West Coast Shootout #3 10 Mile Point

The third installment of Pacific Marine Imaging’s monthly photo extravaganza took place at one of the most popular shore diving locations on Southern Vancouver Island. We all met at Ten Mile Point in the hopes of finding some octopus and exploring areas away from the main wall that are not usually accessible due to the strong currents. The slack on Sunday was almost two hours long, which would give us a large window of opportunity to dive and explore these areas.

When we arrived, we found that the weather conditions were just as favourable as the currents. However, once we descended, the visibility was definitely not a refection of what was happening on the surface! The deeper we dropped, the darker it became, and by the time we reached the base of the wall it was as dark a night dive with the particulate clouding the visibility to only about ten feet. This created some challenging shooting conditions except for those photographers with macro lenses. Most of us stuck close to the wall while one group ventured off to take advantage of the slack and get some images of whatever may be lurking in the darkness.

As I swam along the base of the wall, it was apparent that even in the darkness this area was teeming with life.  We could definitely tell that it is spring time on the west coast: nudibranchs and snails are laying eggs, while Cabazons and lingcod stand guard protecting their clutches against all that intrude.  Just hatched tiny rockfish dart about fearful of what seems to be even their own shadow. The way that the current feeds this area with nutrients allows for a plethora of creatures to thrive and provides lucky divers like ourselves with the chance to enjoy the greatness of their world. Although this shootout didn’t provide me with the best of photographic opportunities due to the fact that I was shooting with my wide angle lens (macro would have been a much better choice), it did give me some time to reflect on how wonderful our marine areas are and why I am so passionate about protecting and cherishing them. I only managed to capture a few images in the end, but the day was well worth it: diving with friends and remembering why I love the ocean so much.

Thank you to everyone who came out and I am looking forward to the next shootout in April.

Scott

     

Adventure #3

Ten Mile Point, Victoria BC

 

Date: Sunday March 27, 2011

Time: 8:30 am

Ten Mile Point is one of the best shore diving sites on Southern Vancouver Island. The tidal exchanges and current flow provide an adundance of food for the amazing amount of marine life that inhabits this area. The tidal exchange is favourable on March 27^th and should be an excellent day to dive this site. Thank you to everyone who came out for the last two shootouts and I am really looking forward to this one.

Read more at www.8arm.com

West Coast Shootout #2 Ogden Point Beakwater

I planned the second West Coast Shootout for the Ogden Point Breakwater and really wanted to showcase the marine life of this amazing dive site to everyone who came out. We were very lucky and had a warm, sunny day with light wind, which made for great conditions both above and below the water. I would like to thank everyone who came out, as once again, it was a great turn out. As a group we decided to trek down the breakwater to the second bend. Our goal was to find the resident Wolf eels and possibly get some images of them along with the numerous schooling rockfish that reside at the breakwater. After a warm walk we hit the water and within a couple of minutes we had found one of the wolf eels. Unfortunately for us, he was hiding in his den and there was no way to get any decent images. Not far from that Wolf eel, we came across a second one and found the same issue as this one was even further back in its den and getting images was impossible. There are times when these creatures are very inquisitive and playful and others when they want nothing to do with divers.
Our swim back from the second bend was filled with encounters with schools of Puget Sound and Yellowtail Rockfish, large Lingcod, and a juvenile Cabazon. We even came across an octopus hidden in the rocks around Flag 2! The most exciting find of the day was a Cabazon guarding a large clutch of beautiful purple eggs. Cabazons are known for their aggressive and territorial behavior, however this one was very protective of her eggs and would not budge from atop her rocky nest. This made for a great photographic opportunity, and having Ken provide some great modeling skills really helped create some awesome images.
Once again, thank you to everyone who came out for this West Coast Shootout and I am really looking forward to the next ones to come.

Scott

     

     

West Coast Shootout #1 – Madrona Point Part 2

The second dive of the day for the West Coast Shootout, we hopped in at the small wall. This wall is located to the left of the beach, and the best entrance is down a small ravine that leads to the water. This wall runs parallel to the beach and is quite shallow (maximum 40 ft/ 12 m), however the life is incredible. The rocks that jut out of the sand are covered in anemones, sea stars and macro life. The wall is also undercut, providing a sanctuary for many juvenile fish and is a great place to find Bay Pipefish, which are relatives to the seahorse. On previous dives I have seen hundreds of these elusive creatures in one area. There are also a number of shallow octopus dens scattered along the length of this wall. On this particular dive, we managed to find 4 octopus on the wall and I was able to get some great images of one large octo hunkered down in its den. I decided to shoot macro on this dive hoping that I would get some images of a pipefish along with some of the different nudibranch species that reside on this small wall. I was not disappointed: not only did I find a pipefish, but I also managed to shoot a large octopus in its den. This particular octopus was quite large (5-6 ft /2 m) across and was hiding under a slab of rock. To be able to get a good shot I had to remove my strobes from my housing and place them off camera to generate the light that I needed. I also placed my spotting light off camera, which allowed me to see, and my camera to focus. The images turned out quite well showing that sometimes you have to think outside of the box to get the shot you want.

I would like to thank everyone who came out for this first shootout, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year!

Scott

   

Part 1 of the Madrona Point Blog link

West Coast Shootout #1 – Madrona Point Part 1

With all the excitement surrounding last year’s West Coast Shootouts I had to continue this monthly event into 2011. The first shootout was at Madrona Point in Parksville, BC. The amazing marine life and incredible visibility at this site keeps me coming back both for myself and to showcase it to others. As an underwater photographer, Madrona is one place where I can photograph a multitude of nudibranch, rockfish and other fish species all condensed into one small area. This site is also great for spotting wolf eels and octopus, along with the occasional sea lion encounter. 

On this particular day, the plan was to do two dives: one at the large wall, and the second dive at the small wall. Madrona’s large, or main wall, starts in about 35 ft (12 m) of water and drops down to 100 ft (33 m), and is a haven for several rockfish species and kelp greenlings.  If you can imagine, this wall is about 500 ft (150 m) long and is 65 ft (20 m) high at its highest point, tapering off at each end. The wall is covered in what can only be described as mini caves and holes. A vast array of marine life reside in these holes of various sizes and shapes: octopus and wolf eels use them for dens, Tiger Rockfish nestle deep inside the larger ones, and gunnels and sculpins peer out at you from the darkness.
  

Once everyone was geared up, we headed out for the main wall. The visibility could only be described as a phenomenal 50 ft. + (15 m.), and once we reached the wall it was alive with life. Everyone paired off and most of the photographers stuck together trying to help each other find something cool to shoot. I was able to get some images of a number of rockfish but most importantly I found a baby wolf eel. So exciting! After the dive everyone was raving about how amazing the visibility was and the amount of life everyone had seen. 

To be continued…

Scott

First images from West Coast Shootout #1

Here is a glimpse at the first images from the first West Coast Shootout of 2011. Check out more at 8arm.com.
 

West Coast Shootout # 1 for 2011

West Coast Shootout # 1 for 2011 has been announced for the month of January. I am excited to announce that it is going to be happening at Madrona Point in Parksville BC. Anyone interested in going on this adventure needs to check out the West Coast Shootouts page or Facebook for all the details. 2010′s West Coast Shootouts were a phenomenal especially out trip to Barkley Sound. I can't wait to see what the next twelve months will hold.
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