Kandace: The Nomad Photographer!

There are Strange Things Done in the Land of the Midnight Sun!

 

"There are strange things done in the land of the midnight sun by the men who fish for trout;

 The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run out; 

The Northern Lights have seen strange sights, but the strangest they ever did see

was the night on the marge of the Bearclaw Lodge, I shot some imagery."

            My apologizes to Robert Service

 

Thus begins my adventures of "wild" Alaska . . .  

And, for me, that statement holds true. I have surpassed anything that I thought I was capable of accomplishing. I flew to Alaska Trophy Adventures on a very small plane, landed above the lodge on a homemade landing strip. I rode Cat 3 rapids up and down a raging river, hiked in several miles through current laden streams to photograph the Coastal Brown Bears. And, I flew out on a floatplane from one of the more remote areas of Southwestern Alaska, in Katmai National Park.

I spent three days photographing along the Alagnak Wild River, a river rich in cultural history, physical beauty, and natural resources, spawning a diverse population of fish and wildlife, about 79 miles long spilling into Bristol Bay, in southwestern Alaska. This river is managed by the National Park Service according to the provisions of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. 

Its spawning time for the Sockeyes and the Silvers so where the salmon are so are the coastal brown bears and so are the fly fishermen, and one in particular, Jim Heimer.

We landed in King Salmon amist a fog that had rolled in from Bristol Bay. Charlie, owner of Alaskan Trophy Adventures, arrived to pick us up and fly us across the terra nova tundra of Katmai National Park in his very small plane. When I saw the plane (not a float plane), I immediately asked him how we were going to land. With a twinkle in his eye and a big grin, he replied that he had a small "airport" behind his lodge. Oh, okay . . . but how many pounds can this plane hold . . . 900 lbs.  Let's just say that between Jim, Charlie and I plus the luggage, we would be cutting it close. For all my anxiety, it was a pleasant jot to Alaskan Trophy Adventures. An eco-friendly sustainable lodge that is located on scenic Alagnak River in Katmai National Park.

We were assigned to the VIP cabin with an ATV as transportation to and from the main lodge area. It’s the poster child for remote wildness. They told us to shout, “Go Away Bear” when we left the cabin just in case a bear was lurking nearby or on the deck! However, the two very large English (special breed) yellow Labs, named Winston and Kodiak, were the official canine alarm system. They would bark when bears or wolves were in the vicinity.

There was an international crowd at the lodge, most for bear viewing. The guy from Pakistan and Jim were the only ones fly fishing. I met two other photogs, which, like myself, where there to photograph the bears. Claudia, Arla and I had interesting conversations every night around cocktails and dinner mostly centered on photography. I enjoyed their company both in the field as well as at breakfast and dinner. We are already planning future photography trips.
The sunrises and sunsets were spectacular to say the least . . . each morning I was greeted with a fog hanging low across the wild river as this fiery ball made its way into the sky above. In the evening, the sun set behind the VIP cabin but produced brilliant hues of oranges, reds, and yellows across the twilight sky.

Day One

I went out with John Hyde, a professional photographer from Juneau, and our guide in a small jet-powered boat. We explored the Alagnak downstream just letting the current carry us through a meandering maze of rocks, rapids, calm waters, and shallows in search of the Coastal Brown Bear, Ursus arctos horribilis. Brown bears found inland and in mountainous habitats are called “grizzlies” while brown bears living in coastal areas are called coastal brown bears. Often you hear brown bears called “Kodiak” bears, which are a subspecies of the brown bear and isolated to Kodiak Island in Alaska. Because of the abundance of food available in the coastal areas, the coastal brown bears are much larger in size than a grizzly.

Our only bear viewing that day was a large male making his way across the tundra. We spotted the bear crossing as we made the bend in the river coming upstream. Of course the bear scambled up the 15 foot embankment with ease as soon as he made landfall. John and the guide, slipping and sliding up the embankment (it had rained the night before), managed to follow the bear. They asked if I wanted to come and I declined after seeing the struggle that John went through. However, as I sat in the boat, tied to a tree trunk, I thought of a safety issue that might present itself . . . how would I drive the boat if it broke its anchor? But a more dire consequences went running through my mind when I thought of the movie, "Grizzly," where the bear doubled back. No that wouldn't happen! Attacked by a bear or stuck in a runaway boat down a raging river with big boulders in the pathway.

Bald Eagles

We did encounter several bald eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus. This bird, as it soared in the sky above, made me realize just what defines this majestic symbol of the United States. The bald eagle represents freedom, and in wild Alaska, the last frontier, you can truly experience that freedom.

In the early morning hours at one of the first battles of the Revolution, the noise of war awoke the bald eagles. They flew from their nests, circling high above and crying out over the heads of the men that were fighting. “The eagles are shrieking for freedom,” shouted the patriots. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day Two 

We hit the “mother lode.”

We traveled an hour up river through a large canyon, where it narrows, to Lake Kukaklek.

These narrows produce Cat 3 rapids. And, according to our experienced guide, Patrick, it can be quite dangerous without a jet-powered boat to navigate through the large boulders just below the surface. But, more important, you need an experienced river runner, like Patrick, who knows the most dangerous spots in the river and how to maneuver around through rapids. One concern and always on Patrick's mind was the glare caused by the water and the position of the sun as we made our way back to the lodge.

 

 

 

 

 

We anchored the boat and made our way upstream, fighting the current on foot, carrying tripods and camera equipment through the braided headwaters of a small river, appropriate named, “Bear River.”

 

As I rounded the bend in a meandering elbow, my excitement abated into fear when my eyes first laid glaze on several large brown bears fishing for sockeye salmon not more than 20 feet away. They watched as we quietly setup on a small island.

We shot on the island for a few hours while the bears made their way fishing up and downstream, occasionally stopping to watch us and sniffing the air. Light became too harsh so we decided to move upstream to get a better angle. Of course moving upstream meant sharing the water with a 900 lb brown bear. The idea is to move slowly and quietly, well as quietly as you can, albeit in fishing waders and “Frankenstein” boots against a strong current (does make for a good workout though) with a river bottom littered in an assortment of various sized rocks. We found a great spot, and with better angle of light, we set tripods in water, mounted with the 500mm lens, and commence to fire away. Of course, it was a little daunting to have our "tushes" leaning against the riverbank with our backs to the bear trails just behind us.

 

On our way back, we had a moment of fright, when a “teenage” brown bear stopped fishing, stared straight at us, stood on his hind legs, sniffing the air and throwing his jowls around. The guide quietly had us stop, bunch together, and look straight at the bear. Of course, this was a great opportunity to get the “standing on hind legs” photo. Alas, that was not to be because the guide told me not to click that shutter. So for several frightful moments we had the infamous standoff at the “OK Corral.” But out of the corner of his eye, Mr. Bear saw a nice salmon and went back to fishing. He figured it was much more tasty than a bunch of odd shaped things in Frankenstein boots. 

Day Three

Day Three was the highlight of the trip . . . we encountered a sow and her two clubs. It was amazing to watch her fish while her clubs played and slept nearby. She watched us with caution but still continued to fish right in front of us. We were so close . . . at the most about 10 yards away. In most cases, we were only 20 feet away.

 

She watches the river from an advantage point on the bank. When she spotted her prey, she pounced in with a large leap in a thunderous splash of water and foam, for the death grip with the salmon firmly in her teeth.

Our guides, who were armed, told us that this was the first time she allowed her clubs out when humans were around.

Because of the abundance of food, the bears do not seem to mind the present of humans. However, they are the largest land based predator of North America so it goes without saying that there are rules to follow . . . strict rules for photographing bears on the border of Katmai National Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bearclaw Lodge on the Aleknagik

I apologize for reversing my timeline but I did come to Alaska to shoot bears . . .

In the first lag of our journey, we stayed at Bearclaw Lodge, located on the shores of Aleknagik Lake, near Dillingham, Alaska. While Jim fished the headwaters of Aleknagik Lake, I photographed wildlife, fish, and eagles.

Formed by glaciers, Aleknagik Lake and several other lakes in the Bristol Bay watershed, is the spawning ground of the world's largest population of sockeyes. We were surrounded by forested landscapes, cone-shaped mountains, and windswept tundra across miles of rivers and tributaries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last day, Jim fished a place called “sunshine valley” in the northernmost part of this glacier fed lake. We encountered a harbor seal so far off course . . . 75 miles off course. Our guide told us it was unusual to sight a seal this far inland. I spent about an hour shooting the seal, and we had to be cagey, with stealth moves to get as close as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All and all, some 4000 pictures later, I was blessed with the ability to photographed one of the most beautiful places in the world with its dramatic landscapes, unbelievable abundance of wildlife, brown bears, bald eagles, and a wayward harbor seal.

 Fishin' by Jim Heimer

If you are not inclined to take the risk of being eaten by grizzly bears, carried away by a bald eagle, or pummeled by raging rapids, then consider fishin’. . .

 

Alaska has some of the most prolific rivers in North America with a wider variety of sport fish than I have found anywhere else.  Although I have caught four species of trout in a single day in Colorado, I never encountered anything like Alaska.

In a single day I caught not only rainbow trout (OK, been there done that), but arctic char, Dolly Varden (very similar to the Char), lake trout, grayling, sockeye salmon and silver (also called Coho) salmon.  And all of this fishing activity took place among beautiful settings of evergreen trees, hardwoods, and tundra, with eagles, geese, ducks, and bears appearing from time to time.  I fly-fished with a guide from a jet boat and waded on the sand bars and rocky bottoms of the rivers.  Of course, you can always have a camera along, while you ride.  In fact, my guide has his DSLR and a couple of lenses in a pelican case in the boat, and he pulled the camera out a couple of times to take advantage of passing wild life.

But the big attraction was the fishin’ and especially the catchin’ that went along with it.  There are few things I enjoy more than landing a challenging fish on light fly-fishing tackle amidst drop dead gorgeous landscapes.

 

 

 

Rocks of Fire: Arches National Park

Once upon a time, a far, far away time (300 million years), God created the land now boosting of the world's densities of natural arches. An ancient sea had flowed through here and eventually evaporated leaving behind the Navajo sandstones of which erosion painted these beautiful arches seen today. 

When in the company of many landscape professional and amateur photogs alike, the conversation always turns to the Western United States, and the famous arches of Arches National Park and Canyonlands.

There are many articles on "how to photograph the arches" and searching Flickr there are thousands of photos on the arches. So, to set yourself apart from the maddening crowd, you are always thinking of new and unusual ways to be creative. And, that goes for anything, including arches. Me, I am just trying to play "catch up."

After freezing our asses off in Montana, we made a quick stopover in Moab, Utah, on our way to High Lonesome Ranch, near Grand Junction, Colorado. The weather had turned pleasantly warm but the nights and early morning hours were still quite chilly.

I came with three objectives . . . photograph Delicate Arch (the most popular arch, naturally - no creativity here) at sunset, framing the La Sal Mountain Range, star trails and night photography at Balancing Rock and a fiery sunrise at Windows arch.

Delicate Arch

The plan  . . . hike up to Delicate Arch, setup, and, as the sun was setting in the West, shoot away, in hopes of capturing the glowing reds, oranges and pinks all combined from rocks to sky. However, reality set in when I started up the trail, and I mean UP the trail. Hiking to Delicate Arch was a daunting task, climbing up as you climb in elevation.

A week later my daughter was on field assignment in Grand Junction, CO. Of course, on her weekend off, she hiked Arches and just mosed right up to Delicate Arch and back . . . no problem.

But I digressed, the park brochure lists Delicate Arch as one of the more strenuous trails.  There is a rock ledge trail just before reaching the arch, and if you have kept up with my travels, you are well aware of my serious height issues (See Porsche trip in Colorado, Aug, 2010).

 
 
I knew that but I wasn't going to let a little fear of heights stop me in my desire to photograph this iconic scene. Even with Jim's help carrying most of the load, I just couldn't make it. My little heart was beating so hard. When I reached the top of one hill, Jim said, "See those tiny people just below the ridge, that's where we have to go." All I could see was a helicopter whisking me away. I probably could have made it, my daughter always calls me a "drama queen," but I just got scared. Okay I said it, I was SCARED SH___less. So back down we went.

Needless to say, with only 30 minutes to spare, (OMG, I am sounding like Peter Lik), we traversed to Delicate Arch Viewpoint, and made the climb there. And, believe me, it wasn't much better . . . shorter maybe, but . . . walking on an 60 degree angle, okay maybe 30 degree. Do you think I could get a break, here?? Side note: For those of you unfamiliar with Peter Lik, he is an Australian photographer who is a bigger "drama queen" than me. If you don't believe me, watch his program on the Weather Channel. He does have some beautiful landscape images, though.

I was so proud of myself . . . I got to the top. It wasn't really where I wanted to be but the sunset was dynamic albeit from a different point of view, and the arch was far, prompting me to use the 70-200 telephoto lens instead of my wide angle and fisheye lens. One thing I did regret was not getting the mountains in the background. But with the help of my personal trainer and a good workout routine, I will make that climb to Delicate Arch next year!

As the sun begin its descent to the other side of the world, the rays bathed the arch with a fiery red color, and the sky turned into a maze of yellow and orange. And, after the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon. I slapped on my Singh-Ray Blue-n-Gold filter just to see what kind of effects would be produced.

At first, my idea was to do star trails perched on this granite ridge where just the slightest off balance could send your repelling down the side without a rope. It was getting dark, and I for one did not one to repel down the granite rock.

Star Trails at Balancing Rock

It was a perfect night sky, with little cloud coverage, and a beautiful foreground of the monolith called Balancing Rock towering over us. Oh yeah baby, it was going to be a STAR TRAIL NIGHT. Well except for two things . . . Balancing Rock wasn't facing North and there was this moon thing going on. Oh well, what the heck! It was dark, and we didn't have time to scout out another location.

I setup the camera and tripod, got my focus in order, check and rechecking while Jim, my engineer, got the cable release to fire off a photo every 3 minutes, 30 seconds, hoping to get at least two hours of shooting. Star trails are always better in a cool, crisp night sky because the camera battery last much longer. As my eyes adjusted to the night, I could see how beautiful the desert landscape glowed in the light of the moon. But with that knowledge, my imagination began to run rabid. What creature comes out at night? Too many horror movies over the years . . . vampires and werewolves of course. Had there been any sightings in this area? What about snakes? spiders? serial killers? Jim and I waited in the SUV, in the comfy seats, heater on, that's all, nothing more. WHAT WAS THAT THAT JUST FLEW BY? A BAT?

Sunrise at Windows/Turret Arch

Sunrise comes early when you stay out half the night doing star trails. So with a cup of Starbucks coffee, we proceeded to Windows Arch to capture the fiery hue of the red rocks as the morning glow peeks through the canyons far below.

The morning light is richer and the long shadows cast by a lower sun reflect details in the landscape not evident at midday.

Most of the famous photos taken of Turret Arch are "the frame within a frame" look shooting from North Window Arch. To get that photo, I needed to be on a small ledge with a shear drop off just on the other side of North Window Arch with my camera pointed towards Turret Arch. Even at 5 am, I didn't get there in time . . . three photogs had beaten me to the punch, and complaining that I needed to stay out of their photo!  

With a 16mm fisheye lens, I shot through North Window Arch as the sun was inching its way towards the heavens. 

In post processing, I decided to convert this same photo into black & white . . . not bad! What do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saying Farewell

Jim had a date with a rainbow trout, so reluctantly, I packed up my gear. Arches is truly one of the many wonders of the world. It was an experience I will never forget. As once said by a famous general . . . I will return.

Home on the Bison Range

Winter months have come and gone, the weather has begun to warm our faces, and my husband was ready to go fly fishing. Of course, not close by, but in frickin Montana (1930 miles one way)! The SUV packed to the hilt with fly fishing gear on one side and photographic equipment on the other and clothes stuffed everywhere and anywhere.

Weather reports out of Montana, Wyoming and Colorado were not so good, downright freezing. And, as we were soon to find out, it doesn't get warm until June up North. Our target was Blue Damsel Lodge near Missoula, MT fly fishing the three rivers.

Leaving Amarillo, TX, we encountered gale force winds, and that wind followed us through Wyoming to Montana, with temperatures hovering at 40 degrees or so.

Here Fell Custer

We stopped at the Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument which was one of the last armed efforts of the Northern Plains Indians to preserve their ancestral way of life. Even though they won the battle, they lost the war. The war to live in peace and harmony in their beloved Blackhills. Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, commander of the 7th Cavalry, and a Civil War hero, was part of a major effort by the US Government to rein in the Indians under the leadership of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and other war chiefs from the Lakota-Cheyenne tribes. On that fateful day, June 25, 1876, a major battle was fought here between 7,000 tribes of Indians and the 7th Cavalry, numbering 600 men. This is what I would call a lose-lose situation . . . Custer and 260 soldiers died that day, and it was the beginning of the end to the nomadic way of life of the Northern Plains Indians.

The white markers show where the soldiers fell on Last Stand Hill.

The remains of some officers were transferred to Eastern cemeteries. Custer's remains are re-interred at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY. (Go NAVY, BEAT Army). The rest of the command are buried in a mass grave around the base of the memorial, which bears their names.

The white marker in the center with a black emblem is where Custer fell.

Jim and I drove the Battlefield Road following the route that Custer took his men. Questions were flowing through my mind . . . why did Custer manage to put 210 men on an indefensible hill in harm's way? Especially since he was considered to be one of the reasons that the South was defeated at Gettysburg in that famous "War of Northern Aggression." (1861-1865).

