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 ABOUTfeatured: 30 Best Snorkeling Blogs Fun Ways to enjoy the caribbeanArchive for the ‘OCEAN REALM’Mar 22, 12 Comments Off
Good morning all, it’s time to wake up and get this party started. We had a very busy day at Substation yesterday and for once I didn’t get home till 6:00. We had two passengers yesterday both in wheel-chairs, one blind and the other handicapped and we got them both in the sub! For the blind man it was all about the “experience in sounds” and afterwards he said it was one of the greatest things he has ever done. Joining the two handicapped guys was my friend Bart who described everything in detail that they were seeing to his friend that was blind, combine that with the pilot talking to support hundreds of feet above their heads and the sound of the motors it makes for a pretty cool experience. We have taken quite a few handicapped folks down in the sub over the course of a year, if we can’t lift them in with pure muscle we have a harness that we attach and lower them in with a crane, if you want to go, we can get you inside! For me taking pictures underwater of them proved to be the biggest challenge but it was mission accomplished in the end and the photos proved to be a big hit. Our second dive we had one lady that rushed here from a cruise ship that docked at 2:00 in the afternoon. She was from America and was joined by another lady who works for one of our local magazines, they were both a lot of fun and again had the time of their lives. Substation is now rated the #1 Best Attraction in Curacao all thanks to our customers leaving great comments on Trip Advisor, it may be a tad expensive at $650 a ride but really how many folks can say they have been in a sub that went to 1000 feet?? Here is the website again if your wanting to join the fun, www.substation-curacao.com
Here is a beautiful “open for business” Knobby Sea Rod, Eunicea spp with the polyps extended. These are beautiful Gorgonians or Octocorals that cover the reef and look like swaying underwater trees!! They can be found growing between 30-160 feet and in some spots in Curacao there are areas that look like underwater forests and with every passing wave they sway back and forth!! If disturbed these single little flowers you see called polyps will quickly retract inside the branches and it will then look like a yellow stick. Each single little polyp you see is capable of grabbing food that passes by and acts as a water filter of sorts which in turn feeds the whole animal, so cool!!
It’s off to work, have a wonderful day, Barry
Mar 21, 12 Comments Off
Blue Light and PhotoShop
Blue Light and White Light-15 second exposure Good morning friends, how are you all doing today?? I am once again half awake and sitting in an upright position at 5:00 in the morning trying hard to produce something that makes sense.
So yesterday we did something new, we photographed a deep water Scorpionfish with a Blue Light which caused parts of the fish to fluoresce, like the eye and the background. We recently were introduced to this new found way of seeing things literally as they say “in a different light” by a man named Charlie Mazel who owns a company called “Night Sea”, here is the link; www.nightsea.com We used a tripod for this photo and did a 15 second exposure in the dark with only the blue-light and a small white light to help bring out some of the fishes normal body color and the purple color was thanks to a trick in photo shop. Fluorescence is the name for the absorption of light at one wavelength and its re-emission at another wavelength. What that boils down to is that some things will glow when you shine the right light on them. The ‘right light’ can be different for different targets. We are most used to seeing fluorescence produced by ultraviolet light, often called ‘black light’ because we humans can’t see it. At Night Sea they mostly deal with specially filtered blue lights, because the blue has proved to be better at making most things underwater fluoresce.
Just about everyone who has dove at night has seen little flashing lights in the water. Usually this comes from single-celled organisms, called dinoflagellates, but there are a number of marine critters that can make their own glow. They produce light by a chemical reaction called bioluminescence, the same way that fireflies light up. Most emit light when physically disturbed, and the motion of your body through the water can set them off. Bioluminescence and fluorescence are both forms of luminescence. A big difference between them is that for fluorescence you have to stimulate the glow by shining a light on the subject, while for bioluminescence everything needed to glow is already contained in the organism. This New Scorpionfish was recently found at around 600 feet with the new Curasub, the Sea Aquariums latest two million dollar attraction. Stijn and I did a very fast paced bike ride last night and I am still yawning from that one! Will be underwater a lot today, be well and I will see you back here tomorrow, Barry
Mar 20, 12 Comments Off
Good morning from Curacao. The wind has finally stopped! Sunday was the first day in a long time that we had calm seas and no wind, it was great! The weekend was busy as usual, Saturday I first took the dogs for an hour and a half walk then took off on a 42 mile, four hour mountain bike ride along our windy North coast! I finally found the time to catch up on some needed training and had a great time in the process minus the crazy blowing wind. On Sunday I did a dive helping to move some endangered Elkhorn corals at a site where a big hotel is soon to be built, talk about a big, crazy project. After that I got the dogs and camera equipment ready and waited for Aimee to get off work, we then all went to Saint Joris Bay for a fun evening walk and finally got some photos of the new puppy. The downside to our evening was finding a rare endangered Hawksbill turtle that the locals caught and killed, it’s like we say here; ”if it moves they will eat it”!!
