Very Good Dives with Beachhopper II at Hopkin's Deep and Metridium Mountain January 16, 2024

Last Saturday, January 11, I kicked off my diving for 2025 with post retirement dives #810 at Hopkin's Deep and #811 at Metridium Mountain. I was diving with Guy Foster and were joined by many of the usual gang, Ed in his blinding new drysuit, his much better half, Homani, Rick, Stephen, Debra, and ....We had around 20 ft of visibility. I tried out a new combination, I dove with my drysuit with my new deluxe Sharkskin II plush skin with a sweater, I discovered, again, that though dry you've got to have lots of warm underclothes to be comfortable so I got pretty chilled with this combination, I'll double up layers the next time out. Both sites are rich with sealife and have lots of rockfish and some Cabezon and Lingcod. As soon as I started attempting to take pictures I discovered that my always reliable INON strobe, which has had heavy use for 18 years, wouldn't fire. I was surprised because, from long experience, I've learned you better always take a photo on shore when your're ready to pack your camera for the dive because otherwise you'll find a problem when your out on your dive and it is neither convenient nor safe for your camera to open up its dive case to solve a problem. Below is the photo I took in our dining room of one of my wife Donna's paintings on the wall. The strobe definitely had successfully fired...

Happily when I got home and opened up my camera case I found that, somehow, the pop up flash of my vintage Canon T2i Rebel had gotten pushed down so my strobe's failure to flash was simply because it didn't receive a triggering flash via fiber cable...I had steeled myself and negotiated with my wife that I was probably going to visit Backscatter and buy a new strobe, etc. etc. But no bank account draining visit there is immediately necessary after all. I demonstrated to Guy that my strobe wasn't firing by taking what would normally have been a momentarily blinding shot of his face. Below:

So, I realized that, though I was shooting with my 60 mm Canon macro lens I could still take some pictures with my pointer light and I shifted to an f stop of 5.6 to do some shooting and I'm very pleased with a few of the shots I took. I lucked onto a cooperative Cabezon, one of my favorite subjects, and it let me get really close. Below:

I next found a cooperative Lingcod, below:

We descended through a sea of pyrosomes, four to eight inches long. I photographed a couple of unfortunate ones being consumed by voracious sea anemones. Below:

Next up was a Gopher Rockfish followed by a curious Kelp Rockfish, below:

I had to try photographing Strawberry Anemones with my pointer light for illumination, below:

Then I shot a Metridium, aka Plumrose Anemone, below:

My final subject was a Hudson's Nudibranch, about 3 inches long, below:

Well, then I captured myself studying my non flashing strobe after surfacing! Below:

Next up for this year's diving will be the Maldives, long on Donna and my list of places we wanted to dive. We'll be at a shore based resort for February 5-7 after a one day stop in Singapore on our way out, followed by diving with a group organized by Richard Salas on Theia Dune February 8 -18, below: https://liveaboard.dune-world.com/trip/central-and-south-atolls-theia/

Favorite Dive Photos for 2024

It's January 1, 2025 so here's my final diving blog for 2024. I've been selecting my favorite (for me favorite implies a really like the subject and the photo is at least ok, by the way, my photo processing consists of cropping, adjusting exposure and light, I can't be bothered with things like backscatter, I consider it part of showing the real environment, so, I spend at most a couple minutes on post processing of any given picture, its usually less than a minute..). This year started with a wonderful, surprise, sudden, free trip to Anilao, Philippines thanks to Richard Salas offering me the trip because of a last minute cancellation opening. Anilao is excellent for macro photography and I also had a week of my first ever Black Water diving which is a nightime open water drift dive with a buoy with lights suspended below it, floating in over 1000 ft of water offshore. A very challenging, unique experience. I had the usual assortment of dives in Monterey and Carmel with Greg Hoberg and his RIB and with Guy Foster with the Beachhopper II. Then, in September, I had a two days of shore based dives in Fiji with Donna and then ten days on the wonderful liveaboard dive boat Nai'a with Richard Salas and Guy Foster and other friends. Below are some of my favorite dive photos from 113 dives in 2024, reaching a total of 809 dives since retiring in November 20ll. To see the more favorite photos from the year, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/pDUeU1h7EMVDK97W6 The year started off with a bang with a sudden free dive trip to Anilao, Philippines thanks to Richard Salas giving me an invite because of a last minute cancellation causing an opening. The trip was a combination of great macro diving and my first ever black water diving. Below: Flamboyant Cuttlefish followed by an Peacock Mantis Shrimp with her red eggs