And, no one knows, why Custer chose to split up his men already outnumbered. I was saddened to learn that they had shot their horses to provide them with cover as the charging indians advanced up the hill.

 

Gallatin River Lodge

We stopped for a few days at the Gallatin River Lodge, near Bozeman, Montana for relaxing, and you guess it, "FISHING." I must say, if you wanted to be pampered for a few days, this is the place. It's hyped as a romantic getaway, but, in the winter, its a stopover to winter activities in the nearby mountains of the Big Sky Country. But, we came for its world class fly fishing.

The early morning hours were the best since the wind seemed to be nonexistent. We hiked down to the river. I was constantly on the lookout for wildlife, birds, mountain lions, etc., but none were to be found. And, I heard from a great fly fisherman that the fish weren't biting either. Since my husband decided to ventured out into the river with his back to me, I aimed my camera at the other fisherman fishing upstream.

 

 Target Achieved

Along a narrow, rocky road, sort of paved / unpaved, through a deep canyon, we finally make it to the Blue Damsel Lodge. The mercury was falling fast. Unfortunately, being the first to arrive for opening season, came with it a score of issues most serious being NO HEAT in the Lodge for the first night. Fully clothed with tons of blankets, I definitely felt like "mom in her kerchup and me in my hat had just settled down for a long winter's nap." Jim loved it but I was freezing my a__ off. 

Jim spent three days fly fishing on Montana's famous rivers . . .  Blackfoot, Bitteroot and the Clark. And, I hired a professional photographer to guide me around all his secret spots. I contacted Andrew Kandel. I am no critic but his photography is probably one of the best I have ever seen next to our famous Texas photographer, Larry Ditto. He has an eye for the creative side showing the viewer "where the wild things are." If you are in Missoula, MT, and in need of a great photographic guide, please contact Andrew. Tell him "hi from a fellow Texan." You see, Andrew originates from Dallas, Texas.

Andrew and I spent the day photographing on the National Bison Range, with a backdrop of the Mission Mountains. I found it amazing at the proximity of wildlife.

The bison, or as a native Oklahoman, I call them, buffalo, were sparse.

However, a herd of pronghorns were happy to oblige our photographic needs. On the Bison range, you are not allowed off the road. We had no complaints to follow the rules . . . the pronghorns just remained eating along side us. Their protected on the range.

In Texas, you just can not get that close to pronghorns.

 

 

I was lucky because Andrew knew where the Short-eared Owls roamed on the Nine Pipe Wildlife Refuge. Just before sunset, these owls were hunting. They have an unusual wing pattern. The wings come straight up over the head and then straight down again similar to a bat. Oh but you have to be quiet when approaching these wise masters of the hunt.

I did see a herd of elk. We setup along the roadside anticipating that they would come up the hill and cross the road in front of us, which they did on their way to higher ground. But this herd had had a rough winter. Not really worth posting any photos. 

The Famous Shot 

Andrew took me to another scenic spot to shoot wide angle, HDR, and/or panorama. We traversed through the grasslands looking for the "perfect" photographic moment. Did we find one? "You betcha."

I loved Andrew's shot of an abandoned farmhouse on the open prairie lands. I hoped to get a similar shot, maybe, not as good but still acceptable! I played with HDR photography to produce this shot.

And, we did shoot the most coveted shot in the Missoula area, maybe in all of Montana. I was able to get a nice pano of it.

A lady stopped to chat for awhile. In the course of our conversation, she gave us a little history on the old barn with the Mission Mountains as a backdrop. It has graced the covers of many magazines.

Jim caught tons of fish, which I was surprised given the freezing temperatures of the rivers, and yours truly, got some nice photos thanks to Andrew.

Montana is known as "Big Sky" country, but its more than just sky, its a state of mind, a sense of ruggedness, a wildness untamed. I love the big, open spaces of both Wyoming and Montana. I hope to return some day, albeit, when the weather is much warmer.

Next stop . . . Arches National Park!

 

It's a Long Way, Baby, to Bosque del Apache!

With a Starbuck's cafe latte (tall, nonfat, no flavoring for yours truly) and a Sonic Route 44 "unsweet" ice tea (Wendy's iconic breakfast drink), and my SUV packed to the hilt, Wendy, a good friend and fellow nature photog, and I made our way to Socorro, New Mexico, in search of the migrating Sandhill Cranes, Grus canadensis, and the Lesser Snow Geese, Chen caerulescens, who winter in Southern New Mexico, at Bosque del Apache NWR (National Wildlife Reserve). It's a long way baby . . . 934 miles, 14 hrs. 39 mins. from Houston, TX.

These migratory birds have been wintering in Bosque for centuries. The wildlife refuge is made up of 57,331 acres located along the Rio Grande with areas where water is diverted to create extensive wetlands, farmlands, etc., and most of the desert lands are preserved as wilderness areas. Corn is grown for the wintering birds.

The name Bosque resonates with "birders" and nature and wildlife photographers.

During the fall and winter, it is not uncommon to see hundreds of photographers with very expensive camera equipment in tow to gather along the various ponds at sunrise to photograph the "blastoff" and/or sunset to shoot the "fly in." And, you can include Wendy and I in that mix . . . up at 4:30 a.m. to get set up before sunrise, with temperatures dropping into the low 20's.

Sandhill Cranes 

You heard it, "Follow the Money," well here it's "Follow the Cranes." And where the cranes are so are the geese. Their location can change daily, but usually the cranes are scattered about the refuge in various roosting ponds. The idea is to get the optimal spot for sunrises so that you can photograph the birds as they "blast off" into the golden light in the early morning hours.

Parts of the park were closed due to mountain lion sightings so there was no hiking in the more remote areas. Mostly, we followed the Marsh Loop and the Farm Loop.

While the geese leave at the same time, the cranes leave in groups, some leave three at a time, others ten at a time. And the numbers vary. 

Sandhills are omnivorous, and their diet will shift depending on the season, and if they are migrating or nesting. At Bosque, since they are not nesting, eat the corn in the cultivated fields. They feed in shallow water, sometimes probing with their long slender bills, or walking through short growth and fields scouring for insects, seeds, berries tubers, fruit, nuts, small mammals, lizards, snakes, frogs, rodents.

 

 

 

 

Lesser Snow Geese

New Mexico's morning sky, is filled with clouds of white and black birds, flying in unison . . . the "blast off" is definitely a sight to behold. The honking of the geese is deafening, like a roaring train coming on full throttle. Photographers, witnessing their first "blast off" at Bosque, actually forget to push the shutter release! I know because I was one of those photogs. But watch out for the bird poop! Note to self: WEAR A HAT!

Wildlife in the Loop

You have to think to yourself . . . just how many crane and geese shots do you really want or need. The routine is to finish up around 9 am, make a "potty" stop at the center, check out the gift shop, which is managed by some very nice volunteers with "Friends of Bosque," and just take a nice break. Wendy and I elected to traverse the Marsh Loop and the Farm Loop in search of other wildlife. 

New Mexico weather, in early December, can be frightful with finger numbing cold. However, by mid morning, I was shedding my layers as we made our way to the SUV. I would have to say, that New Mexico skies are "hands down" one of the most beautiful skies in the country with shades of royal blue, and sunrises and sunsets that explode in colors of orange, red, yellows.

We found this Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, with feathers all a fluff, watching us very, very carefully.

This is one of the many predatory birds that make Bosque its home.

Wendy was excited about the different species of ducks . . . but we really didn't have much luck finding anything else.

As we rounded the bend on the Farm Loop, we saw a Northern Harrier, Circus cyaneus, munching out his lunch, a just captured snow geese. And he was close. We tried to get out our equipment and setup, in dead silence, when naturally, he took off. There were white feathers everywhere.  

A few Bald Eagles winter in Bosque. At the pond area, called the "Landing Deck," there is a fairly large tree, which seems to house the Bald Eagles. The unfortunate part is it's a far way for even a 500mm lens.

Earlier in the week, we were photographing a lone heron when a Bald Eagle flew over. I was at the SUV getting a filter, and Wendy was firing away as the Bald Eagle passed directly overhead. To her dismay, she forgot to put a media card in. Bummer . . . I got a few shots off with my 70-200mm lens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Our next stop . . . White Sands Monument Park.

Sunset on the Sands

White Sands is an historical site known as the world's great natural wonders, consisting of 275 square miles of desert creating the world's largest gypsum dunefield, but also because it is surrounded by the White Sands missile range and the Holloman Air Force Base. Here's an interesting fact that I learned about the mineral, gypsum, that is the makeup of White Sands:

"Gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because it is water-soluble. Normally, rain would dissolve the gypsum and carry it to the sea. Since the Tularosa Basin has no outlet to the sea, rain that dissolves gypsum from the surrounding San Andres and Sacramento Mountains is trapped within the basin, and the rain either sinks into the ground or forms shallow pools which subsequently dry out and leave gypsum in a crystalline form, called selenite, on the surface."

When entering the park, you are advised that if you venture from the marked trails, you will need some sort of tracking device, such as a Garmin, which I had, for navigating the dunes. 

 As the sun drops in the west, the New Mexico sky turns a varied shades of purple and the dunes take on a muted violet color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After photographing a row of trees in the early morning hours at a park near Alamogorda, NM, Wendy and I headed to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, our last photographic stop to this incredibly journey we undertook just seven days ago.

 

The Cavern

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, located in the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern New Mexico, is a large cave system made up of dramatic and scenic chambers of stalactites, stalagmites, and an incredible variety of other formations. You can hike down via a natural entrance, or take the elevator, 750 feet directly below, to a large area serving lunch, a gift shop, and restroom facilities.

Since we were short on time (didn't figure it would take so long to get to Carlsbad), we took the elevator. OMG, it was a breath-taking sight to behold. We followed a lighted pathway around the Big Room to marvel in God's creation.

 

 

 

 

To think that ever so small droplets of water dripping slowly from the ceiling, over time, "soda straws" and larger stalactites appeared. Water falling on the floor created stalagmites, and when they joined, it formed a column. The Hall of Giants was probably the most impressive. These photos represent the Giant and Twin Domes.

  

I am soooo behind on my blog updates . . . check back, I'll be writing about our 16 day trip to Montana and Colorado for fly fishing and photography.

 

 

Creepy, Crawly Exotics: Diving Lembeh

We bid farewell to Bali, a land of enchantment, with bittersweet memories . . . sad to say goodbye yet excited about what lies ahead as we journey to Lembeh, in Part Two of my travels to the Far East.

Our group arrived at Lembeh Resort, in the early morning hours (2 a.m.), and I was infected with some sort of "flu-like" bug that didn't shake loose from me for two days. Consequently, I lost two days of diving.
Bummer!

Lembeh is well known for being the muck diving capital of the world. And, that's NOT a bad thing, it is a term coined to describe those small creatures that dwell in primarily black lava sand environments. 

Lembeh is legendary for where to find the creepy, crawly exotics, and may I also add STRANGE. Actually, it could be the world epicenter of weirdness, with numerous bizarre creatures like this peacock mantis shrimp.

Lembeh Resort is a hidden jewel tucked away in a small cove along Lembeh Island. The bungalows are scattered along the hillside but arranged where guests enjoy a spectacular view of the ocean and the fiery sunsets that comes each and every day.  The center building is the office, computer station, lobby, and a spacious al frisco dining area.

For seven days, I was living in a lush tropical jungle with a variety of flowers plants, and vines surrounding me yet I had the conveniences of modern day living. My large cottage had a veranda to die for overlooking the water below, the volcano and beautifully manicured lawns.

We had an "open air" bathroom. Every night after a day's worth of diving, we could bath under the stars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diving Lembeh Style

Critters@Lembeh, a premier diving operations, have their own buildings, with an uw photog's dream . . . a camera room, with separate stations to setup, each having its own charging station and a place to gather after a day of diving with comfy sofas, chairs, and a specialty coffee bar. Their lattes are to "die for."  Kerri and Herg run an extremely organized operation, that combines fun with safety. Their dive team's infectious enthusiasm did exceed my expectations -- I had my own personal dive guide, Ramly, who took very good care of my husband and me. Abner, who is exceptional as well, also led our entire group. The important thing here to remember is that the boat captain, guys helping with the gear, and our dive guides, made our diving memorable beyond belief. And, that's just how good an operation Critters@Lembeh runs. And because its so good, my husband and I will make the long, torturous journey back this year.

Every morning our gear was assembled and carried on the boat. All I had to do was get myself down to the boat.

The boats are shallow so water entries are easy with a backward roll. Every dive was an adventure beyond belief.

Most of the time you are unable to get a clear view of Gunung Klabat volcano, but this one morning I was in luck. Its the highest volcano in Northern Sulawesi, with an elevation of 6545 feet.

We had a great group of divers, all very experienced and fun. Did I emphaize FUN? For sake of a better word, let's just say there was never a dull moment on our dive boat.

 

Electric Fileclam

As I have said before, Lembeh is home to some pretty unusual critters, and one of these critters is an electric fileclam, Ctenoides ales.

It's a brilliant red color with lots of tentacles, but its most extraordinary feature is a rapid pulses of what appears to be a bright blue light constantly rippling around the edges of its mantle.

Most assume its "electricity;" hence, electric clam. And here is where it gets interesting -- those flashing lightning streaks of blue are bio-luminescent, not a form of electricity used to stun prey. These clams are actually filter feeders, which means that they feed on tiny particles of food passing through the water with the flow of current.

The name is deceiving . . .but still a beautiful sight to behold!  

Check out Jim's video below to see the "lightning" patches in action.

Hairy Frogfish

The critter king of Lembeh would have to be, hands down, the Hairy Frogfish, Antennarius striatus. To be precise, it's called a Striped Frogfish, Hairy Variation, according to Tropical Pacific, Reef Fish Identification, by Gerald Allen, Roger Steene, Paul Humann, and Ned DeLoach. And, often, you will hear them referred to as "anglerfish."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you dive with Critters@Lembeh, you're asked to fill out a "wish list" of desired creatures to photograph/see. At the top of my list, was a Hairy Frogfish. Few creatures are more fun to spot underwater due to their uncanny nature of camouflage matched by their stealthy angler. And, a Hairy is the "poster child" for anglers. Other fish lie in wait until the prey swims close to their mouth, but the frogfish lures the prey (fish, crustaceans) actively to where it can strike. The angler mimics worms, shrimp or small fish. As the prey approaches, lured in by the angler, the Hairy engulfs it in one lightning move. Recently, I saw a video where a Hairy swallowed a flounder in just a couple of gulps! It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Its not the size that matters." Jim's video below, called, "Slurpin" gives you a 60 second look into the life of a Hairy Frogfish.

Pink Anemonefish

Of the many anemonefish found in the Indo-Pacific, the pink anemonefish, Amphiprion perideraion, found on one of the most beautiful sea anemones in the world, the Magnificent Sea Anemone, Heteractis magnifica, is one of my favorites. Of course, I will always love the false clown anemonefish, better known as "Nemo."  Actually, anemonefish are a specialized damselfish, living a symbiotic relationship with various anemones. They are quite aggressive, and never far from their anemone home.

Night Dive

The rest of the group "chicken-out" on the night dive electing instead to share in the cost of an expensive bottle of wine, and have an impromptu wine party. Jim and I decided on the night dive, and we marvel in that decision. When we go back in November of this year, I plan to do two or more night dives . . . the dives are that GOOD. Now we are really talking creepy, crawling exotics when you do a night dive.

I came upon this most weird critter having never seen anything like it before, and I actually thought it was a piece of rubble. But under close inspection, I saw EYES, and they are staring at ME! Creepy. The Umbrella Shell, Umbraculum umbraculum, is a large opisthobranch species that has a very broad distribution throughout the Pacific and the Indian Oceans. The top of its body is covered in a clacified shell that protects the gills and vicera and is like an umbrella, hence, the species common name. It is part of the Mollusca genius, and quite large at 6.3 inches.

Another interesting, at the same time strange, was this type of Decorator Crab. I have no idea the exact scientific name, but it definitely reminded me of a preying mantis.

 

 

 

We found this brightly colored Humpback Prawn, Metapenaeopsis lamellata. "What big eyes you have," said Little Red Riding Hood.

 

Bobbit Worm

This scary "thing," that looks like it came straight out of the imagination of one of those graphic sci-fi artist in "Bollywood," is called a Bobbit Worm. Gee, where have I heard that name before? Actually it reminds me of the "The Tingler" in the old Vincent Price horror flick.

According to Leslie Harris of the Los Angeles History Museum, the name "Bobbit" comes from two origins. One was because the outstretched jaws resemble a pair of scissors, and the other origin is that the erected worm looks like a male reproductive organ. Okay, I'm waiting for the comments on that! Hey, I am sticking to the myth . . . the female worm attacks the male worm's organ. Often called a segmented sea worm, the Bobbit is the largest of the marine worms. It's an ambush predator who hunts at night. Rumor has it these little buggers have a nasty bite about them.

Pygmy Seahorse

I had always admired the Pygmy Seahorse photos of some of our advanced photogs in HUPS so I was anxious to get my own.   

Unfortunately, I was unable to get any Pygmy (Hippocampus bargibanti)  photos in Bali, but I hit the jackpot in Lembeh. If you didn't already know it, the male fertilizes and carries the egg pouch giving birth to baby pygmies. Now, is that just too cool or what. These little guys/gals, also known as the Bargibanti Seahorse, are at the most approximately 1/2 inch to 1 inch tall and well camouflaged. Actually, I would consider them the master of disguise since I would never of seen one without the help of my dive guide's muck stick to point him out. These guys morph into their seafan habitat. A macro lens is a must for photographing the pygmy (I used Nikon 105mm macro lens). 