Here is a cool Caribbean creature, it’s called an Apricot Sidegill Slug, Berthellina engeli. Aimee found this while moving rocks out of one of the dolphin pools and like a good girl brought it directly to yours truly so it could be photographed. What we do is just put them in a container in a cool dark area while I run a get my gear ready. I then get a smaller cup with holes in it and carefully place our new found creatures in there and then it’s off we go out onto the reef for a photo shoot. After every photo session I then find a nice new area for them to call home somewhere on the reef and let them go and I never leave till I know they are safe. This slug here was around two inches in length and usually spend their days hiding under reef rubble, especially flat slabs of coral. When disturbed they may secrete sulphuric acid in defense.
It’s time to make the coffee, hope all is well out there, be back soon. Barry
Mar 16, 12 Comments Off
Good morning friends, how are you all this fine Friday morning?? I am up early again, yawning and half asleep wondering where my week has gone! I was in the water twice yesterday with the sub, first group was a nice family of four from the States and the second was two guys each from different countries. On the second dive we were joined by Bart, “the Ring Blowing Master” and he put on a show for all of us underwater including the sub that was parked right in front of us at 40 feet. I did get a few photos and will send you one soon so you can see what I mean, it really was pretty cool.
Here is a very hidden Peacock Flounder, Bothus lunatus that I found laying on the sand under the Substation platform the other day. These flounders are masters of disguise and won’t move unless they know for sure they have been spotted. Like other fish and creatures they rely on camouflage and have the unique ability to change their own colors to match almost any surrounding, it’s truly one of the most amazing things I have ever seen! The two black arrows are pointing to the two eyes that protrude from his head on top of his sleek, flat body and he again has the unique ability to turn those eyes in almost any position!
It’s looking like rain, need to go close all the windows, have a wonderful day all! Barry
Mar 15, 12 Comments Off
Good morning friends, here is one super cool fish that resides right on the Substation reef and I get to see him and his lovely mate each and every day. These are called Scrawled Filefish, Aluterus scriptus and can grow to be one meter or three feet in length! Most people confuse these fish for triggerfish but they are indeed filefish. Triggerfishes, Balistidae, can lock their stout front dorsal fins erect with a ridged second spine, which with it’s interconnected web of tissue, resembles a “trigger”. Filefishes, Monacanthidae on the other hand cannot lock their elongate spine into place. When raised the spine resembles a woodworker’s rattail file. These fish are fairly uncommon and very special, you are lucky if you see one on any given dive that’s why I feel so lucky to have a mated pair living right on our house reef. And speaking of our “house reef” a few were asking me the other day about the big school of Bogas and if they are still around and the answer is YES! I love my Bogas, I need to get a t-shirt made that says that, they are just so much fun to swim with and I know after all this time they are getting to know me as the whole school comes to greet me each time I swim out on the reef now, you can call me “Dances with Fish”!
That’s about it, did a photo shoot yesterday for Scuba Diving magazine for their May issue of “Ask an Expert”, be watching for it because Aimee will be one of the divers in the photo.
