this ship, including squirrelfish and filefish, morays, endangered green sea turtles, spotted eagle rays and reef sharks.  The main deck sits at around 80 feet, while the hull hits the sand at about 127 ft. The ship was originally named Yun Fong Seong No. 303, the ship was apprehended by the Honolulu Harbor Police carrying 93 illegal Chinese immigrants and became legend as Hawaii’s largest seizure of illegal immigrants.  The name Sea Tiger came from one of the ship’s later owners, a Vietnamese...

   One of the most popular boat dives along Oahu's south shore is the shipwreck of the Sea Tiger. Sitting upright on the sand at 127', the wreck of the Sea Tiger makes for a challenging, but still recreational deep dive. It was purposefully sunk just outside of Kewalo Harbor to become an artificial wreck. The wreck itself is 165' long and about 40' wide. You can penetrate into the wreck thru some open refrigeration hatches on the deck.   Heidi and I were playing tourist today as we headed out on the boat, listening to the safety briefing. Last time we did a boat dive here in Oahu the boat was filled with Japanese tourists. We were shocked this time when it turned out to be just four of us divers on board. The conditions were great, no wind or waves, although the water looked more inky blue than light aquamarine in the early light of day. The light got better as the dive progressed but at first glance from the surface we couldn't see the wreck.   I was the ...

  Today the winds were up and the surf was down so I decided to get some underwater shots while staying completely dry...at the Waikiki Aquarium! This little aquarium is one of the oldest in the United States, built in 1904.   I had never really tried to take pictures in an aquarium before and it proved to be very difficult. The low light and moving subjects are a photographers worst nightmare, although the fish themselves can get quite close to you. Once I strapped on the wide angle lens I was able to snap a few low light shots. My favorite tank to photograph turned out to be the shark tank which also housed some truly gigantic groupers.   Outside the main hall the Hawaiian monk seals steal the show. One has very bad cataracts so it has been here in captivity for nearly all of its life. The two monk seals are usually in separate pools but were brought together to see if they can coexist peacefully. They were trained to kiss every time they first see each oth...

  When a gallon of milk cost $6 and gas is upwards of $5 people start to look for cheap night out opportunities. The entertainment here in Waikiki is usually quite pricey but every Friday night after sunset the Hilton has a pretty decent firework show at the far end of Waikiki beach...for free! So grab a maitai, find some beach space, and set those cameras on long exposure to capture all the action.   I ran an around the island tour which finished just before sunset so I thought I would check out the fireworks after. I parked at Ala Moana mall and walked across the street to the beach park, figuring it would be a good vantage point to photograph the fireworks over Waikiki. It turns out I wasn't the only one with this idea. Tons of local families had tents and bbqs set up with good views across the harbor. Other photographers already had their spots staked out and tripods set up.    The fireworks only last for about five minutes, but it is still an impres...

     A romantic view of nighttime Honolulu from the Tantalus overlook.

At the surface read to dive Today I had the rare opportunity to make a dive in a submarine here in Oahu. Atlantis submarines offer a chance to join the exclusive 100foot club without being trained in scuba diving. I was invited to go for a ride along to check out the operation. I have seen this kind of submarine in action over in Maui. While I was scuba diving on the wreck of the Carthaginian this company's sub came and check out the same wreck. I could see the tourists inside snapping photos. Now I had the opportunity to see how the other side feels. It is pretty amazing. Plane wreck seen from the sub YO-257 wreck  The pilot, sitting up in front, does all the maneuvering by sight. He has a giant bubble windshield, and a co-pilot at the rear giving him distances. The narrator for the trip sits up front spouting off information about the underwater area and the fish. The sub deftly moves between quite a few wrecks strewn about the bottom. Old shells of airplanes, a Kore...

   A smooth transition always makes a move feel a little bit easier. Everything came together for our island hop move from Maui to Oahu. We shipped our car packed full of our stuff. We bumped up to first class on the plane to get more bags checked. Our rental car was super cheap thanks to the low season. I did notice a few new scratches in the car when picking it up from the shipping dock but they just blend in with the others so no worries there.Then we drove to Manoa to get all settled in at Heidi's family friend's place. I felt like that was a pretty good setup for day one in a new place.  So we set of in our rental to explore the island and hopefully meet up with old friends.  Manoa itself is a green oasis sitting up the slope from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki. There is a beautiful view of the cityscape from our temporary backyard.   Heading over the mountains we checked out the cool town of Kailua. Lots of boutiques, health food stores, and...