The Best Aircraft Wreck Dives in PNG - World War II came to New Guinea in January 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Rabaul in New Britain. Turning the region in to a major theater of war in the battle for the Pacific. There were many brutal encounters between the Japanese and the defending Allied forces. Conditions were often appalling, and the fighting was incredibly fierce with many young lives lost on both sides. WWII was the first time that air power played a major role in combat. And both sides had some formidable aircraft in action during the campaign for New Guinea. War is of course deadly by nature. But for the …
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The Mitsubishi Zero Wreck
The Mitsubishi Zero Wreck - As the story is told around the bar at Walindi, the day the wreck of the Zero fighter was found was soon after a small plane had crashed on take-off from Kimbe Bay's Hoskins Airport. So, when local villager William Nui found the plane laying on the sandy sea floor. He thought it was the wreckage of the recent crash... Not that of a WWII Japanese fighter that had remained undisturbed for almost 60 years! How the wreck was actually found is an interesting story in itself. Because William was free diving for sea cucumbers when he noticed what appeared to be a large shadow on the sea bed. Like many people …
Milne Bay – Where It All Began
Milne Bay - where it all began... Papua New Guinea enjoys a reputation for some of the best all-round scuba diving to be had anywhere. And truly, its combination of superb reefs, wonderful critter sites and WWII wrecks make it very hard to beat. PNG was the first country I went to when I started to dive outside Australia. And I have been fortunate to have experienced virtually all the main locations over the years. I have also been fortunate to have dived all over the vast archipelago of Indonesia. And many other global hot-spots in the Bahamas, Mexico and the Pacific. But something always brings me back to Papua New …
ONEUW One160X Strobe Review
ONEUW One160X Strobe Review... This is a first impressions review of my personal experience with this new Italian strobe. As explained below, I bought the strobes myself through my diving buddy and fellow underwater photographer Filippo Borghi. And the purpose of this review is to share my initial experience with some new and really excellent technology. ONEUW One160X Strobe Review - The Background... It’s no secret that Italians are, by nature, passionate and enthusiastic people… So when the first message arrived from my great friend Filippo Borghi extolling the virtues of the new strobes he had been testing - quite frankly I took it all …
D500 for Underwater Photography
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 changing of the guard to mirrorless is well under way. Both Nikon and Canon responded to the Sony juggernaut late last year with the Z6/7 and EOS R full-frame mirrorless cameras. And Panasonic have just …
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 on any of the islands! The isolation of the archipelago, combined with the fact that the islands have never been connected to a continent. Is said to have produced a “Galapagos effect” with flora …
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 down the 2000km long east coast of South Africa. At surface speeds of up to 8km an hour, bringing with it warm Indian Ocean water rich with nutrients. Where those waters touch offshore reef …
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 – American Crocodiles The American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is considered as a relatively large species. With males reaching maximum lengths of 5 to 6m when fully mature. While females are generally smaller at around 3 to 3.5m. Like all reptiles they are cold-blooded and breath air. So they are most comfortable in warm shallow waters. And the …
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, together with its large mouth and rather strange features gives it a quite formidable presence. They possess an amazing ability to burrow down in to the rocks of the river beds. Something they do …