Our group recently (October 2014) did a trip aboard the Nautilus Swell out of Port Hardy, Northern Vancouver Island, to dive the famous Browning Pass and nearby areas. Despite the inclement weather, we had a great time! As was mentioned in other threads, the Nautilus Swell will cease operating as a dive boat at the end of this year, which is quite sad. The Port Hardy/Browning Pass area has, in my opinion, the best cold-water diving in the world. Although there are no longer any live-aboard options for the area, there are still two dive resorts in the area (Browning Pass Hideaway and God's Pocket Resort), as well as a day-trip operator out of Port McNeill (Sun Fun divers). All three operations are run by great people who know the area well, and they each offer different levels of amenities to cater to different budgets, but all offer the same fabulous diving! They all deserve our continued support and patronage so that we can continue to enjoy diving this fabulous area.
All of my pictures were shot using my Canon EOS M, Nauticam housing, and dual Sea & Sea strobes (YS-01 + YS-02). I shoot in full manual mode, RAW, with minor adjustments done in post in iPhoto. I have indicated the lens used with each photo. I have always thought of myself as more of a macro person, but for some reason I found myself drifting more into wide-angle this trip!
Tiny Pacific Lumpsucker on kelp (Canon 60 mm macro lens with Nauticam SMC accessory wet lens):
Tiny Lumpsucker hiding on crab appendage (Canon 60 mm macro lens):
Diver reaches out to Hooded nudibranch (Canon EF-M 11-22 wide angle lens, at 11 mm):
Pair of wolf-eels at Fantasy Island (Deserter Islands group) (Canon EF-M 18-55 kit lens with +2 dry diopter, at 22 mm):
Giant Pacific Octopus at Fantasy Island (Canon EF-M 18-55 lens with +2 diopter, at 20 mm):
Gorgonian garden at Barry Islet (Canon EF-M 11-22, at 12 mm):
Red Irish Lord at Barry Islet (Canon EF-M 11-22 at 22 mm):
Kelp gunnel at Seven Tree Island. Here is an example of a close-focus wide-angle shot. The Canon 11-22 can actually focus very close, which is nice. This was at 22 mm, and the gunnel was very close to my dome port:
Right after I photographed the gunnel, I saw this nice Giant Pacific Octopus slowly trying to slink away from me! (Canon EF-M 11-22 at 22 mm):
The octo tried to camouflage on a kelp stalk, and I got my dive-buddy Rod to pose behind him (Canon EF-M 11-22 at 11 mm):
Opalescent nudibranch (these guys were everywhere!) (Canon EF-S 60 mm macro):
Hooded nudibranch in kelp forest (there were millions of hooded nudibranchs everywhere in the shallows, but they still make great photo subjects!). Another close-focus wide-angle shot, with the Canon EF-M 11-22 at 12 mm:
Our home for the week:
All of my pictures were shot using my Canon EOS M, Nauticam housing, and dual Sea & Sea strobes (YS-01 + YS-02). I shoot in full manual mode, RAW, with minor adjustments done in post in iPhoto. I have indicated the lens used with each photo. I have always thought of myself as more of a macro person, but for some reason I found myself drifting more into wide-angle this trip!
Tiny Pacific Lumpsucker on kelp (Canon 60 mm macro lens with Nauticam SMC accessory wet lens):
Tiny Lumpsucker hiding on crab appendage (Canon 60 mm macro lens):
Diver reaches out to Hooded nudibranch (Canon EF-M 11-22 wide angle lens, at 11 mm):
Pair of wolf-eels at Fantasy Island (Deserter Islands group) (Canon EF-M 18-55 kit lens with +2 dry diopter, at 22 mm):
Giant Pacific Octopus at Fantasy Island (Canon EF-M 18-55 lens with +2 diopter, at 20 mm):
Gorgonian garden at Barry Islet (Canon EF-M 11-22, at 12 mm):
Red Irish Lord at Barry Islet (Canon EF-M 11-22 at 22 mm):
Kelp gunnel at Seven Tree Island. Here is an example of a close-focus wide-angle shot. The Canon 11-22 can actually focus very close, which is nice. This was at 22 mm, and the gunnel was very close to my dome port:
Right after I photographed the gunnel, I saw this nice Giant Pacific Octopus slowly trying to slink away from me! (Canon EF-M 11-22 at 22 mm):
The octo tried to camouflage on a kelp stalk, and I got my dive-buddy Rod to pose behind him (Canon EF-M 11-22 at 11 mm):
Opalescent nudibranch (these guys were everywhere!) (Canon EF-S 60 mm macro):
Hooded nudibranch in kelp forest (there were millions of hooded nudibranchs everywhere in the shallows, but they still make great photo subjects!). Another close-focus wide-angle shot, with the Canon EF-M 11-22 at 12 mm:
Our home for the week:
