It is so very cool when you are diving and find something new... unfortunately things in the ocean tend to move around a lot! This past weekend we were out on the North Mooring Buoy at Bowyer Island in Howe Sound and I looked into a crack and found a new friend. (there was another one hiding) This is such an encouraging sign for the overall health of Howe Sound. Hopefully they are there the next time I am at the site!
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I really don't know what it is about the mountains.... but they keep begging for pictures to be taken of them! This photo is of the 'Lions', one of the peaks in North Vancouver as seen from my balcony at twilight.
On Friday last week, I went down to the Friday night market in North Vancouver at the Pier. Had a great time hanging out with friends and taking pics of kids running around!
A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system.
This summer, our first instance was on July 12th. The photos below were taken around August 10th and the final supermoon of the summer will occur on September 9th! Last weekend we were off of West Anvil Island in Howe Sound and at the beginning of the dive, we hit the bottom and I looked over my shoulder to find this guy floating peacefully by! Definitely don't want to get tangled up in him, but they are absolutely amazing to see in person! Also check out the full album from there dive here. Check out some stats on these guys: (wikipedia) The lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata), also known as hair jelly,[1] is the largest known species of jellyfish. Its range is confined to cold, boreal waters of the Arctic, northern Atlantic, and northern Pacific Oceans. It is common in the English channel, Irish Sea, North Sea and in western Scandinavian waters down to Cattegat and Øresund. It may also drift in to the south-western part of the Baltic Sea (where it cannot breed due to the low salinity). Similar jellyfish, which may be the same species, are known to inhabit seas near Australia and New Zealand. The largest recorded specimen found, washed up on the shore of Massachusetts Bay in 1870, had a bell (body) with a diameter of 2.3 metres (7 ft 6 in) and tentacles 37 m (120 ft) long.[2] Lion's mane jellyfish have been observed below 42°N latitude for some time—specifically in the larger bays of the east coast of the United States. While the lion's mane jellyfish generally use their stinging tentacles to capture prey, sea anemones can capture their tentacles, which then become tangled, torn apart and consumed.[3] I built Halston Diving in late 2013 with the intention of just using it for underwater photography... however, after selling a few land photographs and being asked to work on a few other projects, I have expanded my horizons a bit. So, I have re-built / re-branded my website :)
Enjoy! Last weekend I scheduled a Sunday morning dive with a few friends in Whytecliffe Provincial Park. The odd part about this occurrence is that I haven't been diving there in probably over 5 years! Crazy. I know.
To be honest I was pleasantly surprised by the dive! Lots of healthy life down there including quite a few purple sea stars, lots of rockfish, heart and golfball crabs, and nudis! So this site isn't just for novice divers.... there is something for everyone! Check out my photoset -> https://www.flickr.com/photos/hilarycurry/sets/72157645134788757/ Link to the article in Underwater Photography Guide This is just so cool. You never know what is going to happen on a dive.... My eyes followed the dive guide’s gaze towards the white sand between two rocks. I knew I was looking for a blue-ringed octopus but didn’t see anything and inched a bit closer. Until this point, I had been further down the reef, calmly waiting for a tiny nudibranch to shift position among some hydroids when I felt a firm tap on my shoulder. I looked up to see our dive guide frantically beckoning me to follow him. Intent on capturing the image I had set up, I made the sign for nudibranch and pointed at that spot. He then blew out a big stream of bubbles and pecked one arm with his other hand – the unmistakable sign for blue-ringed octopus – and kicked full speed across the reef with me in hot pursuit. As my mask got closer to the sand, I saw the iridescent blue rings and recognized the octopus in front of me as the cephalopod launched itself across the ground. Excited to see my first blue-ring of the trip (Bluewater Photo’s Anilao workshops), I begun a lighting-fast reconfiguration of my camera gear from super macro to “octopus position,” knowing this was a fleeting moment. The excitement intensified as the octo lifted off the sand slightly and I saw a male octopus clinging to the female in mating position. Incredible! I’m sure I breathed out some excited words as I finished changing camera settings and took a first shot. The octos were moving quickly across the reef and I fired a shot each time I had a satisfactory composition through my 100mm macro lens. In a matter of seconds, both octopuses disappeared safely into a small hole. About the Blue-Ringed Octopus
The blue-ringed octopus (hapalochlaena lunulata) is sought-after by underwater photographers across the Indo-Pacific. They generally inhabit shallow waters around rubble, rocks and muck sand areas, spending their time hunting small crustaceans. Blue-ringed octopuses are infamous among divers for their extremely toxic venom (TTX), which is powerful enough to kill humans. Learn more about the blue-ringed octopus in our comprehensive marine life feature. Tips for Capturing Behavior Practice When action is unfolding quickly it must be second nature to change camera settings and strobe positioning. Experienced photographers will be able to set up a shot before even actuating the shutter, leaving only small tweaks necessary to capture the image in mind. Study the marine life in an area before the trip You’ll learn a lot and it will form a good base for learning more during the trip, especially if it is an underwater photo workshop. Not only will you recognize what is going on around you, but you’ll have more fun talking about your dives with fellow divers. Become friends with your dive guides We’re all divers and share some amazing experiences underwater. If your guide knows how much you appreciate their experience and hard work, they will be more inclined to show you their favorite critters. About the Author Brent Durand is an avid California beach diver, photographer and writer dedicated to capturing unique underwater, ocean lifestyle and adventure images. Brent is editor of the Underwater Photography Guide. Make sure to follow UWPG on Facebook for updates on everything underwater-photography. Found this over on Scuba Monkey... and as a former instructor, it is awesome!!! Are you a recreational diver? Are you off on holiday soon? Doing some diving? Will you have a diving professional guiding you during the dives? Here’s a few really great ways to get on their nerves, make their life difficult and generally compromise the safety of yourself and the rest of the dive group courtesy of Scuba Monkey diving research labs. Diving professionals are employed globally to lead dives and offer local diving safety advice and diving tips to certified scuba divers. Each diver paying for this service is, therefore, a qualified diver with an autonomous diver qualification seeking the underwater guidance and dive planning of a diving professional. However, in this lesson (and it is a lesson) our team of recreational diving experts will show you how you, too, can liven up their dull lives and annoy your diving professional to the brink of a nervous breakdown. So, sit back and learn some key techniques that will mark you out to experienced diving professionals as a enormous bell-end and someone they can’t wait to see the back of. 1. Equipment Savvy Tom Perkins, 46, of Berkshire, an IT professional and Open Water qualified diver with 32 dives, said “I like to irritate my dive guides by having no clue about diving equipment set-up. I find the best way to get on my Divemaster or Instructor’s nerves is to either a) stare blankly at my scuba equipment for 20 minutes before each dive like a caveman who’s been thawed out of ice after 7000 years and has just seen scuba equipment for the first time – holding up the rest of the dive group – or, b) claim I know what I’m doing before connecting up the hoses incorrectly and leaving the tank band loose to ensure there’s an in-water incident. The key to this annoyance technique is to not be prepared for a diving trip and – certainly – not to take a diving refresher session before the holiday. And, additionally, ensure you omit a buddy check before entering the water for maximum annoyance. Divemasters and Instructors like nothing better than securing a loose tank by man-handling the cylinder back into a BCD band at 18m in my experience. Livens up their day.” Annoyance Score: 6 |
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