Happy New Year

I'd like to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year and thank everyone for the excellent year I have enjoyed. I have been lucky enough to work with some of the best charter operators and dive professionals in the industry today. These people have helped me obtain images and experience adventures that I had only dreamt about before. I had the honor this year to be published a number of times and make the cover of a magazine. I have to specifically thanks all the divers that came out for my West Coast Shootouts and am looking forward to continuing these monthly dive trips into 2011. I also have to thank Jessie Kunce from Pinnacle Scuba Adventures for providing me the access to many new and exciting dive sites and helping me get some of the best images I've ever produced. I have many new projects planned for the new year and am really looking forward to what may come.

All the best and thanks

Scott

West Coast Shootout #12 - 2010 Finale

The plan for the final West Coast Shootout of 2010 was to dive Saanich Inlet with Pinnacle Scuba Adventures. One dive was to be at Sananus Island and the second was planned for Repulse Rock (The White Lady). The day began with the remnants of the torrential down-pour from the previous day breaking, and all that was left was the fresh water runoff clouding the surface of the water with a thick brown cast so bad that a number of the divers on board were very skeptical of how the dives were going to turn out. These condition did not discourage me because of all of my previous dives in Saanich Inlet, the water colour on the surface is not a good indication of what the visibility is below and I wanted to push on. Sananus Island is an amazing dive site: this small island just north of Brentwood Bay is one of the only places on Southern Vancouver Island to have cloud sponges accessible at recreational limits making it a great spot for all divers including tech divers and underwater photographers.

As everyone returned from the first dive they were ecstatic about the cloud sponges, but most importantly how great the visibility was once everyone descended below the initial 15 ft (3 m.) of brown fresh water. The water at this depth completely cleared up and visibility was around 50 – 60 ft. (17-20 m.)! We then motored towards our second dive destination, Repulse Rock, but the wind began to pick up as we got closer to the dive site to the point where we were unable to dive safely. The consensus with the group was to dive McCurdy Point, which was much more protected from the nasty weather. The topography as we approached the site according to the sounder looked very favorable for the divers. Everyone returned even more excited from this dive than the one at Sananus Island: the life and visibility they reported was beautiful and everyone wanted to return to both locations to spend more time exploring on a future trip.

Everyone on board was so pleased with the day of diving and this was a great conclusion to 2010′s West Coast Shootouts.

Scott


 
Additional images from West Coast Shootout #12 link

The Ogden Point Reef Ball Project featured in the Time Colonist.

The Victoria Times Colonist in conjunction with UVic knowEDGE will be featuring a story about Valerie Mucciarelli and the Ogden Point Reef Ball Project at the Ogden Point Breakwater. The December 26, 2010 issue will feature the story written by Peigi McGillivray with underwater images from Scott Stevenson of Pacific Marine Imaging.

Whites Fusion Drysuit Photo shoot

Here are some of the images from the photo shoot I did with Whites Manufacturing back in September. These suits made their debut at DEMA 2010 and now that Whites are going to be selling them to the public in the new year I am able to post some images from that shoot.

Scott

Addition Images

New Fusion Drysuit Images posted on Whitesdiving.com

Whites Manufacturing has posted some of the images on their website from the Fusion Drysuit photo shoot I did for them back in September. Now that the new Fusion Drysuits have been showcased at DEMA, I am able to share some of the images from this photo shoot.

Scott