Below: Hairy Squat Lobster followed by a Ghost Pipefish in Mushroom Coral

Below: TBD Nudibranch on a tunicate

Fire Dart, Below:

Two photographs below: First, small Orange Frogfish. Second, Yelow-Lipped Sea Krait

Black Water creatures from Anilao, Philippines, below. First, Paper Nautilus on a jellyfish with a Black Pomfret fish, with dive guide in the background. Second, transparent juvenile flounder. Third, Female Winged Nautilus riding a salp.

More Black Water photos, below. First, Female Argonaut (Paper Nautilus) towing a leaf. Second, Female Argonaut squirted ink!

A few more Black Water creatures, below. First, Tiger Shrimp Larvae. Second, Delta Squid. Third, juvenile Wonderpus.

Below: Some photos from this year's dives in Monterey and Carmel. First, Male Kelp Greenling with Strawberry Anemones at Shale Island.

Beautiful Cabezon face, Aumentos off Pacific Grove, below:

Below: first, Treefish (rockfish) Pinnacles, Carmel Bay, second, Greg with Lingcod, Pinnacles. Third, China Rockfish, Pinnacles. Fourth, Blue Rockfish in Giant Kelp, Pinnacles.

Below: Gopher Rockfish with Monterey Cannery pipe, VT3, Monterey.

Vermilion Rockfish with Sea Anemones at Mr Ed, Monterey with Beachhopper II

I had two enjoyable dives on a trip where we met our longtime friends at Catalina Island. Below are a few photos from my dives there. First, a bright Orange Garibaldi, California's state fish. Second and Calico, aka Kelp, Bass. Third, one of the many Spiny Lobsters I was happy to see.

In September I spent a week in Fiji with Donna with two days of wonderful shore dives off Vanua Levu, then spent 10 days diving with the Nai'a all around Fiji, with Guy, Richard, Audry, Dorothy, and other diving friends. Below: I love capturing Gobies which live in partnership with Bulldozer Shrimp.

Look carefully to see this well camouflaged Leaf Scorpionfish, about 4 inches long. Below:

Fiji has incredibly beautiful reefs rich with life. Below, with Guy Foster.

Below, first, Bluefin Trevally, second, Chevron Barracuda.

Below: Count the fish!

A fish waterfall, a fishfall? Below:

Below: Beautiful Sea Fan, beautiful Fiji seascapes.

Below: Large Malabar Grouper (60 to 80 lbs), first, and an Octopus

Below: More coralscapes and Anemonefish

Below: Two shots of a Yellowfin Fringehead, first I've ever seen, from my final dive of the year at Tanker's Reef with BeachhopperII, Monterey.

And finally, here I am with my sweatshirt that defines my retirement plan together with Gertdy and Frida, our 3 year old German Shorthair Pointer - Labradoodle litter mates whom are also my training coaches with our 3 to 6 mile daily hikes with significant elevation changes, to keep me in shape for diving. Below.

So, 113 dives in 2024 taking my post retirement dive count up to 809. How many dives in 2025? Donna and I will have ten days with Richard Salas on a liveaboard in the Maldives in February, plus three shore dive days. Then we have will have five shore dive days and 15 days on a liveaboard in the Philippines in June/July with Tom Campbell and Beth Davidow. Then I'll have my third trip to God's Pocket in British Columbia in September. Plus, of course, Monterey and Carmel diving with Guy and Greg. Happy New Year!