Have a wonderful day all, Barry
Mar 14, 12 Comments Off
Here is a beautiful Pederson Cleaner Shrimp or Periclimenes pedersoni I found the other day sitting on top of a Corkscrew Anemone, Bartholomea annulata. These shrimps are easily identified with their transparent bodies and their legs, tail and backs covered in beautiful bright purple and black spots. They also have two of the longest white, hair-like antennae I have ever seen, so long in fact I can never get them in the photo. These cleaning shrimps are known for perching on the tentacles of anemones and swaying their bodies and waving their antennae to attract fish. Then once spotted a fish will either hover above the shrimp or rest on the sand and let the shrimp come to them and within seconds the cleaning begins! I have noticed from my years of watching this that if a fish is really in need of cleaning treatment it always lays on the sand with it’s mouth open but if it just needs a simple quick look-over then they always hover with the engine running, it’s so cool to watch. For you divers if you slowly lay your hand down in front of them or extend a finger and just wait a few seconds they will come over and start cleaning your hand, they love digging around your nails and it feels so strange.
I had a busy day yesterday, two dives followed by a super fast mountain bike with Stijn. I was actually not going to go riding as I did not hear from Stijn all day but then he showed up ready to go so 15 minutes later we were out getting crazy in the wilds of Curacao. About ten minutes into the ride we had to stop and seek shelter under a big rock as a little rain storm passed over which ended up making the rocks very slippery. We continued on at a slower pace until the rocks dried out and then turned on the gas a bit more.
That’s about it, I am doing a photo shoot for one of the dive magazines this afternoon with Aimee and Jonny as my models, will let you know how that goes.
A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of our best buds in South Dakota, Dan Schneider!!!! Have a great day, Barry
Mar 13, 12 Comments Off
Good morning friends. This is a close-up of the body section of a big beautiful orangish colored Giant Basket Star, Astrophyton muricatum. During the day these basket stars are found coiled in a very tight balls attached to sponges or gorgonians. This one was attached to Sea Fan, something I have never seen before. During the night they open up and feed by orienting themselves to face into the current and spreading their long arms. Once open for business they filter planktonic animals grabbing anything out of the water that passes by, it’s one of those things you have to see to understand. The second they sense light, they will start to close which is why they are so hard to photograph.
Not a whole lot to report from our little island this morning all is quiet and for the first time in weeks I don’t hear any wind! I did one deep dive down to 125 feet yesterday photographing some urchins and after that spent a good part of the day cleaning my office and the cameras. I am trying to find some time to photograph the new puppy we have but it still hasn’t happened, will do it this week for sure, I promise!
Lots to do, have a wonderful day, Barry
Mar 12, 12 Comments Off
Good morning friends, how was your weekend?? Mine was again very uneventful except for a crash on the mountain bike yesterday that ended up keeping me inside on ice for the rest of the day. I left the left house before 7:00am yesterday under very stormy skies and a very high wind in hopes of getting a much over-do two hour bike ride in. The first 30 minutes went by fairly fast but the second I arrived at the North coast and turned East into the wind it was like I was peddling but going nowhere! For those of you who know the frustration of riding into a mega strong wind you can feel my pain, at times I thought I could push this bike faster than I was peddling! My crash happened half way thru the ride on a section of tight, sandy, loose single-track above Saint Joris Bay, I had too much air in my tires and the front tire slid out from under me on a very tricky corner! I crashed and burned pretty hard, my knee is swollen and cut up, my hip looks like a meat-lovers pizza and my elbows and even face are banged up, ahhh the joys of mountain biking!! So needless to say the rest of the day was spent at home although I did limp way for awhile to the glass beach for a little collecting. So other than a little trail work on Saturday and some shopping that was my weekend. I did update my Driftwood Page on the website and added a few new things I built for Aimee, you can go to the link here and see for yourself, http://www.coralreefphotos.com/driftwood-creations/
Here is a Whitespotted Filefish, Cantherhines macrocerus for your viewing pleasure today. These cool looking fish are usually always seen in pairs, one will display this spotted pattern as you see here and the other will be in all in orange and brown without the spots. If threatened these fish will turn their heads into danger and use that sharp spine on the top of their head as a sword of sorts to defend themselves! I have tried for years to get a good photo of two of these fish together as a pair but it’s not as easy as it seems, one is always just a little out of the picture.
I will be in the lab photographing deep-water fish and creatures all day so maybe I will have something new for you soon. Have a wonderful day, Barry
Mar 10, 12 Comments Off
Good morning friends, we actually woke to the sound of thunder and saw some lightning flash thru the windows early this morning but so far no rain. Our little island is slowly drying out from all the moisture over the past few months and we really haven’t had much for rain in the past few weeks. Also, this has been the windiest season I can remember it being here, and for those of you who know me know that I am not a big fan of the wind!!