On one particular dive, we were near the boat harbour channel, where we found a yellow pygmy. Our plan with our dive guide was to get in the water and head for the last known spot the little guy was. We scooted across the reef at about 50 feet, and whoa'la, there he was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rhinopias

Better known as a Weedy Scorpionfish (Rhinopias frondosa) . . .  I would probably call it the "Ultimate Scorpionfish." As with all scorpionfish, it is venomous. And, actually, most marine animals are poisonous or venomous -- it's a protective mechanism or a tool to catch their own prey. Most often the term posion or venom are used interchangeably, but the terms are different. Poisons can by its nature cause pain, sickness or death if eaten. On the other hand, venoms have these effects if injected. With the Weedy Scorpionfish, as well as its cousins the lionfish, stonefish, and catfish, have venomous spines on their backs, which they use for defense. And, this brings me to a good point . . . while diving in Indonesia, a muck stick, is a must and will come in handy to keep you off the bottom. Who knows what lingers in the shadows of the black lava sand just waiting for the unsuspecting diver to mosey their way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mandarinfish

I saved the best for last . . . Mandarinfish or Mandarin dragonet (Synchiropus splendidus), is a small, brightly-colored member of the dragonet family, and is native to the Pacific. Because Lembeh Resort is a eco-friendly resort that practices conservation both topside as well as under the sea, the local mandarinfish population is off limits for now or shall I say the mandies are taking a holiday.

But we were able to dive a small cove where a group of mandarinfish had taken up residence in a some pile of rubble in approximately 12 feet of water. Since the mandy action comes at twilight, we were in the water just as the sun was setting. I got lucky, I had the best spot. These colorful fish of the rainbow, come out to mate and I mean quite often, like every minute or so. Whewwwww. My husband, Jim, try to get video but his mega watt lighting system, just scared the little sex kittens away from their insatiable desire for SEX. Next time, he will use my focusing light to film his video. And, Lembeh enforces strict rules on the photographing time with these "butterflies of the sea world," we were ONLY allotted 30 minutes. And, that's great practice, thank you Lembeh.

The mardarinfish is one of the most breath-taking fish of the underwater world. It looks more like an intricate painting than a fish. Unfortunately, its beauty may become its downfall. Due to its natural beauty, it is heavily collected throughout the Indo-Pacific for the saltwater aquarium trade. I have read article after article about the indiscriminating capturing of wild marine animals to be sold with the vast majority of fish, marine inteverbrates, plants, and reef creatures sure to perish within a month. These delicate fish do very poorly in captivity. They have special dietary needs that are not met by the vast majority of aquarium hobbyists that buy one resulting in a slow starvation. 

Just scan the internet for fish, and you will find countless website dedicated to selling saltwater fish. We have a serious problem in the Caribbean with the lionfish, resulting from the release of captive lionfish in an aquarium during a hurricane. I cannot stress enough to ban places that sell wild saltwater fish, to ban restaurants that display aquariums, and more importantly, do not become an hobbyists yourself. Leave that to the large commerical aquariums, like the one in Monterey, California or the one in Galveston, Texas. They have marine biologists on duty to monitor the well being of the marine animals and/or plants. 

Jim Heimer's Videos

Mr. Heimer, again, has given me permission to post two of his videos on my blog site for your enjoyment. His first video is called, "Slurpin," and its about a feeding hairy frogfish.

 

And, this next one is the electric clam firing on all cylinders.

 

In December, 2010, I traveled with a good friend and fellow diver, Wendy McSwain, to Bosque del Apache, New Mexico, for wildlife photography and the opportunity to capture the migratory Sandhill Crane. So keep checking back. And, as always, comments are most definitely welcome . . . good or bad.

 

The Road to Bali: An Unspoiled Land Invigorating the Soul

  Tulamben

And, 40 hours later, via Moscow, Russia, we landed on the island of Bali, Indonesia, where the heat and humidity is atrocious, and we thought us Texans could withstand any assault on our bodies due to heat. NOT! For the next 21 days, Indonesia would be our home. 

 

 

Indonesia, geographically, is located in Southeast Asia, predominately in the Tropic of Capricorn, with the equator cutting through the middle. The Indonesian archipelago consists of 17,508 islands, of which 6,000 are inhabited.

 

 

 

We traveled to the mecca of diving, Tulamben, which is located on the northeast side of Bali. We were part of a "group" of Houston Underwater Photographic Society (Hups) members, who ventured to the other side of the world to dive the world class reefs and photograph the biodiversity of fish life in the crystal clear waters surrounding this island.

Jim and I had a beautiful room, overlooking the ocean and the beautiful swimming pool below, at the Villas of Tulamben Wreck Divers . I guess our only inconvenience was the ride to and from the dive shop and to dinner on the back of a scooter. Driving in Indonesia is dangerous, and on a scooter, its just plain crazy. Once the rest of our group finally arrived, we had a van to take us around. However, coordinating transportation for nine people was not an easy task.

Tulamben Wreck Divers also have a small resort located in the back of the dive shop, with a nice "Al fresco" type dining, which gives a cozy atmoshpere. The swimming pool, surrounded by tropical plants and trees, makes you seem you are on your own private island. if we go back, we will definitely stay at the resort just for the convenience of its location. However, which ever place you stay, you will not regret it.

  

 

  

Diving the Reefs of Tulamben, Bali

Diving is made easy by the hard working Balinese people. We had our own private dive guide who insured my entry/exit in the water along a rocky shoreline was done safely. Every day the dive guide geared up our equipment and tanks. One of the many young Balinese girls carried the gear on her HEAD from the dive shop to the shore. It was amazing to watch the extreme balance and stability required by these "scuba girls."

The shore diving can be treacherous due to the rocks and boulders in the water. And, with my back issues, it was reassuring to have, Eri, my dive guide, help me and my camera into the water, not to mention, the BEST dive guide at finding the smallest of critters.

For years, Jim and I have been diving mostly the Caribbean and Hawaii. This was our first time diving Indonesia.

When the Bali Sea opened its arms of liquid gold to me, I found myself floating in a world of amazement. The bio-diversity of fish species was too numerous to count, and the soft corals danced in the sunlight displaying their brilliant colors much like the iridescence of a peacock. My head spun . . . there was so much to shoot, I didn't know where to begin first. So I stayed focused on specific targets I wanted to accomplish in photographing this spectacular underwater world.

I knew immediately that I would be back, and soon.

False Clown Anemonefish

This beautiful fish were made popular in the movie, Finding Nemo. The clownfish, false clownfish, or the false clown anemonefish, Amphiprion ocellaris, is found in an anemone, and has a symbiotic relationship with its host. The sea anemone has stinging tentacles which paralyze the predators who come close enough to touch. The scientific belief long held is that these clownfish have a special biochemical makeup in their mucus layer that provides protection from the stinging cells. The anemonefish grooms its anemone host to keep it free of parasites and debris. There are conflicting reports about the protective relationship between anemonefish and their sticky hosts.

One theory is that they chase off small creatures that prey on the anemone; the other is that false clowns lure fish for the anemone to kill and eat. What is certain is that the rather clumsy anemonefish cannot live without their anemones. And without their clowns, some anemones are quickly destroyed by predators such as butterfly fish and turtles, which are immune to the anemone's stings.

Blue Ribbon Eel

Also, known as Ribbon Eel, Rhinomuraena quaesita, grows up to 36 inches. The male is blue with a yellow dorsal fin. The juveniles are jet black with a yellow dorsal fin. These elegant creatures are native to the Indian and Pacific oceans.

The ribbon eel is a carnivore, making a diet of shrimp, crabs, small fish. It has a lifespan of 20 years in the wild. However, most ribbon eels do not live longer than a month in captivity, i.e., an saltwater aquarium. Most feel that this species should never be purchased. Ribbon eels have been observed in nearly every case to stop eating after being captured.

I cannot stress enough the importance to boycott saltwater aquariums, establishments that have a saltwater aquariums, and places that sell saltwater fish and/or creatures for the saltwater aquarium trade unless they are farmed raised and not captured in the wild. The internet is prolific with resellers of Indo-Pacific and Caribbean fish at very cheap prices. I know for a fact that Hawaii's beautiful fish population is being decimated by commercial fish traders raiding the shallow reefs. Indonesia is a third world country and among one of the poorest, who could and would thrive on the stealing of Indo-Pacific fish.

Harlequin Shrimp

The Harlequin Shrimp, Hymenocera elegans, is a small shrimp that only diets on sea stars. To see and photography this beautiful creatures of white with bold reddish brown and purplish circular markings ringed in blue (and its not just blue but a regal blue), I was going to have to go deep because they live on the sea bottom at 70-75 feet.

You see, I have had this fear of diving deep since I was involved in a dive accident many years ago. If I wanted to photograph the Harlequin Shrimp, then I would have to "bite the bullet," and make my descent into the "belly of the beast." It actually turned out to be no problem since Bali's bottom topography was sloping. I just followed the nature slope always maintaining eye contact with the bottom to reach the Harlequin shrimp.

What's unnerving is cruising along a shallow bottom, then find yourself over a drop off of 6,000 feet, like Bloody Bay Wall, in the Cayman Islands, staring into the abyss. Hopefully, I can overcome this phobia -- I better because I'm heading for Cayman Brac this year where the walls are 6,000 feet deep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Capital of Nudibranchs

In all my years of diving, I only had a few "nudibranch" shots, and these are usually classified as flatworms or sea slugs from Hawaii and the latter, Bonaire. On many websites, one being DivePhotoGuide and at the Hups photo contests, I would see these beautiful photos of colorful nudibranchs, and swore that someday I would have these images too.  I had heard from the Hups experts that, in Bali, there were an abundance of "nudis," as they are so affectionately called by us scuba divers. The next time you want to impress a diver, just drop the ole, "nudi" word on him/her. You will get the nod of acceptance. But I digress . . .

At the dive site, Scuba Seraya, there is a part called "Nudi City," where there are so many different varieties of nudibranchs. It reminded me of an ant colony at a Sunday picnic. On almost every rock, in the sand, on coral heads, there was a nudi, or several nudis.

Nudibranchs are of the family of taxonomic clad, according to Wikipedia, and of that, there are more than 3,000 species. They are carnivorous, feeding on sponges, hydroids, tunicates, barnacles, anemones, or other sea slugs, and some, eat their own. Most are quite small, some are camouflage to avoid predators but most have intensely bright colors and contrasting patterns, signaling that they are poisonous or distasteful. These miniature sirens of the sea have always fascinated me. I know of one underwater professional photographer, Jeff de Guzman, who has some exquisite photos of nudibranch eyes. They are small enough, and very difficult to see, let alone getting photos of their eyes! I actually got some nice images so I was thrilled over the prospect of having this Bumpy Mexichromis laying eggs. They usually deposit their eggs in a gelatinous spiral. 

Ornate Ghost Pipefish 

Ornate Ghost Pipefish, Solenostomus paradoxus, must rank among the most exotic creatures inhabiting the shallow seas of Earth, growing to an approximate 4.5 inches. I found these two, well, actually there were three, hidden in the fronds of crinoids (feather stars). Apparently, they can vary in color from black to red and yellow, and another interesting fact is they are sexually dimorphic. Carnivorous in nature, they feed on shrimps, which are sucked whole into their mouths. I couldn't believe my luck, with a little help from my dive guide, Eri, to find, not one, but three ornate ghost pipefish. Because of their ability to camouflage themselves to the crinoids, they were extremely difficult to see.

Diving the Liberty Ship

Bali’s most famous dive site, the Liberty Ship, a 393-foot long shipwreck, rests in 90 feet of water just off the beach, across from the Tulamben Wreck Divers' shop.  

The story goes that the ship was hit by a Javanese torpedo during World War II, as she laid at anchor off the coast of Lombok. Apparently the ship was damaged badly. The Navy's plan was to tow the ship to Singaraja harbor (northern Bali) but because it began taking on water, it was intentionally stranded on the rocky beach of Tulamben. 

For 21 years she stayed there gathering rust. But the fatal eruption of the volcano Gunung Agung, in 1963, and the ensuing violent lava flow, she was pushed to her present location under the sea. During this process the hull broke into two pieces. Now she is laying only 30 meters from the Tulamben beach on a sandy slope 90° on her side parallel to the shore, in 19 to 95 feet of water. An amazing growth of encrusting animals cover the wreck, marine biologists estimate that about 400 different species of reef fish live on the Liberty. It is not usual for this site to be visited by big pelagic species, like reef sharks and schooling Bumphead Parrotfish.

There are a couple of impressive swim throughs, but one must be cautious because the structure of the wreck is unstable, every year parts collapse. 

Because of its popularity, the best time to dive the Liberty is early in the morning before the herd of divers muck the place up. And, at that time, you stand a better chance of photographing the resident schooling Bump Parrotfish. Of course, did I get the Bump Parrotfish, yeah I did, was it blurry? Hell Yes! Often we underwater photographers do stupid and silly things, like leaving a lens cap on the lens in the underwater housing, forgetting to put media cards in the camera, and the list can go on and on. My stupid and silly thing for the day was to forget to change the focus button on the housing to "S," which means auto focus on a Nikon/Subal UW system. So here I come with the 16mm fisheye lens, perfect for use when diving shipwrecks, shooting away as I swam around the wreck. And, what to my surprise, as I made it through a large hole in the wreck but these huge Bump Parrotfish swimming right by me. Of course I fired away, checking my LCD screen and histogram, knowing I had aced the shot and marveling in the oddity of this fish's shape. I hadn't seen anything that big since Jim and I dove Cod Hole on the Great Barrier Reef in the latter part of the 20th century (sounds old doesn't it), where we saw Giant Potato Cods. About half way through the dive, I realized my blunder, and switched to "S" on my housing. Of course, I had to go back to photograph everything I could but the Bump Parrot was gone. It's blurry but at least I can say I have a photograph of a Bump Parrotfish.

Journey to Ubud

Ubud is what I would call, the "metropolitan" area / town, located in the central foothills in the Gianyar regency of Bali amongst rice paddies and steep ravines. One of Bali’s major arts and culture centres, it has developed a large tourism industry.

Ubud has a population of about 8,000 people, but it is becoming difficult to distinguish the town itself from the villages that once surrounded it.

We stayed approximately three days at the Honeymoon Guesthouse, while in transit from Tulamben to Lembeh Straits, on the Northern part of the island of Sulawesi, which is the second part of my journey. Its a small "open air" hotel of the traditional Balinese style. We were served breakfast every morning on our outside patio, amidst the lush tropical gardens. Having no clue as to exactly where we were in Ubud, it's a great place to be based out of -- we were within a five minute walk for most everything, except the Barang Culture Centre, Bali Bird Park, Monkey Forest, and many of the local artist shops. We had our own driver, which makes for a SAFE journey from Point A to Point B. Trust me, you do NOT want to drive in Bali.

Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

Located South of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, is the Mandala Wisata Wenara Wana or to us tourist, the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. The Monkey Forest is deserted and neglected for the most part, which in Bali is especially creepy. Within the Monkey forest is a cemetery, a cremation area, and a temple. The temple is referred to as "The Temple of the Dead" by the Lonely Planet guide. 

Outside the entrance to the Monkey Forest, there are signs prohibited feeding the monkeys. But enterprising "Ubudnites" sell bananas to  . . . you guessed it, FEED THE MONKEYS. Don't let anyone tell you a monkey is stupid because these guys had a strategy and the ability to implement a plan. If you have a bunch of bananas, thinking that you'll feed one banana at a time, forget it! They will have none of that, jumping on you, taking all the bananas, and screaming about it, too. These monkeys are wild, even though they live amongst humans, and they are aggressive. Just try to get close if you don't have any food. They bare their teeth at you, hissing like a snake. And, they bite!

 

 

We visited this mystical place during the ceremony of the New Moon. The Balinese women bring offerings on their heads to the temple. One enterprising monkey took this opportunity to get some well selected fruits and nuts by charging the poor unfortunate woman, jumping on her head, knocking the offering off and onto the ground scattering food everywhere. Monkeys came from the jungle as an invading force, converging on the refuse, screaming, fighting, baring teeth, etc. Jim opined that more monkeys should adopt this technique.

Bali Bird Park

Before we left, several members of Hups recommended a visit to the Bali Bird Park while in Ubud. It should NOT BE MISSED. And, they were right. All of Bali could not surpass the beauty and diversity of the Bali Bird Park. Within five acres of botanical landscape, the park provides sanctuary to approximately 1000 birds of 250 different species. There is a plethora of sights to see . . . the largest and finest collection of Indonesian birds in the world, plus exotic birds from Africa and South America.

My main goal -- to photograph the world's rarest bird, the Bali Starling.

 

The Bali Starling, known in Indonesia as jalak Bali Starling, is a beautiful white song bird, endemic to Bali, and are critically endangered. Its song and color is much desired, bringing high prices on the Asian black market. These birds were stolen and sold, and just like shark fin soup, or tiger claws and balms, their numbers were decimated. In 2006, there were approximately 10 birds in the wild. However, with efforts by the Balinese people, a breeding program is underway, and new birds are being released into the wild on Nusa Penida. The new count for 2009 was 100+.

