The continuing sagas of the Blue Heron Bridge

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I heard about you, Jet. A young father with his daughter checking out the bridge with snorkel gear asked me what the boundary was for diving (because they saw a diver being chased out of the channel)... Compass = friend, Compass being used = best friend

Some shots from today:

... and with that, Olly Octo finally understood "Irony"

So, there I was just sailing the ocean when I ran into this ground here...

You're not fooling me! I know there's a pony in here somewhere!

Just 5 more minutes in this bath ma, PLEASE!

I said, leave me ALONE!

Dang paparazzi

Mama on the sea grass

Papa on the sand

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Juvenile Porkfish

Dancin', dancin', dancin'... Dancin' machine!

Chromodoris Clenchi

... and another one

Well, I stacked the +4 & +2 diopters on the 35mm. This gave me true limited range of focus, so there are no distance shots that can be made. Too bad I couldn't focus on the 2 dozed Eagle Rays in a pod that swam past me. I was in a trench, so they couldn't see me and swam right past me... CRAP!

 

[jet126]

Poor Jet! She did the naughty!

I heard about you, Jet. A young father with his daughter checking out the bridge with snorkel gear asked me what the boundary was for diving (because they saw a diver being chased out of the channel)... Compass = friend, Compass being used = best friend

Mea culpa.

Howard Hall, the famous underwater videographer, wrote an article for the Spring 2011 issue of Alert Diver magazine. In it he says "A diver should never underestimate his or her ability to make really stupid mistakes."

Yup.

 

[danvolker]

I have left my gear with a buddy, parked in Force E's lot and walked back.

Wouldn't parking at Sailfish Marina or even the Ocean Mall be alot closer and easier? I'm wondering if the Water Taxi at Sailfish could drop you off at the Phil foster dock, and you could then get in on that side and swim under east bridge span.....???

 

[danvolker]

Another parking option on busy weekends for some of the regulars that drive a long way to get to the Blue Heron Bridge Marine Park, is to get here the night before and stay at the Hilton on Singer Island...they have a special diver rate ( just say you came in via SFDJ) and you will be around $100 per night right now in summer....This way, you leave your car at the hilton, and the Hotel has a free shuttle bus to drop you at the Park...You can either tell them to come back for you in 4 hours, or just have one of your many friends at the park give you a ride back to your car at the hilton. Sweeteing the deal, the Hilton has a special Diver Down Cafe menu for good and inexpensive luches and dinners for divers, and a great breakfast buffet. You get to eat on the water, and after diving, you can play your videos or photos through their 50 inch LCD Tv in the lounge--you just need an HDMI cable....for my Canon 5d mark II, I needed the normal HDMI cable and a little mini-hdmi adapter I think I got online--but is probably available at best buy.

 

[mntlblok]

P
Also I'm posting a picture of two shrimplike critters I watched chase eachother all over a rock. Anyone have an ID for me?

I *think* Ciliated False Squilla.

About to hop in the car and find me some of that cool stuff getting posted. . .

Kevin

 

[mntlblok]

I *think* I'm jealous. I've never even seen a Nauticam housing or know what a 180 deg viewfinder is - nor a 45 deg, for that matter. Mine's a plain, vanilla Ikelite housing.

About to hit the trail. Sure would be nice were someone to PM some hints about finding some of the cool stuff they're finding these past few days. . .

Kevin
Savannah

What kind of housing/viewfinder are you using? For this dive I was using the Nauticam 180 deg viewfinder which presents a much larger image than the 'stock' Canon T2i viewfinder. This makes it fairly easy to see exactly what's going on in the viewfinder. I love love love my Nauticam 180 deg viewfinder. I want to marry it and have it's children.

Last week I tried the Inon 45 deg viewfinder and there was definitely a steep learning curve (that I still need to work on) when using it with the 60mm macro (I didn't try the 100mm macro). I imagine the 100mm macro will be even more of a challenge with the 45 deg viewfinder because _my_ tendency was always to start aiming HIGH. The 45 deg viewfinder does not display nearly as large an image as the Nauticam 180 deg viewfinder. With the 100mm macro the field of view is much narrower so you need to be lined up almost perfectly to 'find' the subject initially. The 60mm works very well for small/medium sized fish portraits. So far it seems like the 100mm is probably not so good for med+ sized fish portraits (but I knew that already).

I ordered the Subsee +10 magnifier last week because I want to be able to take closeups of the larvae in the Jawfish's mouth.

I just started shooting the SLR UW late last year so I have a long way to go to become 'proficient'. The good news is we are going to Bonaire for a week in June and I'm doing the M/V Spree Nauticam/Reef Photo trip in August so I should get a lot of UW practice time in this summer.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I *think* Ciliated False Squilla.

About to hop in the car and find me some of that cool stuff getting posted. . .

Kevin

Correct. I simply call it Mantis Shrimp. They adapt color to their surroundings. I watched one change color three times attempting to avoid me. Very common, but very fast!

I think I like calling it "Mantis Shrimp" because it is in the order: Mantis Shrimp, Family: Spearing Mantis Shrimp... Then there is the Reef Mantis Shrimp, which I like calling "Manitis Shrimp" because it is the order: Mantis Shrimp, Family: Spearing Mantis Shrimp, but looks completely different from this one...

Not my best shots, but the ones I found the fastest!

Sometimes I just love the contrast of "same family name, different outward appearance" But, to this day, that is how I understand the difference between the Reef Mantis Shrimp and the Ciliated False Squilla... Not even cousins, but brothers "Pseudosquillidae" (false) vs. "Lysiosquillidae".

On a really side note, once I realized they were related as brothers, I thought the prehistoric view of both would likely make them enemies in the real world... What a great Syfi match up the two would make if they ever faced each other after a nuclear blast for the domination of the earth... Speed, legs, claws, adaptation with segmented body vs. long legs, at least 1000 more eyes, segmented body armor and those antennae must be able to anticipate movement ahead of time... Just a new Cane vs. Able situation... But, I digress... lol

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Somehow duplicate post

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

... About to hit the trail. Sure would be nice were someone to PM some hints about finding some of the cool stuff they're finding these past few days. . .

Kevin
Savannah

Hint... It's out there in the water off the shore of Blue Heron Bridge. Honestly, the striated frogfish was an erea I went over three times before I came upon them (in a trench, I call the horseshoe trench). The only way I have been sure to get there (found several other trenches other ways) is to find the upside down wreck, just off the last red channel marker...

In this photo look at the boat marking line and scan left until you see a faint darkness rising up in the photo. That is the last red channel marker before the bridge channel. (Stop and watch the wreck for HUGE photo ops) Head due North from the center of this wreck until you find the area the which becomes a trench. That trench is actually a horseshoe trench. Stay to the right side (left side veers VERY CLOSE to the channel itself and I have been "plucked" by FHP in the left side area. Look closely at the sea grass for anything that might look out of place.

At the end of that trench is an area ripe for finding nudibranchs, slugs and flatworms. Continue due north and you run straight into the bridge.

As a side note, this past weekend's "Sardine" shot was taken right at the beginning of the trench. Find that can, find the trench!