Yesterday was super busy again at the Substation, we did three dives again which means I crawled home after! For me it’s not the dive itself that is tiring because I am only under with the sub for 10-15 minutes, it’s the preparation for each dive and carrying the gear back and forth, like tanks, weights and heavy cameras and of course your wearing a wetsuit in the sun. Yeah, I know poor me, I have to dive in the Caribbean Sea everyday, ok, I will just stop! We have had wild dolphins and eagle rays pass out by out front almost everyday and there have been reports of whales as well around the island not to mention sightings of hammerhead sharks in the shallows.
I am off today, not sure what I will do yet but am sure it will start by walking our three hounds. We thought we had found a home for the new puppy but that fell thru in a bad way this week and we are now back to square one, will send her photo out on Monday to you all.
Here is a beautiful long Trumpetfish, Aulostomus maculatus just hanging out in his home made of firecoral. I took this during a night dive and like most other fish these guys will find a suitable home for the evening and usually just stay in one spot. These fish like others can change colors and are able to position their bodies to blend in with a certain backgrounds. They often drift in a vertical position with their heads down and often hide in gorgonians and look just like a branch on a sea rod.
I better get moving, the dogs are giving me “the look”. Have a wonderful weekend, Barry
Mar 8, 12 Comments Off
Hi friends, here is yet another first for all of us. This is a mega-sized sea urchin that was found with the new Curacao mini-sub at a depth of 800 feet!! It’s called Calocidaris micans and has been observed living in the sand and feeding from the 600 foot level all the way down to 1000 feet! Including the spines this animal here was close to 12 inches wide!! That’s a big sea-urchin!! The shell you see in front is called a Slit Shell also known as Perotrochas Quoyanus from the family Pleurotomariidae and is considered one of the rarest and most valuable shells in the World. There are about 1000 known species of sea-urchins. They assume a great variety of shapes, ranging from essentially spherical (“regular” urchins) to discoidal or heart-shaped (“irregulars”). The spines they carry may be tiny and fragile, forming a furry covering, or they may be massive and heavy or long, sharp and brittle. The tube feet are arranged in five bands from the mouth to the anus in regular sea urchins, while in irregular urchins they may be restricted to fields, where they may be used for respiration. Regular sea urchins typically have five teeth, which they use for scraping algae and small organisms from hard substrates. Most irregular urchins lack teeth, and they may feed on organic particles selected from the seafloor, or on ingested mud or sand. Customers ask me everyday, “what will we see in the sub and how deep are we going? I tell them; “you never know” and assure them that they will for sure see something like these beautiful urchins or some new species of fish, it’s a whole new undiscovered World down there and it’s well worth the price of admission!
We got a little rain today, not a lot but it was nice! Take care of each other, Barry
Mar 7, 12 Comments Off
Hi friends, here is something really cool that I have never seen here before, it’s a tiny, very young, Slate-Pencil Urchin, Eucidaris tribuloides. I was out on the reef collecting some rocks that were covered in algae and encrusting sponges to be used as food for some of the deep water creatures we have when I spotted this cute little-tiny sea urchin clinging to the bottom side of one of the rocks. These urchins cover the reefs here but are seldom seen because they hide during the day in very sheltered locations and come out to feed on algae at night. Once fully grown this little sea urchin will be around four inches in length, that’s including his spines. These urchins can be found from zero to 164 feet hiding in every nook and cranny on the reef waiting for darkness to feed. Look at your own fingernail and then look back at the photo to really get a feel of just how small this little sweetheart is, he is so cute!
Yesterday was crazy-day for me, I ran around non-stop from 8:00 till 6:00 and went to bed exhausted!! Besides the three sub dives, I had a long time friend from my childhood show up who was passing thru on a cruise ship. Unfortunately I was unable to do or go anywhere with her as I was knee-deep in work tasks but she ended up hanging out with me at the substation for quite awhile, I honestly really hated to see her go and wanted so badly to spend more time with her. She brought a big bag of goodies from the States and even a gift from my mom in Tucson and I told her she has to come back and stay with us for at least a week. After work I raced home in “tired mode” and somehow managed to do a pitiful one hour bike ride with Stijn. Not having my bike for the past month really put a dent in my in shapeness, Stijn got faster and I got slower, will need to kick it up a notch in the training department now on the weekends!
