Santa Rosa Ling and California's 'Rainbow Reef'

I tend to have a healthy respect for fish with teeth like a barracuda that thinks nothing of defending its nest at all costs...but this one felt like posing .

'Rainbow Reef,' at Santa Rosa Island, is a beautiful Southern California pinnacle. It starts around 60ft, and the entirety is covered in life far into the depths. Due to variable conditions, it's rare to have more than one or two opportunities to dive the site - on this attempt, even without swell, strong winds created a surface current down to ~20ft. The depth is an additional issue; I spent the majority of the dive in 80-90ft, and time is limited .

Thankfully, the reef is just inside a protected no-take area - and it's apparent. Large and small fish abound, bold and territorial, unaccustomed to divers.

A few more photos at an updated Santa Rosa gallery (the first five). All taken with Tokina 10-17 fisheye.

Loves the first one.

Also the Photo ID#1127 (slow sink) in the gallery is fabulous.

When did you dive there Matt?

I was just there myself on the vision. I wish my pics were half as good as yours. The wide angle kelp shots are killer

Thanks all.

Arnon - That shot is actually normal sync (first-curtain) with a long shutter speed. I like it too, but a lot of people seem to dislike the black shadowing .

Dave - I was there on the 12th. The Peace didn't quite make it to Miguel.

Matt,

When I click on the link in your post, or try to navigate to the Santa Rosa gallery, I get a "no images found" response.

James