 

I was vicariously transported to the tropical rainforest of Papua New Guinea as I wandered through the oversized aviaries in the park. Filled with tropical plants and trees, waterfalls, and dozens of different species of birds, each categorized for that region of the world, made for an amazing journey. 

There are hidden pathways to explore where I encountered the Greater Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea apoda) at a feeding station.

I walked the swing suspension bridge bringing me into the homes of many birds as they rested on the tree branches.

I ventured through the Far East Indonesia area, home to the extraordinary Komodo Dragon, a giant carnivorous lizard, which is a direct descendant to the dinosaur.

Komodos are a dangerous predator, often known to eat humans. Once bitten by a Komodo, its victim will be poisoned, and will slowly die over 1-3 days. The Komodo Dragon follows its prey, until it can no longer run, or until it dies, and then he eats it (dead or alive).

There is no known cure for the poison of a Komodo bite, and the only creature which is immune to this poison, is the Komodo itself.  The only thing separating me from the "man-eating" komodo was a four- foot concrete wall. These guys are fast, really fast . . . could they make a running stab at catching momentum in hopes of scurrying over the wall? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barong Dance

Another must see event was the Barong Play. I did want to experience the cultural aspects of Bali, imbued in Hindu heritage. The Barong Play is an allegory about the ongoing battle between good and evil.

The Barong, a mythological animal, represents a good spirit and the Rangda, the mythological monster, represents evil. The face of the Barong is seen in all aspects of Balinese life, from their religion to their architecture. 

I did enjoy watching the colorful costumes and gold bling of the Balinese dancers . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Batur: East of Java

Mount Batur, located on the southeastern part of Bali, Indonesia, is an active volcano, with its last eruption in 2000. I was there having Indonesian food at a restaurant located at 10,000 feet elevation overlooking the volcano. Had I known this was an active volcano, I probably would have passed on this adventure, especially since a volcano near Jarkata, Indonesia had erupted, while we were in Bali, causing death and destruction. However, I have to admit that Batur is a spectacular piece of scenery, exhilarating the soul. There are many activities in the area . . . trekking to the summit and cycling the roads to the volcano.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our way down from the volcano (no we did not do the trek) in our own motor vehicle, we stopped to photograph the lush green rice paddies, accented by the mysterious clouds surrounding Mt. Agung in the distance.

As we traveled around the outskirts of Ubud through the rich agricultural land, we passed many rice paddies. For centuries, the local farmers have planted and harvested the rice much like their ancestors before them.  On this particular road, we passed over the rice as it was being dried. Yes you heard me  . . .  the tires drove right over the rice. So the next time you order rice?  And that is why I never eat rice, well maybe sometimes I eat rice. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DIVE VIDEO

Another short video of the Liberty Wreck at Tulamben. Unfortunately, my husband called it the Victory Wreck, please forgive him, he is slightly "senile." 

 

 

 

The best was yet to come . . . diving in the Muck Capital of the World!

 

 

"Batten Down the Hatches:" Prepare for Tropical Storm Nicole

I wanted to get another dive trip in before our trip to Bali / Lembeh to practice shooting super macro. So off we went to catch the Aquacat, harboured in Nassau, The Bahamas for a week of diving the Exuma Cays.  

The waters of Exuma Cays have been managed as a "no-take marine fishery reserve" since 1986, allowing populations of commercially important species such as queen couch, Nassau grouper and spiny lobster to thrive. Sea turtles swim throughout coral reefs teeming with marine life.

Exuma Cays, located about 65 miles southeast of the Bahamian capital Nassau, was the first land and sea park in the world. It is also the oldest national park in the Bahamas, which was established in 1959. The park is mostly water, the land is a vital refuge for a small mammal called the hutia, several rare and endangered iguana species and marine birds which nest in the high bluffs.

We checked in Saturday evening at 6pm, had dinner onboard, and enjoyed a lengthy introduction to the crew, the yacht and the safety procedures. Early Sunday morning, we motored to Exuma on the Aquacat, a luxury long-range cruising yacht, live aboard dive boat of 102 feet. We were on a week long adventure diving the most pristine areas in all the Bahamas. 

Little did we know how south everything was going to turn . . . weatherwise. 

Diving!

Sunday and Monday were great days of diving even though the winds had started to pick up making exit/entry into the boat somewhat challenging. The visibility was not good.

Unfortunately, we saw lionfish on most dives. The Bahamian Government has chosen NOT TO KILL the bast*****. So what can you do? But of course, take pictures! These fishes really are beautiful, especially when they face you off and spread their deadly spines at you. Like I said earlier, I wanted to practice super macro by shooting very small things. I scoured the reef looking for my favorite "small things," i.e., blennies but I could not find any blennies. Why? You guess it. Lionfish are voracious eaters of small marine creatures and sometimes fish larger than themselves.

These predators of the sea can consume 20 small wrasses during a 30-minute period.

Unfortunately, there are no known natural predators, and lionfish pose a major threat to the coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean. At the end of this post, my husband filmed a lionfish setting up for a kill.

I did get some shots of Queenangels and a female southern stingray as she glided over the reef. The interesting thing I notice diving here in the Exuma Cays was the numerous queenangels and schools of gray angels. I assume this is because of the remoteness of the small archipelago.

We had an interesting encounter with a strange, misshapen sucker fish, named a sharksucker or remora to most people. This remora had an affection for my husband, Jim.

He kept swimming around Jim in an attempt to attach himself to Jim's scuba tank or leg. 

 

 

 

These fish are actually harmless. If the remora's grip occurs, you can easily get free by pushing forward. Sharksuckers are usually found attached to sharks, mantas, turtles, etc. They form a commensal relationship where one organism benefits but the other is unaffected. Remoras are primarily tropical open-ocean dwellers, however, we found this remora in shallow, coastal waters. We figure that it lost its host, possibly a shark or turtle since we were seeing numerous sharks on almost every dive. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Natives are Restless

Monday afternoon we motored over to a small island famous for the indigenous Northern Bahamian rock iguanas (Cyclura cychlura). The greeting party was there to welcome us with open arms . . . or shall I say to snatch whatever food we brought. They love bright colored toenails so the ladies had to cover their bare feet in the sand or have their toes nibbled on my a small ugly lizard. My photo won "over all" best photo in the weekly photo contest voted on by my fellow cruising passengers. I was very excited since I have never won anything with a prize. . . a nice Aquacat thermo cup and a chance to win a free trip on the Aquacat. Personally, I wished my Lionfish photo had won since it was an underwater shot.

 

Tropical Storm Nicole

In all of my 22 years of diving, and my many adventures on different live-aboard dive boats, I will never forget the week of September 25, 2010 onboard the Aquacat, riding out Tropical Storm Nicole in a protected cove somewhere in the Exuma Cays, Bahamas.

Apparently, the storm formed quickly in the Northwestern Caribbean Sea in the early morning hours of Wednesday, September 29. It quickly moved across Cuba, Jamaica, Caymans, and the Bahamas, with sustained winds of 40 mph. In its wake, it left flash flooding and driving rains, killing eight people in Jamaica. 

We begin to experience rain and wind late Monday afternoon. The Monday night dive became a real adventure for thirteen divers, and for some, it was their first night dive. The word came down the pike that the Aquacat broke its mooring and drifted away. No one on board, including yours truly, knew of the dire straits we were in. The warning went up when the topside spotters could not find the night divers.

After searching for the mooring line for several scary minutes, the divers surfaced and started flashing their dive lights in an desperate attempt to signal the boat. They had two divers in some distress so they made a circle and held hands so as not to let anyone drift away. Finally the spotters saw the lights, jumped in the dinghy to retrieve the divers. As, Robert Louis Stevenson's famous poem states, "Here he lies where he long'd to be; Home is the sailor, home from the sea, And the hunter home from the hill."

Tuesday, winds begin to really pick up, producing 3 foot swells making exit/entry into the boat challenging to say the least. After a stunning dive, called The Church, one diver sustained serious injury attempting to re-entry the boat. They aborted one dive in the afternoon due to rain and wind gusts.

I am sure all of us have had at one time or another a sense that something was wrong. You just couldn't put your finger on it. Some might say the rising of fine hairs on the back of your neck. Call it a foreboding, a warning!

I rose early Wednesday morning before dawn to capture the sunrise. What's the old saying, "Red sky in morning, sailor take warning." And, was it ever a RED SKY! Reds and oranges shot out across the horizon. It's interesting that we were not told of the pending storm until just before lunch.

After breakfast, several of us elected to take the skip over to the Warderick Wells Exumas Park Headquarters to hike the trail to Boo Boo Hill, famous for its collection of boaters' signs and the magnificant 360 degree panorama. There is a small harbour and several buildings, one being a gift shop. I asked the guy who runs the gift shop if a storm was brewing. He confirmed my suspicion. A tropical depression had formed, and if it began a circular path it would be called Tropical Storm Nicole. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I met a very nice lady from South Africa, named Somari. A few times in this old world it happens. You meet someone who just fits right into your heart as a dear friend that it seems you have know forever. Somari is just that person. She was such a delight always touting an upbeat attitude. Her passion is diving and it shows. All in all we had a great group of divers, but I will always remember Somari, and I hope we will be diving again together. She's the lady in the bikini t-shirt. She told me this photo on the t-shirt was modeled after her body earlier in life. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to the boat to find that the Aquacat had attempting a run to one of the dive sites in hopes of getting divers in the water. It was too difficult to maneuver in 50 mph winds and six foot seas so they aborted the dive. Can you believe divers were actually going to dive in those conditions, and that's includes my husband.

Shortly before lunch, Captain Kirk told us that Tropical Storm Nichole was bearing down on us or at least the dirty side so we made our way to a protected cove and rode out the storm. The cove was a "hang out" for pirates in its heyday.

All diving was cancelled for Wednesday so the bar was OPEN! The storm seemed to get worse late Wednesday night with that familiar roaring sound of a train (just like Hurricane Ike). I couldn't decide rather to get dress and stand guard on the top deck just in case this storm was turning into a hurricane or go back to sleep and pray! I decided sleep was the better option. Jim slept through the whole thing.

Shark Dive

Thursday turned out to be partly sunny except we still had 15-20 mph winds. The shark dive was great, vis not so. Basically the drill was to get in the water as a group, descend to the bottom and form a circle back up to a small wall, and watch the feeding frenzy, staying out of the circle of the DEATH, i.e., food source for the sharks, groupers, jacks, etc. The dive master carried the frozen "Popsicle" of fish guts, attached to a long rope to a 15' height and attached the end to a mooring loop on the top of the reef. The sharks started attacking the Popsicle almost immediately. It was exciting and exhilarating. I shot with my 12-24mm wide angle lens and a dome port. Marty Snyderman wrote a excellent article in last month's Dive Training magazine, about shooting sharks. He said a common mistake was to shoot too wide. A 50mm to 28mm lens on a camera with full frame sensor was usually a better choice. Since I am shooting a Nikon D200, with 1.5x crop factor, the 12-24mm lens worked out fine for me. My idea was to get a dramatic shark photo as the shark was coming straight for me, with mouth agape and rows of razor-sharp teeth exposed. I rose in the water column to get closer to the bait ball. One shark did come straight for me. I waited to get the maximum close up shot and just when I was ready to pull the trigger, the shark made a sharp turn leaving me with a side shot and tail end shot. Bummer! I tried this several times but each time the shark dodged me. Anyone know how to do this, let me know in the comments.

I would say there were approximately 12 reef sharks, and the rest, were the usual moochers . . . groupers, snappers, jacks!

It was amazing to watch the relationship or hierarchy of the feeding frenzy. The larger sharks came in first, then the smaller sharks, leaving the leftovers to the groupers and jacks, and crumbs to snappers. But when it was all said and done, who made off with the last remaining large chuck of Popsicle? The dang grouper!

I wish I had two tanks of air, an hour just wasn't enough for me. Sharks are beautiful creatures of the sea. It is a disgrace to see what is happening on a large scale to the shark population. If you haven't heard, it's shark finning. Commercial fishing hunts down the sharks, cut of the fins, and throw them back into the water to drown a horrible death. Please do NOT eat shark fin soup nor patronize a restaurant that serves shark fin soup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wreck Diving

Our last day of diving turned out to be our best day of diving, excluding the shark dive, of course. As we returned to Nassau, we moored to a buoy just offshore the Atlantis, the mega ocean-themed resort with a huge aquarium filled with mantas, sharks, rays, eels, and all other types of marine life. Jim and I have stayed there a couple of years ago with our entire family. Believe me, it should be on your bucket list! It is definitely a place to explore a world beyond extraordinary.

The first dive was a deep, wreck dive called the Triple Wrecks. The three wrecks sit on the bottom at approximately 110 feet. It was a milestone for me since I have long since stop diving deep. To me, deep diving is 70+ feet. I really enjoy staying shallow to photograph the marine life on the reef. Since I had not been diving as much due to the storm, I decided to "bite the bullet" and GO DEEP. And, for my daring adventure, I was reward with an absolutely beautiful dive. The visibility was crystal clear. As I descended to these leviathans of the deep, I spotted a large green moray eel swimming freely. Unfortunately, the eel spotted me too and made mad dash for under the ship. One of the wrecks harbored an abnormal amount of Nassau groupers. I couldn't decide if this was a nursery.

The second dive was a shallow wreck dive, called the Wreck of the Mahoney. This mighty freighter, registered at 212 feet, sank during a hurricane in 1929. She sailed under four different names but no one knows how she got the name Mahoney. Originally named Candance, sailing as a private yacht (almost named after me). Whe she sunk, she broke into two so she is scattered with the bow and stern separated by about 100 yards. We stayed around the boilers. I have never seen so much life schooling around this wreck. There were grunts, margates, queenangels, lionfish, trumpetfish, dog snappers, gray angelfish, Nassau groupers. A carpet of Sea Fans, each habitated by Flamingo tongues. This would make a great night dive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So as our wonderful adventure on the Aquacat came to an end, we knew we would be back. The Aquacat is definitely the "Lexus" of liveaboard diving. It is harboured in an assessible place, Nassau, Bahamas. In normal conditions, diving off the "Cat" is easy. The crew shows professionalism at every turn . . . the chef, the dive masters, the captain, the engineers, etc.

Just days after returning home, we received a letter from the Aquacat apologizing for the turn of events of our week of diving. So they offered us $600/diver off a return trip! In most cases, weather is never a guarantee especially when you are diving during hurricane season in the Hurricane belt. Now, that's customer service if you ask me.

Dive Video

My husband, Jim, the awarding winning underwater videographer, did a video of diving on the Aquacat. At the end of the video, he filmed a strange behavioral pattern of a grey angelfish. 

 

It's a Love Affair with Bonaire

I was glad to be back in the water, diving again, and what better place than the beautiful sapphire blue waters of Bonaire. My spinal surgeon had advised me not to dive in Little Cayman and Grand Cayman in May, 2010, so that I could dive in Bonaire, in June, and Lembeh Straits in November..  

The Digital Photo and Video Shootout was in Little Cayman this year so we had no other reason to come back to Bonaire except to dive, shop, and relax! We tried a different place this year because of a great deal that was offered last October by Plaza Resort. And, by comparison, it was a sweet deal compared to the awful costly trip last year at Capt. Don's. We dove with Toucan Diving, which ran a professional diving program, with nice size boats, easy exit/entry, knowledgeable divemasters, and paramount safety procedures. For me, with extreme back issues, they we very helpful in getting me in and out of the water with little impact to my back. . . Thank you Carolyn, Sherman, Erika, and Capt. Eddy! The resort is high quality with a swimming pool, hot tub, nice beach for shore diving, snorkeling or swimming completely protected from boat traffic, a "fun" beach bar, and two upscale restaurants, one with a beautiful view of Bonaire's dramatic sunsets, but pricey. Oh, did I mention the food was great, even the bar food at the Coconut Crash Bar. Probably the only negative is the distance to travel to/from the dive shop or main building. The dive shop provides cute wagons to carry your dive gear and cameras to the on site shore diving locations (I took a photo of the wagons but now I can't find it), of which there are two . . . 18 Palms and Coconut Crash Bar. Unlike the dreadful Capt. Don's setup, the locker rooms are spacious, however, not as good as Divi Flamingo. There is a place to hang up your wetsuit for "airing out" with a nice breeze. Lockers are strategically located in proximity to the dive boats giving way to easily getting gear and cameras loaded on the boat. To complement this arrangement, Toucan Diving has several rinse tanks, with a special one dedicated to regulators. What I liked was the location of the camera rinse tanks completely separated from the other gear rinse tanks making it less likely for some fool to put their gear in the camera tanks by accident or pure laziness. There is plenty of covered tables and a clean shower and restrooms.

Because of the horrendous night flight (leave at Midnight, arrive at 5:30a.m the next morning) to Bonaire from Houston, we were wiped out the first day. We did manage to get our diving setup, pick up our rental SUV, eat something, and crash in bed. Sunday, we did one shore (checkout) dive and an afternoon boat dive. The rest of week, we managed three dives a day, mostly up north and on Klein Bonaire. We did Rappel, a dive site know for its healthy soft corals. The boat ties up only a very short distance from the 130 foot wall above with a pounding surge. It does make for some "hairy" exits/entries into the boat. Similarly, was Karpata, 1000 steps and La Dania's Leap, all with a nice drop off, flowing soft, hard and elkhorn corals. My only complaint was the serious smothering of red algae. 

