Craig Hoover
Guest
Deer Creek was quite nice yesterday. Visibility was 20 feet horizontally and easily 30+ vertically. The water temp was 53 degrees and swell 30 feet deep was less than a foot. I even met John topside.
At the start of the dive I found this jelly, Leucothea pulchra while snorkeling. I tried the classic sun backlit jelly shot a few inches from the surface. Positioning the jelly at the edge of Snell's window created the light and shadow ripples in the lower part of the jelly.
The photographic goal of the dive was to capture the sea lemon, Peltodoris nobilis, on the red volcano sponge, Acarnus erithacus. Deer Creek is the best place in Malibu for these sponges. These two individuals are mating.
The reef appears to end in 40 feet of water but a swim out over the sand to the SW leads to another section of reef in 45-50 feet. This one is a reefscape of a golden gorgonian, Muricea californica, and a bat star Asterina miniata.
Hope everyone is enjoying the winter diving. Malibu is really nice this time of year.
At the start of the dive I found this jelly, Leucothea pulchra while snorkeling. I tried the classic sun backlit jelly shot a few inches from the surface. Positioning the jelly at the edge of Snell's window created the light and shadow ripples in the lower part of the jelly.
The photographic goal of the dive was to capture the sea lemon, Peltodoris nobilis, on the red volcano sponge, Acarnus erithacus. Deer Creek is the best place in Malibu for these sponges. These two individuals are mating.
The reef appears to end in 40 feet of water but a swim out over the sand to the SW leads to another section of reef in 45-50 feet. This one is a reefscape of a golden gorgonian, Muricea californica, and a bat star Asterina miniata.
Hope everyone is enjoying the winter diving. Malibu is really nice this time of year.
