Nikon D500 for Underwater Photography - A Mid-Term Review... How time flies - just over two years ago I wrote a first impressions review of my newly acquired Nikon D500. And in it I waxed lyrically about what the new “king of DX (APS-C) photography” could do. Two years is a long time in digital photography and a lot has happened. Top of the list being that it seems like the glory days of DSLR’s are probably coming to an end. And the …
Diving the Ogasawara Islands
Diving the Ogasawara Islands... Often referred to as the Oriental Galapagos, the Ogasawara archipelago is located in the north-west Pacific Ocean. About 1000km south of Tokyo and is one of the most isolated and remote parts of Japan. Despite their distance from Tokyo, the 30+ Ogasawara Islands are administered from the Japanese capital. And the only way to get there is also from Tokyo... On the weekly ferry service as there are no airports …
The Sharks of Protea Banks
The Sharks of Protea Banks... It is often described as the African equivalent of the Gulf Stream. One of the world’s most powerful oceanic currents – moving almost 70 million tons of water a second! Its name is the Agulhas Current and it forms to the south-west of the huge island of Madagascar. When the powerful Mozambique Current merges with the equally strong East Madagascar Current. From that tumultuous beginning, the Agulhas runs straight …
Chinchorro Crocodiles Encounters…
Chinchorro Crocodiles... The pursuit of unusual and compelling photo-opportunities has led me on some interesting journeys over the last few years. But few come close to the raw excitement of photographing the American Crocodiles of Mexico’s Banco Chinchorro! Chinchorro Crocodiles – The American Crocodiles The American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is considered as a relatively large species. With males reaching maximum lengths of 5 to 6m …
The Giant Japanese Salamander
The Giant Japanese Salamander is a quite unique, if rather mysterious, creature that lives in rivers across western and south-western Japan. As endemic species of Japan that is protected under federal legislation. It is formally nominated as a special natural monument because of its cultural and educational significance. The giant Japanese salamander is indeed quite large - reaching up to 1.5m in length and 25kg in weight. Which, …
Oceanic Whitetip Sharks of Cat Island
The Oceanic Whitetip Sharks of Cat Island.... It seems almost unbelievable that as recently as the mid-1960’s Carcharhinus longimanus, the Oceanic Whitetip shark, was widely considered to be one of the most abundant large animals in the world. And just over 50 years later, these sharks are on the IUCN Red List as "Vulnerable" globally. And "Critically Endangered" in the north and central western areas of the Atlantic …
Great Hammerhead Sharks of Bimini
The Great Hammerhead sharks of Bimini really are very special... There is literally nowhere else in the world where you can come face-to-face with these incredible animals so reliably. Large, increasingly rare and generally solitary animals - Great Hammerheads are really difficult to see underwater. When underwater encounters do happen they are typically fleeting at best, but not in Bimini! Where every winter a healthy population of Great …
The Australian Leafy Seadragon
The Incredible Australian Leafy Seadragon... The great brown land down under, is home to many iconic and often strange-looking creatures. Both above and below the water. But few are as unique and visually spectacular as the leafy seadragon! Typically referred to locally as “leafies”, they are also known by the common name Glauert's seadragon. Leafy seadragons are endemic to the southern and western coasts of Australia. However they are …
The Australian Giant Cuttlefish
The Amazing Australian Giant Cuttlefish... Every year come May, Whyalla in South Australia's Spencer Gulf is host to an incredible animal aggregation. For as the water temperature drops, literally hundreds of thousands of these amazing Australian giant cuttlefish arrive. They come to this sheltered area at the upper end of the Gulf for one specific and very simple reason - sex and the continuation of the species! Normally …