The northern dive sites, as well as most of the areas on Klein Bonaire we dove, were known for wide angle photography. Of course, this afforded me the opportunity to practice some close focus wide angle with my 16mm fisheye lens and domeport. Before coming to Bonaire, I had read an excellent article by Dr. Alex Mustard, an awarded winning and well known underwater photographer, about close focus wide angle photography (CFWA). I was attempting to try my hand at his techniques. I didn't get the dynamite photos he had in his article of South Pacific corals but did get a few nice shots. My model was not exactly well versed in the "ways" of underwater modeling but what kind you expect with "freebies."

My main purpose for diving the calm waters of Bonaire was to practice super macro underwater photography with the macromate in preparation for the muck diving of Lembeh Straits where there is mimic octopus so small it fits in a small clam shell or small critters, maybe a 1/8" high or a Pygmy seahorse the size of a fingernail.

In a recent issue of Alert Divers, I read Ned DeLoach's article on the jawfish in Bonaire. I had hoped to photograph the male yellow headed jawfish releasing 1mm offspring into the night, found at the dive site, Front Porch. Guess what?? I had come during the right season. And, I so wanted a photograph of the "yawning" frogfish, which eluded me last year. But all of this, again, slipped away like sand in an hour glass since the dive boats only went to wide angle locations, and Jim didn't want to do any shore dives because he didn't want to carry all the gear and tanks. Maybe next year!

However, the highlight of my trip was what I called, "Terror on the Reef: Eaten Alive" (Jim wanted to call it "Pasta Night on Klein Bonaire"). In my opinion, I caught one of the best fish behavior sequences when a Dog Snapper (Lutjanus joco) swam pass me with his dinner, a Goldentail Moray (Muraena miliaris), for the day was gripped tightly in his "jaws of death."  I just stared in awe at the frightening sight of the poor eel being eaten alive and screaming for help! Technically, the photos have some issues since I shot with a much slower shutter speed than normal. I was afraid if I went for the faster shutter speed, the photos would be too dark, especially since I was working with only one strobe, 105mm lens and some distance. Personally, I believe it's an award winning shot just for the unusual fish behavior caught on digital.  

Unfortunately, I was alone when I was swimming back to the boat. I saw this huge Dog Snapper with something hanging from his mouth. At first I thought it was a large hook, but as I got closer, I realized that the snapper had his dinner for the day. To keep from scaring him off, I remained still. To my amazement he swam right to me, and, in fact, circled me several times before carrying his prey down the reef. The moray kept snapping at this hugh fish in a vain attempt to break free. The poor moray was looking at me, as to say, "please help me." At that moment in time, I wished that my still camera had video capability since Jim was no where in sight to video this amazing struggling of life and death under the sea. Still photography just cannot capture the desperate attempts by the moray to free himself from the deadly jaws of the dog snapper.

 

While shooting a Giant Anemone (Condylactis gigantea) and Squat Anemone Shrimp (Thor amboinensis), I saw, only through my view finder, the tinniness crab, a Banded Clinging Crab (Mithrax cinctimanus) hiding in the anemone. I would never had seen this incrediblely small creature with the naked eye. Actually, I really don't know what type of crab this is. If anyone knows, please email the answer.

My Lionfish Rant!

The Indo-Pacific Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans), which has plagued the rest of the Caribbean, has been sighted in Bonaire. Lionfish are voracious and effective predators. On one occasion, a lionfish was observed consuming 20 small wrasses during a 30-minute period. Unfortunately, there are no known natural predators, and lionfish pose a major threat to coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean.   

Bonaire dive operators are on the alert. At the Marine Park Orientation (required by all divers), we were given mini tags attached with a cork and a long streamer to be placed where we encounter any lionfish. We were encouraged to promptly report sightings to the marine park officials.  For more information on the Lionfish Invasion, check out my Little Cayman blog, May 2010. 

Wonders of the Sea

Bonaire Tourist Bureau puts out an interesting and educational monthly magazine listing shopping and activities to do along with some interesting artifacts about Bonaire points of interest. The magazine always publishes photos of local artists, which I enjoy seeing. It inspires me to be creative on what's new and exciting things to shoot. One of the photographs in the magazine is Bonaire's colorful underwater reef creature, called a Lettuce Sea Slug. Like the Sea Anemones, these slugs (often called "nudibranchs") come in different fringing colors. Of course, the favorite is the blue slugs.

While cruising down the reef, checking every nook and cranny, I was amazed at how many tiny, tiny juvenile smooth trunkfish I was able to locate on my own. These small reef fish are about the size of a marble, and look like a dice. They are shy, making it difficult to photograph them since they usually hide in crevasses in the coral / rock the minute you pull the camera up to your eye.  I found that pulling back and waiting will usually bring them back out. But this time, I was just having a devil of a time trying to get the "perfect" shot.

There older brother/sister, what I call, a "teenager" smooth trunkfish, were representative in large numbers swimming in the shallows.

In macro photography, one of my favorite models, is a blenny. I prefer the comical antics of a sailfin blenny but most blennies when you observe from a short distance can be quite funny. 

On this particular day of diving, I settled on a Spinyhead Blenny (Acanthemblemaria spinosa), with his bright yellow green "goggle" eyes. Their movements are robotic . . . darting out to nab food, and return within seconds, at the same time those green eyes roving in all directions.  

Another favorite macro subject of mine is the tiny creatures that live within a sea anemone. And, on this particular trip to Bonaire, we were blessed with an abundance of beautiful sea anemones all teeming with copious amounts of living creatures . . . Pederson Cleaner Shrimp (Periclimenes pedersoni), tiny crabs, and Squat Anemone Shrimp (Thor amboninensis) all sharing a symbiotic relationship within the anemone's tentacles they call home.   

In year's past, on my trips to Bonaire, I have gotten dynamite seahorse photos. This year was not the case as I mentioned before about the frog fish and yellow headed jawfish. 

The dive guide took us to two seahorse sightings. Seahorses are elusive creatures, which turn their back on you when photographing them. 

You do not want to molest them nor the coral they live in to get the optimal shot. You just have to take your chances. I have seen way too many underwater photogs disturbing the environment to get the seahorse to look their way. Shame on them! No photo is worth destroying the environment, coral, or stressing the seahorse for a photo to publish in Scuba Diving Magazine or Alert Divers.  

I love to photograph scorpionfish, mainly because they are not intimidated by the diver, in other words, they poise for you. The Spotted Scorpionfish (Scorpaena plumieri) are usually seen on an outcropping of the coral reef, but can be frequent to bottom habitats where they lie motionless, blending into the background. The spotted scorpionfish lives up to its name! The dorsal fin has venom glands which help against potential predators. So watch out and DON'T TOUCH.

 

It's Time To Bid Farewell to the Jewel in the Caribbean

When leaving Bonaire so early Saturday morning, Friday is a day of relaxing, shopping, sightseeing, and just plain "off-gassing" (diver's term for expelling the residue nitrogen build-up over multi-days of diving) before you fly off to your home. This year I had some specific targets I wanted to shoot - the southernmost lighthouse at sunset, the yellow Poui tree, and my favorite, the pink flamingo, which is the national symbol of Bonaire.

First things first, get the jewelry shopping done. I love the jewelry shops in Bonaire. Christmas, Birthdays, Anniversaries are fulfilled in Bonaire. My favorite two are the Atlantis and Littman's. At the Atlantis, I purchased a beautiful set of eagle ray earrings, handmade by a local artist.

Driving along the Northern coastline of this southernmost island in the Caribbean Sea is exhilarating with the caress of sea breezes across your face that helps to minimize the boiling sun beating down on you, and of course, the car ac does the trick too. Bonaire is an arid island dotted with small mountains, caves, lava walls. Donkeys and flamingos roam freely. 

Bonaire is one of the designated breeding grounds in the world for flamingos, 10,000 make their home on a 135-acre sanctuary created by the Cargill Salt Company (oh wee, that's alot of pooping going on). Even though most of the flamingos "hangout" near the southeastern side of the island, I head for the Salina Goto lake, which is on the way to the Washington-Slagbaai National Park. You can usually see a few flamingos close to shore searching for brine shrimp. 

As you travel east pass Rincon, a small town on the island of Bonaire, the topography becomes much more arid and desert like with paths of old a'a lava flows to the ocean. The pounding surf and crashing waves add drama to this side of the island, all be it, a real challenge to get to the edge by foot. You need to wear a sturdy pair of tennis shoes and watch your step carefully so as not to twist an ankle or scape your foot on the razor sharp edges of the lava.

In this photo, I tried the new HDR Toning in Photoshop CS5 to bring out a dynamic range of colors. 

Having parrots, I have a special kinship to these winged marvels of intelligence and personality. The yellow-shouldered parrot (Amazona barbadensis rothschild) makes Bonaire its home. There are approximately 400 of these endangered birds nesting predominately in the wooded hills and scrub-covered acres in Washington/Slagbaai National Park. However, the eastern side scattered with large Columnar cacti (Stenocereus griseus) is where I found several parrots enjoying the flower and fruit produced by these cacti species.  

It was getting close to sundown so we meandered our way to my second objective, a lighthouse sunset.

Located along the southern coast, is the Cargill Solar Salt facilities, adjacent to the famous Salt Pier dive site. We were told that the Cargill Solar Salt people has stopped all diving around salt pier due to liability issues . . . those damn lawyers again! However, one of the divemasters at Toucan Diving was leading some groups (for a fee naturally) to do a shore dive at the salt pier. As many of you already know, Bonaire has a less than stellar history with salt. 

Like sugar, salt is a one of the world's ranking commodities. Bonaire's topography and steady trade winds lends it to a perfect "salt making" location. The flat shoreline allows the sea to fill shallow pools, known as salinas. As the sun and wind evaporate the water, it leaves behind salt to crystallize.

Upon seizure of Bonaire by the Netherlands in 1634, the Dutch saw the potential for the salinas. Lacking manpower to harvest the salt, they imported slaves from Africa. The slaves spent their days wading their salt mush shifting salt crystals with their hands and simple wooden rakes. At night, they slept in very small stone huts, close to the salt pans. 

Today, the people of Bonaire have restored several of the slave huts as a reminder of Bonaire's shameful role in the slave trade, so that it will never be repeated.  

My objective to photography the Bonaire Lighthouse, referred to as the Lacre Punt Lighthouse, at sunset was finally becoming a reality. I walked around for an hour before sunset to research my optimal spots. Of course, Jim waiting in the car with no desire to help in this endeavor. He got me there so I guess he figured his job was done. 

I was photographing some test shots when a truckload of migrant workers stopped by to enjoy "refreshments." Yikeees! Now I have a large truck parked in front of my lighthouse, and the sun is dropping FAST! Thankfully, they moved on to a more private spot down the road.

As the sun disappeared to the other side of the world, the moon was rising so I captured a different perspective with the moon. Of course, a full moon would have been better. But what the heck, when have I ever been that lucky.

Coming soon is my blog on our trip to photograph wildlife on the High Lonesome Ranch near Grand Junction, Colorado while Jim fly fishes. 

Horror on the Mountain

My husband, Jim, enticed me into a Porsche car trip to Colorado to do a mountain driving tour with the Rocky Mountain Region and the Alpine Region Porsche Car Clubs with the promise of wildlife photography on the High Lonesome Ranch, near Grand Junction, Colorado, and the chance to visit dear friends retired in Cedaredge, CO.
  

People who own Porsche's love their cars and enjoy driving them. However, they do not understand that there are people who DO NOT enjoy riding in a Porsche, especially on a ten-day trip. This is a sports car so there is limited space for "stuff". . . clothes, camera equipment, etc. And, when you have a husband who also fly fishes, then there must be room for rods, reels, fishing gear. Did I also mention that I am highly susceptible to high altitude sickness combined with an acute case of acrophobia (abnormal fear of being in high places)?  Having said all that, we made our way to Colorado to meet up with the two car clubs for the 2010 Tourpalooza in Keystone, CO, with a base elevation of 9280 feet, and surrounding mountains all with heights over 11,000 feet! 

Even though I had done the doctor recommended ritual of ten thousand gallons of water, no alcohol, no protein, no caffeine, for three days prior to arriving in the high country, along with my acclimation of 24 hours at 3800 feet and then another 24 hours at 5800 feet, I still managed to get a bout of high altitude sickness on Friday. Of course, it didn't help matters that the Porsche crowd spent three hours at the top of North Peak (elev. 12,000') for an unique dining experience at Der Fondue Chessel, where you cook your dinner at the table while enjoying the beer hall singing live music of the "Those Austrian Guys."   Gee, I should be so lucky, because the only way to the restaurant was by GONDOLA at dusk. Did I mention about the "height" issue? 

 

Saturday's event was an all day rally through the "Rocky Mountain High." Did I mention a deathly fear of heights???? As we zoomed out of the parking lot at the Keystone Resort, I was reminded that the Porsche is a fine German automobile built by Germans, and made for just this type of touring at say 85 mph around hairpin curves that have signs posted at 20 mph. We were the only "flatlanders" in the bunch. Everyone else were experienced mountain drivers. My only salvation, if that is what you want to call it, was that Jim has done three D.E.'s (Driver Education) sponsored by the Lone Star Region Porsche Club. So he knew his STUFF, that is, never brake in the curve, downshift before you get to the curve, etc. 

If you ask me why all my photos appear to be taken from a moving vehicle then my answer will be because I could NOT stop at 180 frickin mph to take a photo.   

The Rocky Mountains are absolute breathtaking from the bottom looking up but it is an harrowing experience to ride shotgun around hairpin curves, looking straight down from 11,000 feet with NO GUARD RAILS and NO SHOULDER. At the summit, there are no trees so it just exaggerates the height phobia. I refused to look out the window so I closed my eyes, gripped the door handle, and prayed for forgiveness. Unfortunately for me, this is the height of tourist season in Colorado so every family with 2.5 children, dogs, grandparents, bikers, bicycle riders were on the mountain that day making it excruciatingly slow to get off. As we twisted our way to the top, Jim keep telling me that it was so beautiful, and did I want to stop at the Alpine Visitor Center (elev. 11,796') at the summit? Hell NO! Like I wanted to browse around the ubiquitous gift shop or muster enough oxygen to hang over the "built for insane people" edge to get a "better view" or a photo op! Duh.  I was a nervous wreck with serious stomach issues. At one point, I actually considered walking down the mountain. Luckily, we had fallen behind since I stopped for an hour to  photograph a mother moose and her calf so the crazy Porsche drivers had long gone by the time we got to the top of the mountain.  

I enjoyed a good night's sleep on Saturday night since I didn't sleep much on Friday night due to a mind blowing headache that aspirin will NOT CURE, a symptom of high altitude sickness. Well, at least I didn't spend 24 hours in the ER with an IV stuck in my arm, and my mouth covered by an oxygen mask. 

Sunday, was more of the terrifying same with fast speeds, winding two lane roads through beautiful mountain canyons, and hairpin curves. I must make a disclaimer here. When I say fast, I really mean somewhere in the range of 55 mph upwards in the mountains and 85 mph in the valley straight aways.  

 

 

We started in Buena Vista and ended Tourpalooza 2010 with an interesting tour of the famous Tabor Opera House in Leadville, CO (elev. 10,152'). 

Tabor Opera House is steep in Western culture and the history of Colorado. Built in 1879, the Tabor Opera House was acclaimed "the largest and best, West of the Mississippi." Today, it proudly stands as one of Colorado's premiere historical locations. 

As history states, Mr. Tabor made his riches in gold and silver, and with the help of his financially astute wife, Augusta, built the Opera House for the primary purpose of entertaining the rowdy miners who came to Leadville in hopes of "striking it rich." Surprisingly, the Opera House drew top entertainment in those days with visits from Houdini, Oscar Wilde, boxing champs, and a live production of "Ben Hur." Today, the "show" still goes on. The Judy Collins concert has been sold out for six months.  

Stay tune with my adventures on the High Lonesome Ranch, and of course, the prissy Porsche with flat tires on the rocky county road to the ranch and NO SPARE! Can you believe that these cars have no spare?

Give me a good, solid made, SUV with four wheel drive anyday.

The Land That Time Forgot

 Little Cayman, the tiny sister of Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, is a haven of peace, calm, and tranquillity. Had they ran out of rum on Bimini in the Bahamas, Ernest Hemingway may well have settled on this island in the Caribbean. It just has that feel about it.   

This small island is only 10 miles long and one mile wide, with less than a population of 200 people. Despite its size, tourist come from all over the world to dive the spectacular reefs and the famous Bloody Bay Wall.

Every year we come to the Cayman Islands for diving, relaxing, and, of course, shopping! This year was no different except that I could not dive (doctor's orders) due to severe back problems. We met up with the North Carolina dive club, well at least, part of it, in Little Cayman. They dove and I snorkeled.

We stayed at Little Cayman Beach Resort (LCBR). A refreshing and diver-accomodating place with great food. As underwater photographers can attest, lugging around heavy cameras, lights, and housing, you want easy access to all facilities. 

But since I was NOT diving this time, I had purchased a pocket-size compact digital camera, a Panasonic Lumix TS-5, that could serve as my "take along" camera plus use while snorkeling. I must say I was quite impressed with the menu choices and how much control I had over the settings of the camera. The photos taken topside had amazing clarity and quality. With a 14.0 mp, I suspect I will be able to print nice sized pictures. The only drawback I could see is that it doesn't shoot in a raw format. One of the contributing editors for Outdoor Photographer magazine, who shoots Canon, has one of these cameras, and has written several articles praising its capabilities.

