Caribbean Marchl 2007

Here are some underwater pictures from our recent Caribbean trip:

http://andresmith.speedalbum.com/Dominica%20Underwater/ and

http://andresmith.speedalbum.com/Caribbean%20Explorer%20II/

All pictures taken with Canon 5D and Subal housing. Viewable as slideshows.

Also managed to see Australia beat South Africa in St Kitts but it doesn't really matter because we are going to beat them on Tuesday in the semifinals when it really counts

Nice.

Dominica is one of our favorite Carib locations to date. I've yet to see coral/sponges as healthy and large as there. Schools of Trumpet fish too. Oh look, another huge Moray..... Great dives.

Scott's head was our favorite. We talked the resort in to taking us back there on a night dive. They balked at the idea for some reason but did take us. From the sound of it, they go there regularly at night now. We were there in 2003.

We had a big pod of spinner dolphins run us in the bay. They held for a 1/4 hour until we stopped and jumped in for a look. That's always a nice bonus.

Any favorite dives for you?

Did you see any whales?

We got lucky and saw a group. One of which was a 10-12 foot calf.

No good dive pictures on our end. I was using a 35mm rental back then. Horrible little camera. All topside were with a cheap 1.3MP Oly.

Thanks for sharing.

Good looking collection of pictures there! Great color.

What strobes were you using? What lens were you using for the wide angle shots?

Nice.

 

Dominica is one of our favorite Carib locations to date. I've yet to see coral/sponges as healthy and large as there. Schools of Trumpet fish too. Oh look, another huge Moray..... Great dives.

 

Scott's head was our favorite. We talked the resort in to taking us back there on a night dive. They balked at the idea for some reason but did take us. From the sound of it, they go there regularly at night now. We were there in 2003.

 

We had a big pod of spinner dolphins run us in the bay. They held for a 1/4 hour until we stopped and jumped in for a look. That's always a nice bonus.

 

 

Any favorite dives for you?

 

Did you see any whales?

 

We got lucky and saw a group. One of which was a 10-12 foot calf.

 

No good dive pictures on our end. I was using a 35mm rental back then. Horrible little camera. All topside were with a cheap 1.3MP Oly.

 

Thanks for sharing.

We dived with Nature Island Dive in Souffriere and did all our dives in the marine park. Have to agree that the diving is a cut above the rest of the Caribbean.

Favourite dive site was the crater at Scotts head. Mind you the pier in front of the dive shop is quite amazing - in 5 minutes we found sea horses, a frogfish, a batfish ( one of those with the red lips ) and a bunch of juvenile drums and angels. Pilot whales are commonly seen in the area but we didn't get lucky in that way. Our night dive was awesome and we actually saw " The Thing " - a six foot gaint worm!

Good looking collection of pictures there! Great color.

 

What strobes were you using? What lens were you using for the wide angle shots?

Thanks Meister

I used my YS 120 and YS 90 Auto strobes. For wide angle I used Canon 17-40mm and Sigma 15mm Fisheye lenses.

Great pics! The water clarity looks pretty darn good!

My wife and I dove Dominica a few years ago and really enjoyed the diversity. Topside was pretty interesting, too, for the birds, hot springs, waterfalls, and mountains. We stayed at the Castle Comfort lodge, which was also very enjoyable.

Many fond memories are returning.

We too stayed at Castle comfort. It was nice but I imagine the shore diving to be much superior on the Souffriere side. We spent most of boat dives down in that area. I don't recall any dives I was not impressed with. So, to wander out for a shore dive in such conditions is quite a treat.

Ah the batfish! The elusive one. We tried so hard to get a picture. I'd love to shoot some video of one as it lights up and speeds away. Did you get any shots?

EDIT: Ah yes, theres one. http://andresmith.speedalbum.com/Caribbean...s/5D505890.html Great shot. Looks like you timed that just right.

I agree FF, the hot springs and falls were a nice treat. Beautiful views.

This was our first trip to a tropical island with any kind of elevation. The bus ride was a little un-nerving! We had a nice chuckle along the way when we encountered a pickup with a guy in the back blowing a long trumpet horn of some sort. I guess the horn on the truck didn't work anymore.....

For those that don't know, the roads there are narrow with lots of blind corners. The vehicles look tattered. Plus, no barriers on the edge. It teases the minid in the same way a shark dive does. What if it bit me? It won't..... but it could. Think positive. lol

EDIT: Might I ask what this is? http://andresmith.speedalbum.com/Dominica%.../5D1005617.html

[

Ah the batfish! The elusive one. We tried so hard to get a picture. I'd love to shoot some video of one as it lights up and speeds away. Did you get any shots?

EDIT: Ah yes, theres one. http://andresmith.speedalbum.com/Caribbean...s/5D505890.html Great shot. Looks like you timed that just right.

That is a Flying Gurnard

EDIT: Might I ask what this is? http://andresmith.speedalbum.com/Dominica%.../5D1005617.html

That is a Shortnose batfish (Ogcocephalus nasutus). Very weird creature!

Here is a another picture:

attachmentid=5429].

Ooops. Thanks for setting me straight and showing the shortnose batfish! Very cool.