I did some snorkeling in front of LCBR with the camera which is waterproof without a special housing. It can go to depths of 33 feet/10 meters but the flash doesn't quite make it in anything less than 2-5 feet of water. 

The plan had been to rent a car, travel the island capturing the sights and sounds in digital, the culture and wildlife of this unique island. But it rained for almost the entire week we were here. Instead, I looked for interesting things to photograph around the resort.   One such wildlife species was the resident rock iguana. Little Cayman's rock iguana (Cyclura nubila caymanensis), is solely found here and on Cayman Brac. These iguanas roam freely and have the right of way on the roads around the islands. This guy has his braided beads so that makes him one cool dude. I used him for my base photo to create "Eye of the Dragon." 

Even though some of our original group were missing, we did meet some nice people from other parts of the country. Ashley, our team leader from North Carolina, had put together a good group of divers so that we could take advantage of a great discount for all. Thanks Ash, I know that it is hard work. 

This was our third time to Little Cayman, and Jim, my husband, told me the diving was great as usual. 

Lionfish Invasion

One problem that has become increasingly disturbing, is the plethora of red lionfish (Peterois volitans) inhabiting the reefs of the Caribbean. Since these lionfish are transplants from the Indo-Pacific, via an aquarium in Florida, they have no natural predators nor do the fish on which they prey recognize them as dangerous. This maroon-striped marauder with venomous spikes is swallowing native species, stinging divers and generally wreaking havoc on an ecologically delicate region. Its adaptable. It corners fish and crustaceans up to half its size with its billowy fins and sucks them down in one violent gulp. Research scientists have observed a single lionfish eating 20 small fish in less than 30 minutes! One marine ecology expert stated that this species may well become the most devastating marine invasion in history. And, the sad thing . . . "there is probably no way to stop the invasion completely." I detest home saltwater aquariums. The saltwater aquarium trade, along with commercial fishing and shark finning, is decimating the oceans. This industry has nearly destroyed the Hawaiian fish population. Lost Fish Coalition is fighting a losing battle with the saltwater aquarium trade lobbyist and their Democrat congressmen and Democrat senators. Please note that these two photos of bagged dead yellow tangs were taken off the Lost Fish Coalition's website. If you can contribute, it would be greatly appreciated. I am a member of Lost Fish Coalition.

Just in one large trash bin in Kona Hawaii, a fisherman found a large plastic bag filled with 640 juvenile yellow tangs all dead because they are too small to be removed from the reef.

If you care about the ocean and the creatures that live there, please do not have a saltwater aquarium or eat at dining establishments that have one. Do not eat shark fin soap or endangered species of fish such as grouper, sea bass, red snapper, etc.

Jim told me they were seeing at least four to five lionfish on every dive. The divemasters are the only ones allowed to capture and kill them. They have an appartus made up of a plastic bag with an opening at the top that can be closed by a drawstring of some sorts. They herd the lionfish into the plastic bag by using a snorkel since spears of any kind are ban on the reef. Once the lionfish is in the trap, BOOM, the drawstring is tighten. They are humanely killed and fed to seabirds and reef fish such as grouper, barracuda, and moray eels in the hopes that they will acquire a taste for this predator. It will be a "long learning" process. I was told that in depths of 200 feet down Bloody Bay Wall, there are hundreds of lionfish. It does seem futile. 

 I found this red lionfish in two feet of water just 4 yards from the shore. This was a first. The divemasters were surprised to learn that a lionfish was that close to shore in such shallow water. Of course, they promptly captured and killed it. 

The Snorkel

Did I mention I wasn't diving? I took my Panasonic Lumix TS-5 underwater snorkeling. Besides the lionfish, I found a sea star, and a hermit crab scooting across the sand. God felt sorry for me and let me find the lionfish, sea star and hermit crab. I am grateful.

Keep in mind that all my underwater shots were taken in two feet of water with chop and surge. It was hard to maintain stability, but all and all the photos are not half bad.

 

Topside Photography

Besides snorkeling, I hauled out my Nikon D200 and gorillapad (tripod) to capture "on the beach" photos. It was getting pretty boring hanging out at the resort so I got desperate . . . capturing a hermit crab on land and holding him prisoner until I had my "way" with him. That's photographing him with flash! 
 

 
 

I took a photo of a leaf floating in the surf, and used a textured design plugin to give it a fine art look. I worked a sea star that had floated ashore in the storm we encountered the night before. I also took some photos of a couch shell. Check out my Facebook page. 

I was laying in the sand, setting up my shots, keeping the camera dry from the crashing waves (really small waves), arranging and re-arranging my foreground prop, when here comes this group of people walking right into my scene. At first I was upset at their rudeness, but the photo turned out well. And adding a person walking down the beach gave it depth. What do you think? 

 

Finally, we finished up our week on Little Cayman . . . saying our goodbyes to old and new friends, vowing to keep in touch through email and Facebook. We received many invitations to visit North Carolina so I see a road trip in our future plans. We might just bring along two parrots . . . I am sure they will find a nice new home.

The Airport, The Fire Department, The Post Office

The airport in Little Cayman is quite unique, in that, it's a combination fire department, airport, and post office. 

  

Even though you fly over from Grand, in a Cayman Airways Express plane (propeller planes), and these planes have load restrictions making it hard for underwater photographers to get gear across the water in a timely matter, it was nice to fly at lower altitudes over the island so that I could capture, how do they say it . . . "a bird's eye view of the island."

 

  
 

Stalking the Elusive Hummer!

Now that my ankle has healed somewhat, I was on the road again. This time to capture the "elusive" hummingbird in all its glory. The idea is to photograph the male ruby throated hummingbird with his iridescent red throat and metallic green body and wings. But the key is "frozen wings" or at least that is what I was told. Some would argue that a hummingbird with blurred wings depicts motion more real in the wild.  

I begin this adventure with Larry Ditto, Texas Professional Photographer, at his hummingbird workshop on the Barnhart Q5 Ranch, near Goliad, Texas. The Barnhart Q5 is a historic ranch house built in 1877, which has been converted to all the modern conveniences of a bed and breakfast in a backdrop of rural natural   surroundings. This award winning ranch is a premier Texas Wildlife Conservation Steward committed to the conservation of indigenous wildlife and nature of Texas.  

 

Goliad Town Center

Goliad is famous for the battle that was fought here to gain Texas's independence from Mexico. A disastrous defeat was waged at the Presido La Bahia, under the command of Colonel James Fannin. After the fall of the Alamo, General Sam Houston ordered Fannin to retreat and join him to fight Santa Ana. Fannin delayed and underestimated the strength and proximity of the Mexican cavalry. Fannin and his brave men couldn't hold out so they surrendered thinking they would become POWs. The Mexicans shot them in cold blood or, if you want to believe what the new history books said, "executed as pirates who had borne arms against the government." Well excuse me but Texas had declared its Independence, and the revolution had begun. So as the ballad goes . . . General Sam Houston caught Santa Ana with his pants down and defeated the Mexican Army at a place called, San Jacinto (near Houston). As Houston and his men charged that fateful morning, you could hear them shouting, "Remember the Alamo" and "Remember Goliad." Its a famous battle cry for us proud "Texians." Texas has a very colorful history since we are the only state that was a Republic when it became a state. According to the old Constitution, Texas is still a Republic. And, I think its about time we secede from the union!

There is a hanging tree right out front of the courthouse, but as there was no execution scheduled while I was there, I just took a picture of tree and the courthouse.  

 

Mission of Texas

After finishing my shoot in the town centre, I visited the old historic mission, Nuestra Senora Del Espiritu Santo de Zuniga. The mission was first established in Matagorda Bay in 1722 but were strategically relocated to opposite banks of the San Antonio River, protecting the Spanish trade route.  

Since March is the best time to view the Texas wildflowers, I thought this photo of the mission with our Texas State Flower, the Bluebonnet, was so appropriate. Texas got a heavy dose of winter this year, and proved vital to our state's crop of wildflowers and bluebonnets. 

Hummingbirds

I found that Linda Robbins, "The Hummingbird Guide," is probably one of the best instructional DVD on how to photograph hummingbirds, or at least that's what Larry Ditto says. Larry setup three stations, each under the shade of trees or porch of the farmhouse where we were staying. Two photographers at each station with a multitude of flashes on cheap stands at different levels. And, of course the ubiquitous hummingbird feeder at each station. We had been told that there are a 100 or so hummingbirds that flock to the feeders at Claire's Barnhart Q5 Ranch. However, Texas had seen unusual weather patterns, and this was the case for our weekend workshop. A freak cold front with very windy weather had swept through leaving us with not much to work with in terms of birds. Wildflowers were abundant so there was plenty of food our winged friends. Two shooters were on the porch getting killer shots, and I was out in the backyard just a short distance from the farmhouse.   

My fellow photog, Dave, and I were setup with 500mm lens, on Wimberly ballheads and Gitzo tripods, and a plethora of flashes situated at different levels around the feeder and flowers. You need to have at least five flashes preferably eight flashes, with some pointed at the background and some pointed at the feeder where the hummingbird will feed. Set your camera at F22, shutter speed at 1/320, ISO 400. To freeze the wings, the flashes will do all the work. You can not shoot at the same time. I did catch the prized male ruby-throated hummingbird, the female ruby-throated, and the male black chinned.   

We sat most of the day stationed at the old tree near the bungalow waiting for the little guys to come in for a delicious bit of sugar water. All the while, hearing the killer shots the other two photogs were getting shooting at the porch station.

We switched stations only to wait once again while the photogs were shooting up a "storm" in my old spot. It actually got comical after a while . . . Dave, the photog shooting with me, actually thought he was jinxed. The idea was we would get hundreds of birds coming and fighting over the feeder with us getting "killer" shots of hummingbirds defending their territory. You see these little guys are quite territorial.  

Light Painting

I love light painting. And with a full moon, we had a target rich environment to get creative. 

Our bungalow was filled with lighted areas and dark skies above. As we setup our cameras, Larry used a flash to paint the sidewalk and the flower blooms.

I made myself a promise to get my blog updated on a more timely manner.  Keep checking back for my travels to the Cayman Islands. Unfortunately, I had injured my back, so I was advised by my spinal doctor to NOT scuba dive while I am in treatment so I can dive in Bonaire and Lembah Straits. Even though I am not diving, I am expanding my topside photography with HDR, High Dynamic Range! It should be interesting. I plan to investigate the blue iguana and jump in the water with dolphins. Just maybe I will get some decent shots with my new digital point and shoot underwater camera.

 

 

It's Autumn in the Hill Country

Lost Maples State Park

Lost Maples State Park, home to the Bigtooth Maples, Acer grandidentatum, covers 2174.2 scenic acres north of Vanderpool, Texas, on the Sabinal River. As weather cools in central Texas, people come from all over to hike, watch and capture the fall foliage.   

It often takes 2-3 hours to get into the park on the weekends. And, the Houston InnerLoop Photography Club (HIPC) was there to do just that . . . capture images of fall foliage. Oh except one member's husband who was there to fly fish.

At 5 a.m., we were on the road heading down Texas Highway 39 to Lost Maples State Park in an effort to "beat the crowds." It was quite a scary drive in pitch darkness with a fog bank rising from the terra firma. It had all the makings of a great horror flick. Then there was the dodging of dead deer and dead raccoons. November marks the opening of deer season here in Texas.

Because of my pending foot surgery, I stuck to the easy trail, and actually just stayed close to the riverbed crossing. 

I spent the morning trying out different filters, and I even tried Tony Sweet’s abstract technique of moving the camera just so slightly upward and downward within the orientation of the subject for a realistic look. 

It is always touch and go on what time the maple leaves and other foliage will turn to brilliant and vibrant colors. It all depends on the quantity of rain and the cold temperatures the Texas Hill Country receives in the year. Because of that, Lost Maples provides an up-to-date report.   

Some of our group ventured into the high country to capture the beautiful autumn colors from a high altitude advantage. 

 

 

What had started out as a dreary morning, turned into a crisp, fall day with comfortable temperatures to just be outside enjoying God’s creations. I spent a good two hours photographing, using different angles and different lenses, lost in time and space.

My husband, Jim, had come to fly fish, and our gracious hostess, Mickey, invited him to fish on the Guadalupe River behind her home. So he spent the day casting his line and catching perch.

I made it back to Ingram just in time for the party to begin. A drink was handed to me, and I found a nice easy chair on the patio looking out at the Bald Cypress trees and the Guadalupe River below. It was so relaxing . . . it was like a Mark Twain novel with "Old Man River" meandering by while the delicious aroma of homemade Mexican food floated out of the kitchen. The warmth of my Diet Cuba Libre permeating through my body helped to reduce the slight chill of a November night in Texas. So there I sat enjoying a lively conversation (I am sure brought about by the spirits of the night), munching on homemade hors d’oeuvres, such as nachos, salsa and chips, quesadillas, discussing the days rewarding events. I have to admit, we hit the "MOTHER LODE." The fall foliage couldn't get any better, at least for Texas that is. 

Sunday, Jim and I stopped along a part of the Guadalupe River where there was a small waterfall. I had to climb down to the riverbank below the bridge to setup my tripod. What a sight to see . . . me trying to carry a huge black camera bag, tripod, camera and huge lens dangling from my neck trying to maneuver my way to an optimal spot along this very narrow riverbank. I was thinking “poison ivy or poison oak?" since it encroached on every part of the riverbank. Unfortunately it was an overcast day with thunderclouds roaring in the distance. Although, I have been told that the fall colors pop with overcast days. You be the judge.

Mr. Heimer spotted a pack of perch fighting the current trying to stay put near a group of boulders, and you guess it  . . . out came the fly fishing gear.  
 

 

The thundering rain clouds soon were right upon us. We both ran for the car with gear in tow. It appeared there would be no break in the weather so we packed up and headed for Houston with the knowledge that the weekend was rewarding and relaxing.

We have a great group of photographers who make up the success of our photo club, HIPC. For Jim and I, which was our first time to go on a HIPC group event, it was a real pleasure. And, look forward to many more adventures in the future.

Block Creek Natural Area

After the great fall foliage photos I captured in Lost Maples earlier in November, I did not think I could get better. Well, I wasn’t wrong but I had a great time at Turkey Hollow Ranch, and I was able to get photos of a long desired bird . . . wild owls.

In the latter days of November, I ventured to a part of central Texas, called Block Creek Natural Area, near Comfort, Texas, just off Interstate 10 West, approximately an hour out of San Antonio, Texas.

Block Creek Natural Area consists of 400 acres of prime grazing lands, watering holes, pristine creeks and waterfalls, a diverse variety of wildflowers, and native grasses. As part of the “Lens & Land project,” this area was developed for nature photography, which is quickly becoming a newly emerging segment of the nature tourism industry. 

I joined Larry Ditto, Texas Professional Photographer’s workshop on fall foliage with another photographer. We all stayed at the Turkey Hollow Ranch. I had a lovely bed and breakfast cottage located near the main ranch. The bedroom windows give you a panoramic view of the surrounding wooded area. Imagine waking up each morning to the harmonic sounds of colorful songbirds. The living room window looks out onto a small, fresh water fed, lake where several species of waterfowl make their home. I actually saw a green kingfisher.

 

The Old Barn 

With temperatures hovering in the low 40s, we setup to capture the golden light on an old barn in the early hours just before sunrise and few hours after. The different range of exposures with the light on the barn afforded me the opportunity to try some HDR photography. Gosh it was cold!

 

Wild Owls and Hawks

Early Tuesday morning, when the temperature dropped to below 20 degrees, I was excited to finally get photographs of wild owls. The ability to view the golden intense eyes of a Great Horned Owl through my lens or feel the wind as a hawk passes over my head was making me light-headed. You see I have long desired the opportunity to capture these great predators in the wild. 

Although, it wasn't quite, "in the wild," it was still photographing wild owls and hawks. John Karger, director of “Last Chance Forever,” had come with some of his wild rescue birds. Last Chance Forever is a conservancy project to rehabilitate and release back into the wild, injured, sick or orphaned birds of prey . . . hawks, falcons, eagles, owls and vultures. Birds who are not suffering but cannot be released, are placed in educational projects. These raptors play an important part in our ecosystem. 

Did you know that one Barn Owl would eat over 2500 rats and mice in one year! They are much more effective than pesticides and have a much lower impact on the environment.

John runs this organization without a single dollar from state or federal agencies. If you can join to support this great cause, not only will you play an important role in preserving our planet and the birds, you will get a tax deduction. 

The Eastern Screech-Owl, Otus asio, is nocturnal so he did not like being brought out into the daylight.  

John told us that he had to put all the other birds of prey away before he could bring out the Great Horned Owl because he is their enemy and will attack. We spent most of the morning photographing these winged wonders.

Skyline Ridge

We took the old gravel road, dodging large boulders to Skyline Ridge.  It was a bone-jarring ride, however, it was worth it because the view overlooking the valley below was filled with the colors of fall in Texas. The oranges, yellows, reds, and the golden hues covered the entire landscape. This part of Texas, what we Texans call the hill country, is such a beauty to behold. It is fast, maybe too fast, becoming a place to retire with so many small towns growing exponentially,

 

Larry Jay, owner of Turkey Hollow Ranch, took us to a nice low water crossing to photograph fall foliage along the Guadalupe River. The predominate color of orange reflected over the Bald Cypress trees as light was just beginning to wane in the horizon. It’s that beautiful “golden” time as the trees and foliage magically turn up the orange, red and yellow hues, and the sky was an interesting shade of blue. My favorite time of year is fall, and this quiet river crossing only cemented my views.

   

 

On our way back to the ranch, we caught sight of a working windmill just as the sun crested the horizon. I thought a wide angle lens would capture the light, windmill and the creepy branches best. I don't know if its the crisp evening air that produces this muted purple color but when I downloaded the photos, I just kept saying, YES YES YES!

 

 

We finished up a great three days of photographing fall foliage, hawks and owls, and spectacular landscapes. Now, I am hold up in my house processing photos, learning new photography techniques, and just letting my repaired ankle heal from major surgery three weeks ago. I should be fine to, once again, get on the road to South Texas for a hummingbird workshop with Larry Ditto, and then a trip to the Badlands of South Dakota for fly-fishing and photography. I have never visited the Dakotas so I am looking forward to exploring a land made up of the world’s richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds, 244,000 acres of vistas of eroded buttes and pinnacles. I'm bringing my 500mm lens in hopes of photographing bighorn sheep and the endangered black-footed ferrets and swift fox.

 

Mai Tai's, Mantas and Other Hawaiian Delights

Waters off the Kona Coast are the finest in the islands because there are no river runoffs, and its coast is shielded from the trade winds. This season we are experiencing above average warm water temperatures, which make for very pleasant diving. 

As we motor out of the harbor for diving, spinner dolphins jump out of the water as if to say aloha. And there is the famous Manta Ray night dive, with the light array beaming up to the surface, and snorkelers dive lights streaming downward. It appears that we have entered the alien underwater world of the night feeding mantas. 

In past posts, I have written extensively of our visits to the Big Island. Please check earlier posts of my Hawaiian adventures. I am sure you will enjoy!

My husband and I come every year to the Hawaii, which is commonly referred to by the “locals” as the Big Island. As with almost everywhere else we visit that has an ocean at its doorsteps, we come to dive and do underwater photography and underwater videography. The crystal blue waters off the Kona coastline are pristine.  And, this time, according to the dive masters, we are experiencing extremely unusual clear visibility. I could rattle on about my diving but I will spare you the details, and just point out the highlights with photos of some of my favorite dives.

A Rare Find . . . 

Diving off Kaloko Arches, we spotted not just one, which is rare in itself, but TWO male Whitley boxfish! This is an extremely rare find. Kaloko Arches has one of the most dramatic topography on the Kona coast. It is made up of numerous arches and canyons with vertical walls. Because of its unique topography, even our dive guides can get lost. A couple of years back, my husband was the only one who spotted a male Whitley boxfish, and captured it on video. Even today, return customers are still talking about the Whitley boxfish video.    

Manta Ray Night Dive

As I have said many times before, I never tire of this spectacular dive. If you visit the Big Island, and you are a scuba diver, then it would be sacrilegious if you DID NOT do the Manta Ray Dive. This dive is consistently voted one of the top ten dives in the world. This should be on every scuba diver’s bucket list.

Just imagine yourself floating in the underwater world at night when you come upon a very large light array beaming green orbs of illumination filled with plankton. Above you, in the water column, are three to four large mantas, with wingspans upwards to 10 feet, performing an aqua ballet the likes that you will never see anywhere else. 

Mantas use their over-sized pectoral fins to move through the water. For feeding, the cephalic fins, or as some call them, “horns,” which is where the mantas got the name “devil fish,” directs the flow of plankton-rich water through the gills. Fine hair like projections filter out the plankton and other microscopic food.

On this particular Manta Ray dive, we had the resident yellowmargin moray eel, who has become accustom to scuba divers and snorkelers, take this opportunity to get some dinner. You see, moray eels hunt by smell and have relatively bad eyesight. The dive guides have named the eel Frank. He hides in the large light array box until its time to strike . . . he swirls his large body through the Mantas in hopes of picking off a few fish that also are attracted to the plankton. Mike, the owner of Dive Makai, told us that Frank has no problem resting on the shoulder of any of the scuba divers surrounding the array waiting for his moment to strike. However, to some, it could be quite unnerving to look to the side of you only to see a large moray eel with bearing teeth staring at you. 

We attempted to do another Manta Ray Night Dive but none showed up for dinner! It is never guaranteed by any of the dive operations that mantas will show, but more than not, the mantas do come.  It did not matter to me because I had probably one of the most awesome night dives ever. 

Unlike most dive operations on the Big Island, Dive Makai does two dives for the Manta Ray Night dive – an afternoon dive and then the Manta Night Dive.

As I jumped into the water for the first dive, I was shocked at   clarity! It seemed like you could see for miles. 

Off into the blue was a pod of spinner dolphins who had come to join in the fun. My husband and several others swam out to video the dolphins. Unfortunately, I had equipment issues, and decided not to venture out so far from the reef. I did find a leafy scorpionfish, and of course, I had the wrong lens on for that small of a creature.

When that big red ball we all love sunk into the horizon, we jumped in for the most exciting night dive I have ever experienced. I photographed octopus, a huge puffer, a midside puffer, hunting eels, and something I have never seen in Hawaiian waters, the red squid. This red squid seemed to want his photo taken, just hanging around, as I snapped away.  

Nai’a Dive Site

Nai'a is Native Hawaiian for dolphins. Each time we motored out of the Honokohau Marina, we were greeted by Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins in several large pods. There are many small babies in these pods. Some dive operations call this site, Manta Ray Bay, and others call it “Rip Off Bay” because the boat doesn’t use enough fuel to justify the cost of diving. This is one of my favorite dive sites, which can be dived from shore as well. However, when diving this site, never throw caution to the wind since it is the opening of the channel with heavy boat traffic. 

While the others searched for other interesting things, I spent the entire dive photographing a yellow Commerson Frogfish hanging out on the buoy line right under the boat. 

 

Oceanrider Seahorse  Farm

The collection of wild fish, invertebrates, and coral for saltwater aquariums is becoming a very serious problem in the coast waters of Kona. In hopes of making a difference and saving the wild seahorse from extinction, an organization has sprung up to farm seahorses for private aquarium trade. This organization, the Oceanrider Seahorse Farm, has made great strides in developing farm-raised seahorses which will survive longer in aquariums.

An enthusiastic guide took us on an informative tour of the farm. To keep it all natural, the brine shrimp are grown in small ponds near the farm. The seahorses are given the exact same food that they would find in the wild. 

Seahorses are unique in several ways. Unlike most other fish, they are monogamous and mate for life. Rarer still, they are among the only animal species on Earth in which the male bears the unborn young. However, at the farm, somehow they are taught from birth to have multiple partners so if one mated seahorse dies, the remaining mate can find other mate. Seahorses have no teeth and no stomach. Food passes through their digestive system so quickly that they must keep eating constantly to stay alive.

At the end of the tour, we were personally given the opportunity to hold a life seahorse. Normally, I am against any holding, touching, harassing, of the marine life, but I was assured by a staff marine biologist that it would not harm the seahorses to hold them. My husband, Jim, jumped at the chance as well as I did. These sea creatures that are so surrounded in a mystical aurora seemed so vulnerable with their little tails securely wrapped around Jim's finger.

If you are in Kona, Hawaii, please take this unique opportunity to visit and support the Oceanrider Seahorse Farm. 

Let’s travel North to Kohala

Taking a day off from diving, and with no particular plan in mind, we headed north for some topside photography.  This way afforded us a spectacular view of the great Maui volcano, Haleakala, that towers upward from the misty clouds at a stunning 10,000 feet elevation. But, what really caught my eye were these huge blades whirling in the wind . . . an energy wind farm being cultivated by the ever “green” Hawaiians.  I believe this will work here since I was greeted with gale-forced winds the minute I opened my car door. However, I do not know how much the residents and wild birds of this side of the island appreciated the appearance of huge blades dotted across the landscape.

I know the now dead, but ever present conservationists still lives on in the memory of Democrat Senior Senator, Ted Kennedy, who wanted the wind farms in everyone else’s backyard but NOT HIS OWN!

 

Last day of diving the Big Island

Dive Makai is such an excellent dive operation. Ever year we return for our annual stay in Hawaii, we always come back to Dive Makai. Not only do they give the best dive briefings on what we might see on a particular dive site but they take things really slow cruising the reefs looking into every crack and cervices searching for the ever elusive fish or creature. The entire dive team knows their marine biology and the creatures that occupied the Pacific Ocean. One dive master in particular, Allison, was especially in tuned to my needs and tried her best to find me a flame angel.  Unfortunately, when I finally did see a flame angelfish, I was shooting wide angle for the Manta Ray Dive. It wasn’t worth attempting to shot this elusive fish since they are very skittish by nature. To have a huge dome port “eye” hunting them down would definitely send them into the rocks below. So I just sat back and enjoyed watching these beautiful and colorful angelfish darting about the reef. So like the belching frogfish, photographs of the flame angels have, for now, eluded me.

Our last day, I dived one of the best dive sites on the island, in my opinion, called “Big Arch.” The island underwater topography consists of large boulders and lava tubes and lava bottom. As named, this site has a good sized arch way, which is home to many schooling fish, mostly blue-striped grunts. I did get the opportunity to photograph the very large Commerson frogfish just sitting on a large coral head. Actually I spent most of the dive photographing this frogfish, you guessed it, in hopes of getting a "belch" photograph.

Pu’uhonua o Honaunau – Hawaiian for “Place of Refuge”

In ancient times, the place of refuge was just as the name implies, a place to seek redemption from the many dizzying number of laws, called the kapu system, that must be obeyed. If kapu were broken, it meant death, and if the law was severe enough, the offenders entire family received punishment by death . . . clubbed, strangled, burned to death, or speared. I guess it is nice to have choices! The Hawaiian culture was all about “class distinction.” If a commoner looked at or walked on the same trail as someone from the upper case, it was death! The Hawaiians believed that the gods would retaliate with earthquakes, tidal waves, lava flows and droughts, if the laws were not obeyed. I’m all for the native Hawaiians remaining true to their culture but not the “kapu system.” But I digress . . . if the kapu breaker could somehow escape the spear-wielding pursuers, and make it to the place of refuge, then asylum is offered. By performing certain rituals deemed by the Kahuna pule (priest), all is forgiven, and he can return home. 

This area was declared a national park in 1961. On the grounds is a massive wall of stones, built in 1600s, stands 1,000 feet long, 10 feet high, and 17 feet thick, which separates the palace grounds from the Pu’uhonua. There are many Hawaiian idols standing guard over the grounds. Coconut palms and small ponds, which produce a magical calming effect, are scattered all over.

We visited this area at sunset in hopes of getting the nice lighting backlit against the idols and palms.  Although we got a nice red ball in the sky, the ensuing bright oranges, purples, reds and blues normally found in Kona sunsets, eluded us. Rain clouds swept in from the east over the volcano. 

And like the sad idol, we had to leave this beautiful but yet historical island for another day. 

Aloha . . . 

Bonaire Goes Green

This island is changing, and progressing in the fast lane to green but still remains true to its cultural roots seeking a future of sustainable growth. Bonaire has always maintain an ideology that their reef system must be protected, and that was proved true to form at the dive orientation on the Saturday we arrived. If you wear gloves while diving on the reef, you WILL be fined over a $1000.00, and forbidden to continue diving. And that was just one of the laws being enforced on the island. The entire island waters is a marine park with strict regulations and enforcement.

Our two-week Bonaire adventure began with our participation in the 2009 Bonaire Photo & Video Shootout. Wrapping up our last week photographing and diving with our underwater club, Houston Underwater Photographic Society

This is our third year participating in the shootout. The 2010 Shootout will be in Little Cayman, hosted by Little Cayman Beach Resort. We were just there in May 2009. Please checkout my May 2009 blog if you are interested in what Little Cayman has to offer.

My husband, Jim Heimer, won first place in the Underwater Video Category. To view this video, click on 2009 Digital Shootout

He did an excellent job, and was well rewarded for his hard work with a $2700 Light & Motion LED Lighting System for a Bluefin underwater video housing. We will not be back next year since the still photography part of the program has not changed. I had hope their program would be updated to reflect the massive changes to Photoshop with the introduction of Photoshop CS4. Unfortunately, I did not get much out of the program this year. . . I just went diving. I did suggest that they divide the photographers into advanced and novice. In my opinion, this will give the novices (photogs who are  here for the first time or who do underwater photography as a hobby but want to improve their skills) a better chance at the spectacular prizes. I also suggested that they hire local professional photogs to judge their contest.  This way the contest will truly be blind without the direct contact of participants and sponsors, especially when you have the people judging the contest also helping on the last day with the contest participants’ photos. For the three years that I have been coming to the Shootout, the same photogs continue to win. Since photography is subjective, it would be nice to have no contact with the judges until after the contest. 

We are experiencing cooling breezes and sunny days. The nights are very pleasant making outside dining desirable since most restaurants have beautiful views of the ocean.

Bonaire is one of the top dive destinations in the world. However, there is much to do here besides diving. . . wind sailing, kite boarding, ocean kayaking, caving, hiking, birding, exploring Washington Slagbaai National Park, visiting the donkey and flamingo sanctuary. And for the more risk takers, there is Divi Flamingo Casino. But we are here to dive, photograph, dive, photograph, dive. . . . 

One of our favorite dive sites in Bonaire is “Windsock.” We have dived this site several times by boat but we also did a shore dive here, with easy entry/exit. One of the Hupsters, who is a dive instructor, is a super "critter finder." She had been told by one of our divemasters where two seahorses were on that site. She zeroed in on them at 45 feet depth along a large star coral formation. Interesting fact about seahorses is the female deposits the eggs (which could be 1000) in the male seahorse pouch to be nourished. The male seahorse then goes into labor to birth his young. Now that would be a photo to get.

The longlured frogfish was in 35 feet of water near the “Windsock” buoy. I never got my belching frogfish photo. The one time I was setup to get it, and knew that it was going to belch, another diver, on the boat, moved on me, causing me to move so as not to damage the reef. He got the shot, which won in the Shootout. My only redemption was I did get a "semi-belching" frogfish shot. One Hupsters, on our boat, got a great shot of a belching frogfish, which won the monthly photo contest at Capt. Don's Habitat. Check it out. I was told if you just wait patiently, the frogfish will belch again. I spent an entire dive waiting. These guys are truly the master of disguise. It is very difficult to locate them when they are on a orange sponge. Enough about the frogfish!

Another great dive site is “Karpata.” Because of its more northernly location where the winds are stronger, it is better to dive by boat. Water can get pretty choppy making for tricky entries/exits. However, it’s worth it. . . the underwater topography of rolling reefs with huge soft corals and sea fans teeming with sea life. As the story goes, there are seven old anchors located at varies depths. Some of the Hupsters found a couple of the anchors.  Unfortunately, the anchor eluded me as did the “belching frogfish” photo. 

I will say, at the Shootout, I met some great people, and also renewed old acquaintances. One of my new dive friends is a dive shop owner named Karen. She owns a dive shop in Mexico, called Dive Aventuras. We spent one dive sharing a very cooperative Common Octopus . . . timing our shots between each other's recycling of the strobes. Check out her website, and if your planning a trip to Mexico, look her up, tell her I said "hello." 

My husband and I were anxious about coming to Bonaire with serious reports of reef damage by Hurricane Omar, which hit Bonaire last October, 2008. But we were pleasantly surprised that there had been little damage to the reefs, the only casualty was the famous dive site, “Town Pier,” which had the pilings scraped and inspected for damages. Now, the site is being used for research to see how quickly sea life returns and coral will grow back on the pilings. One of the more interesting reports was the sad state of dying eels caused by a human cholera-like bacteria, called vibrio. However, Hurricane Omar cleaned out the reefs of Bonaire, sweeping away this nasty bacteria. As reported by Jerry Ligon, naturalist, the eel population is recovering. Click to read the full report  I was able to get some nice shots of a chain moray, which was one of the eel species that had been affected by the bacteria. This was my first shot of a chain moray.

 

The first week (2009 Bonaire Video & Photo Shootout) we stayed at Divi Flamingo Beach Resort, where the only casino on the island is located. The resort took some severe damages during Omar, losing its pier and damaging some of the rooms. The pier has been built back better than before and the rooms have all been upgraded with nice kitchenettes and European style showers and granite counters in the kitchen and bathrooms. Sergio is the manager of the Divi Dive Bonaire and runs a superior dive operation. The dive boats are fast and roomy. Large dive lockers, with built-in hooks and hangers for storing your wetsuits and dive gear, are located on the pier in proximity of the dive boats making easy access to boats with dive gear in hand. Shore diving off the house reef, Calabas Reef, is made simple by providing tanks right there.  The resort is located near town making in within walking distance of any of the absolutely great dining places. If journeying down to Bonaire, I highly recommend staying and diving at the Divi!

Unfortunately, the second week was not as nice as the first week even though we were diving with the Hupsters, of which we have many great diving buddies and friends. Capt. Don’s Habitat is showing its age, and that’s putting it nicely. Luckily we had been there a week and we're not caught in the ghastly fatigue from the Houston flight, which departs Houston at 11:30pm, arriving Bonaire at 5:05am the next morning. It still took the Hupsters until 4pm to get checked into their rooms. Our room had a heavy smoke smell. I complained at the front desk, which I must say, had NO DESIRE TO HELP! We aired out the bedspreads, which reeked with cigarette smoke and then stored it away in the closets. When the market open on Monday, I purchased some Lysol air freshener in hopes of some reprieve from the smoky room by spraying down the curtains.

The dive shop is poorly run by a lady who has a serious attitude problem. Capt. Don’s had borrowed a dive boat from Divi so we were lucky in that respect, with spacious room, diving with the Hupsters. Our divemaster Lutie, and our boat captain, from Divi, Orlando, were the best. The dive lockers were in a dark, covered area that smelled of mildew and mold, which made it impossible to dry out your gear before the next dive. The lockers were too small for wetsuits, which meant that your heavy wetsuits had to be lugged back to your room each day to dry. Rinse tanks were not clean, and I wouldn’t even think of putting my camera gear in the camera designated rinse tanks. For shore diving on the house reef, tanks had be hauled down stairs to the diver’s lockers, then a short walk out to the pier where the ladder was for entering/exiting. It was a walk to haul gear on the boats and a walk to haul camera and wetsuits to the rooms. Capt. Don’s is NOT a diver-friendly facility, and I would not recommend it. However, the spectacular reefs and marine life, and shopping in town, made up for the uncomfortable living arrangements.   If you do not want to stay at Divi Flamingo Resort, there are plenty of nice and reasonable resorts. Several Hupsters stayed at the Yacht Club Apartments. For more information on places to stay, click here.

Even though Bonaire's famous symbol is the Pink Flamingo because of the flamingos that make Bonaire their home, there are over 200 different species of birds found on the island. Two of the more vociferous but colorful birds that resides on Bonaire is the Yellow-shouldered Amazon Parrot and the Caribbean or Brown-throated Parakeet. On my last full day on Bonaire, I went out to photograph parrots and sights around the island. There are approximately 400 wild yellow-shouldered Amazons. The World Parrot Trust has setup operations in Bonaire, and has the full cooperation of the Bonaire people.

I had heard the panoramic views from Seru Largu of the island of Bonaire were fantastic, and they weren't lying. Seru Largu is a hill, approximately 400 feet in elevation, sporting a beautiful architectural designed cross. You can see almost the entire island. . . salt lake, Lac Bay, Klein Bonaire, downtown Kralendijk, the northern shoreline of Bonaire, etc. I will return. . . 

Inhale the Possibilities of the Oregon Coast

When summer ends and the latter part of fall sets in, the surf is up . . . wave watching has come to the Oregon coastline. During stormy weather or especially turbulent seas, the pressure builds, resulting in shooting towers of water that sometimes drench passersby and rain down on cars driving along Highway 101. 

After wrapping up our Lewis & Clark adventure, we headed for Yachats, on Hwy 101, to our lovely bed & breakfast, located on the beach. The owners, David & Dianne, have four spacious bedrooms with accommodating baths, each with its own view of the ocean.  We awoke to fresh coffee and conversation. We took long walks along coastline, photographing shorebirds, gulls, and enjoying the brisk early morning light, and were rewarded with a scrumptious gourmet breakfast fit for a king or queen. We highly recommend their B&B, Sea Spirit House.

Of course, the Stellar Jay found himself a feast at the Spirit House as well.

During the fall season, with speckles of burnish gold and brighten hue reds lining the coastline, the beach is often void of humans with only the sounds of gulls and shorebirds and roaring waves. 

Heceta Head Lighthouse

We headed south to Heceta Head Lighthouse. Heceta Head's light first shone in March of 1894, 205 feet above sea level. One thousand barrels of blasting powder were required to create a flat table on the rocky cliffs. Heceta remained an extremely isolated outpost until the 1930's when road crews arrived with their families and tents to construct Route 101, the Pacific Coast Highway. The lighthouse is a working lighthouse. Its “first order” Fresnel lens, casts its beams some 21 miles out to sea. It is the brightest light on the Oregon coast. It is said to be the most photographed lighthouse in the United States. 

The Heceta Head Lighthouse is a haunted lighthouse. Stories tell of a friendly elderly lady who appears as a smoky-gray apparition, her name is "Rue."  This "Gray Lady" has a habit of moving objects when work is being done - especially at the keeper's house.  The keeper’s house is now a B&B.  Many years ago, a grave of a baby was found on the Lighthouse grounds, and is believed to possibly be Rue's child.  Rue has not only been known to move items, but to also set off fire alarms while workers paint, opens and closes cupboard doors, and she has been heard walking upstairs! Many who have stayed at the B&B claim to see Rue peering down at them from an attic window, which only confirms the claims of the Gray Lady still living within the haunted Heceta Head Lighthouse.  

You can stay in the Innkeeper's B&B. I highly recommend it . . . and you, too, might see Rue roaming the grounds. If you do, send me a note. Heceta House Innkeeper's B&B

 

Sea Lion Cave

As suckers we are for the sea creatures, we visited Sea Lion Cave. The Sea lions gather in this natural amphitheater, usually during fall and winter. Care is taken not to disturb the natural habitat of the wild animals that dwell here. The sea lions that live at Sea Lion Caves is called the Northern, or more commonly the Steller Sea Lion. They derived their name from George Wilhelm Steller, a naturalist who was the first qualified observer to study and classify these sea lions. The Steller Sea Lion is known as an eared seal. In other words, they have an external ear unlike other seals. They also are unique because they have hind feet (flippers) that point forward instead of backward. The males can reach up to nearly a ton in weight. During the spring and summer breeding season they linger on the rock ledges just outside the cave entrance. This too is where the females give birth. Of course, the day we visit the cave, there is only one sea lion, lounging in the dark corners, unreachable by my camera since you are NOT allowed to use flash photography in the cave. However, from a large opening in another part of the cave, we had a spectacular view of hundreds of sea lions frolicking in the waves and sunning themselves on the beach.

Cannon Beach & Haystack Rock

Cannon Beach’s most famous geological formation, Haystack Rock, sits on the beach, rising 235 feet above. It is home to many sea creatures and sea birds, including the nesting puffins and colorful sea stars clinging to rocks dancing in the tidepools.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of the sea stars or the puffins. We spent the late afternoon hours on the beach photographing the waning sun backdropped against the Haystack Rock. 

We stayed at the Ocean Lodge. It has a "log cabin” type exterior. Our room had a fireplace and an ocean view with a small balcony overlooking the "Haystack Rock" and the waves crashing on the shoreline. The interior has several banister type stairways with small sitting areas and large windows inviting you to sit awhile. As you enter the lobby, there is a large stone fireplace with several sofas and chairs. You are greeted by a friendly and helpful staff, and most important, hot apple cider and homemade cookies! The Ocean Lodge

We arrived Halloween eve so our hostesses were dressed in their Halloween costumes! 

Haystack Rock is made of basalt, generated by lava flows from the Grand Ronde Mountains more than 10 million years ago. It is a part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. I wanted to get creative with the "rock" since it has been photographed so many times in all different ways. We had an interesting sunset with a thick blanket of clouds covering most of the sky.  A small sliver of sunset broke through, and I slapped on my Singh-ray blue-gold filter to take several shots. In the comments section, tell me what you think . . . bad or good. 

Mount St. Helen

Our magnificent trip was winding down with our last stop at Mount St. Helen. 

Early in the morning of May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted. Shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, the north face of this tall symmetrical mountain collapsed in a massive rock debris avalanche. Nearly 230 square miles of forest was blown down or buried beneath volcanic deposits. At the same time a mushroom-shaped column of ash rose thousands of feet skyward and drifted downwind, turning day into night as dark, gray ash fell over eastern Washington and beyond. The eruption lasted 9 hours, but Mount St. Helens and the surrounding landscape were dramatically changed within moments.

In 1982, the President Ronald Reagan and Congress created the 110,000-acre National Volcanic Monument for research, recreation, and education. Inside the Monument, the environment is left to respond naturally to the disturbance. 

As the season was coming to close so was the Johnston Ridge Observatory.  We would be one of the few to make it up there before it closed for the winter.  As we drove up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory, we notice the devastating effects from that eruption so long ago.  You can still see a definite path the pyroclastic flow took on its tumultuous way down the volcano destroying over 150,000 acres of land. To the right is Mount St. Helen. As your eyes follow the river below, the area is still void of trees but vegetation is coming back 29 years later.

The Observatory afforded us a wide angle view of the blown out crater side. Unfortunately, I didn't have great light but the cloud cover was WOW! We caught the last movie showing of the eruption put on by the Observatory. It was a very interesting video of the events of that faithful day. When the show was over we were asked to remain seated. The screen disappeared into the ceiling, the backstage curtains were drawn, and we were treated to a spectacular view of the volcano. Everyone grasped!

 

Rolling Up the River - Lewis & Clark Style

Just keep on rolling, rolling, rolling on the river,” as the old Tina Turner song goes . . . and that was exactly what we did.  We joined 28 members of the alumni of the U.S. Naval Academy on a National Geographic cruise up the Columbia River, reenacting the Lewis & Clark Expedition, of course 21^st century style. No we did not have to canoe down the river – thank goodness!

PORTLAND OREGON

We flew into Portland, the night before the cruise's departure, staying at the lovely River Place Hotel with an absolutely gorgeous view of the Willamette River and harbor. If you find yourself in Portland, please do NOT miss staying at the RiverPlace Hotel, you will not regret it. The fall foliage was on parade for all to see with different shades of golden yellows, bright hues of reds, greens and browns. The park grounds next to the hotel were covered with hundreds of Canadian geese.  Good luck trying to find a empty spot to picnic that doesn't have an angry goose and/or goose poop! The hotel has a semi-wrap around porch with wood rocking chairs and tables. Inside, the bar has a huge rock fireplace with surrounding soft leather sofas and chairs. Our ship is docked in the adjacent harbor where one Great Blue Heron solely resides. 

 

The National Geographic Sea Lion accommodates 62 guests – large enough to operate in remote environments in comfort, yet small enough to enter ports and narrow inlets inaccessible to larger ships.  We had an excellent crew of hard working young people and a great chef!  The lounge provided us with ample amounts of libations.  The cocktail hour was filled with scrumptious samples of cheeses, fruits and crackers. One night we were treated to an array of sinful chocolate delights. Almost every night was complimentary wine from the Oregon and Washington vineyards.

SUMMARY OF THE HISTORY OF LEWIS & CLARK EXPEDITION

If the historic Lewis & Clark Expedition has always eluded you, then I am here to tell you all about it.  Believe me. . .I have ate, slept and drank Lewis & Clark for the last six days! Yikees! 

President Thomas Jefferson, being a visionary before his time, was looking for westward trade routes for commerce. To accomplish this monumental task, President Jefferson employed William Clark and Meriwether Lewis of the Corps of Discovery. It took Lewis & Clark two years, 31 men, a Newfoundland, and two tons of provisions, including a stash of gifts for the Native Americans they met along the way to complete their journey, which crossed the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, over the Continental Divide, and into the mouth of the Columbia River and out to the Pacific Ocean. And throughout this intrepid journey only one man was lost and that was to a physical illness. 

At 4pm, the cruise got underway and left downtown Portland, which borders the Willamette River. As we motored towards the confluence with the Columbia River, we traveled under a series of bridges: Hawthorne, Morrison, Burnside, Steele, Broadway, Fremont, St. John's railroad and the St. John's Gothic bridge.

EASTERN WASHINGTON'S WINE COUNTRY

As we were cruising up the river, I noticed the stark contrast of the terrain.  The evergreen jungle of pines of the Cascade Mountains gave way to the semi-arid buttes and steppes of monolithic rock formations when the tectonic plates collided against each other millions of years ago.  

I awoke early the first morning (5am) as our ship was processing through a LOCK. This was pretty exciting since I had always wanted to go through the Panama Canal. I was told this is just as good! There is a series of dams and locks, which you go through as you proceed up the Columbia River. 

It is a modern miracle for that time when these locks were built, how the huge gates close behind the ship, water fills to the level of the river on the other side of the dam.  Once water level is reached, the gate opens, and the ship continues up the river. I believe we passed through 13 lock systems on this journey. 

To ensure that the salmon can make their way upstream to spawn, "salmon ladders" were built beside the dams.  And, as the baby salmon make their way to the sea, huge streams of water shoot out to protect them from the predators above. 

Recently, the dam & lock systems along the Columbia River have become increasingly controversial with environmentalists screaming about the "quality of life" to the salmon.  This argument has gained some ground since the salmon runs have not been up-to-par, and then there is the cost to maintain.

 

HELLS CANYON

We elected to jet boat 60 miles up the Snake River through Hells Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America. Hells Canyon is a ten-mile wide canyon bordering eastern Oregon and western Idaho. The canyon was carved by the Snake River, and plunges more than a mile below the west rim of the Oregon side. The early settlers to the canyon were the Nez Perce tribe. Three members of the Lewis & Clark Expedition made it to the mouth of the canyon on the Salmon River but turned away before actually viewing the canyon.

The canyon's name comes from miners talking about how hot it gets in the canyon . . . upwards of 120 degrees F. It is only accessible by boat.

We sailed right through class 3 rapids with ease on our jet boat, passing dramatic gorges and abandoned gold mines.

The jet boat can hold numerous people. Lucky for us, most on the cruise choose not to go jetting down the Snake River for the day. I highly recommend Beamer's Hells Canyon Tours .

At every bend in the river, I was looking all around for soaring eagles or bighorn sheep.  No eagles but did come upon a small herd of bighorn sheep. The group got excited to see some real petroglyph's left behind by the Nez Perce tribe, and I got some photos . . .

 

PALOUSE RIVER ANS WATERFALL

A tributary of the Snake River, the Palouse River, empties out from a remote, narrow canyon, where we embarked, aboard a Zodiac, to follow the river looking at the sheer vertical incline of the canyon walls.

We found beaver dams, no beaver since they are nocturnal. It was too shallow to proceed up river to the falls but Jim yelled, “Portage,” which seemed like a “good” idea at the time but we had no takers.   

The massive Bretz flood that occurred over 10,000 years ago during the last ice age carved the landscape and exposed the basalt. The Lake Missoula Flood (also known as the Bretz Flood) occurred when Glacial Lake Missoula in northwest Montana broke through its ice dam in northern Idaho and rained down the Columbia River. 

Because it was noted that the concept of the Lake Missoula Flood was a gigantic flood from an unknown source, resembling too much the biblical Genesis great flood, gave birth to a controversial history that lasted over 40 years. Victor Baker states: 

"Bretz flood theory was so despicable that even circular reason ing could be employed to erect an alternative hypothesis. … One cannot but be amazed at the spectacle of otherwise objective scientists twisting hypotheses to give a uniformitarian explanation to the Channeled Scabland. Undoubtedly these men thought they were upholding the very framework of geology as it had been established in the writings of Hutton, Lyell, and Agassiz. "

The scenery in the canyon was breathtaking -- sheer vertical basalt columns separated by narrow shelves pitted with dried grass and brush and sometimes rattlesnakes! Yikees!! I loved the mirrored images of the rock formation reflected in the calm, cold waters.

We did get to the falls, however, the modern way – by bus! From high above, on top of the bluffs, we could see the river far below, dwarfing where we once had been. The Palouse Waterfall is all that remains from a series of waterfalls created by the Bretz Flood. At the brink of the falls stands a serrated rib of basalt spires which mimics the turrets of a medieval castle, with defenses manned by stalwart gulls. As it plunges to a depth of 198 feet, faint trails can be seen. A steep trail leads down a narrow rock cleft to the base of the falls has been closed because of danger from rockfall and RATTLESNAKES! There were large, yellow warning signs about the dangers of rattlesnakes everywhere.

We were back where the vegetation changed from dry steppe to temperate rain forest. Jim got a fishing license in Hood River. We picked up some sandwiches and drinks and headed for the river to fly fish or at least, get the “fly wet.”

Finally, I got my bald eagle shot! After hearing over and over again -- did you see the bald eagle? I was in a state of despair.  I must disclose that this particular bald eagle was NOT wild but a rescue bird at the Hood River Discovery Center.  But heck, you gotta get it where you can. However, when I look at this photo, I swear the bird looks STUFFED, and the background looks fake . . . something you would see in a museum. Believe me, it is ALL REAL! I have witnesses.

I awoke early again to catch the Columbia River Bar on slack tide.  I got to experience one of nature’s truly awesome spectacles, as Pacific Ocean swell heaves on shore and across the bar from the open sea. Once called, “The Graveyard of the Pacific,” by sailors. Before the great dams slowed the current, storm waves reached 100’ high. Ships often had to wait 80 days for weather to clear enough to enter!

While Jim toured Fort Clatsop, where the Lewis & Clark spent the winter of 1805-06, I used the time to write my blog in peace and quiet in the lounge of the Sea Lion, sipping on delicious mint tea, with a view of river before me. 

BEARD'S HOLLOW

We finished up our completion of Lewis & Clark’s Expedition with a journey to Beard’s Hollow to explore along the rugged Washington coastline, and hopefully, experience the same height of enthusiasm as Lewis & Clark felt in their accomplishment of the exploration of the Western United States forging a pathway to the Pacific Ocean.

A sandy path took us through a wooded forest straight onto the beach looking outward towards the crashing waves pounding the shoreline. It was a chilly, overcast day. I used a special filter in post processing to reflect the moody atmosphere with not a soul in sight, as we explored the beach. Looking to the north and south, bordered by vertical cliffs, it appeared almost as if the land had just fallen into the sea leaving jagged edges and huge boulders below. 

The coastline of the Pacific Northwest is unlike any I have experienced before and certainly not like the Caribbean islands. I was getting anxious. I wanted to spend hours capturing the true essence of this land.

More to come as my husband and I explore the hidden beauty of the Oregon coastline, famous for stormy beaches, large boulders, wildlife, and haunted lighthouses.