I hope your all doing well, we miss hearing from many of you. see you again soon, Barry
Mar 5, 12 Comments Off
Good evening readers, I finally got my photo!! For one week now I have been trying and trying to catch this little baby, two inch Common Octopus, Octopus vulgaris coming out of his shell home, not an easy task!! He usually watches us from inside the shell but with only one eye sticking out and the slightest little movement and he would disappear for the rest of the day inside. I see there are crab parts all around the shell so he was eating even if we never saw it. This morning I had told Joe, our fish expert, that I give up! “Lets just put him back in the sea I said”, I just don’t think we are going to get this photo and I sure don’t want to hurt him or scare him a day longer! No sooner did those words come out of my mouth and out he came and just sat here like you see in this photo for the next fifteen minutes giving me more than enough time to get the needed shots! I snapped away in complete delight almost crazed with excitement at times and finally yelled to Joe (who was in another room) to get in here and check him out which followed by high fives all around! This species of octopus is know for being out and hunting during the day unlike the Caribbean Reef Octopus that only hunt at night! Octopus can release about 100,000 1/8th of an inch eggs at a time. that’s a lot of kids! This is by far one of the smallest octopus we have ever seen let along get a chance to observe and photograph, such a treat! I have a few other fun shots that I will send out as well, it was hard to pick a favorite today!
Off to bed, have a great evening, Barry
Mar 5, 12 Comments Off
Good morning from windy Curacao!! We are now in our windy season which is great for collecting beach glass and flying kites but bad for biking and diving! Because of the rough ocean waves we are seeing more and more Portuguese Man-O-Wars Jellyfish coming to shore so be extra carefully if your swimming or wading in the water here this week!
Our new friends arrived Saturday night and are staying at the Royal Resorts hotel next door to the Substation for a week. They brought my repaired rear FOX shock for me and yesterday I put it on and went for a long overdue ride! It’s been almost one month without my bike and I have been forced to ride Aimee’s or Stijn’s old one and neither fits me very well at all. Speaking of Stijn, he won his bike race yesterday and called me soon after to give me an update. Stijn will be going with me to the States this year for a month and we are both taking our bikes, I want to get him into as many races as we can, that kind of training will do a lot for him.
It was a fairly quiet weekend here, did some long dog walks mixed with a whole lot of trail cleaning, a short bike ride yesterday, some beach glass collecting with our new friends and worked on my driftwood creations with Stijn’s help. We may have a friend interested in the new puppy, who is laying next to me chewing on a bone, I think Aimee is meeting with them this evening for a dog-walk, keep your fingers crossed.
This is a photo from last years trip to Bonaire with our friends Aaron Gulley and Jen Judge. These are my favorite sponges to find, they are called Stove-Pipe Sponges, Aplysina archeri and they just have a special way of decorating the reef. The long, thin dark purple sponges to the right of the photo are called Row Pore Rope Sponges, Aplysina cauliformis and mixed in with and around the Stove Pipes are different kinds of Gorgonians, really a beautiful little reef scene.
It’s time to make the coffee, have a great Monday, I will hopefully have a baby octopus in a shell photo for you soon, bye now, Barry
Mar 3, 12 Comments Off
Good morning friends, running late so this will be a quickie!! I spent yesterday in the new “deep water lab” photographing new beautiful fish from the deep and trying to get my baby octopus photo again. As of last night we think we figured out why the baby octopus has been hiding in his shell so much, it’s because the water is colder! When we brought him into the lab days ago the water was normal temperature water from right outside in the ocean and he was swimming around and doing fine. But what we forgot was, now he was in a room where the air-co is on all the time for the deep-water fish to keep their water cold and it cooled his tank as well slowing his metabolism down. So as of last night Joe, our aquarium specialist went and found an aquarium heater and will slowly heat the water back up till it is the same as it was when we started, that should make a World of difference. Once I get my photos he will be re-released into the sea, he can then tell all his new friends about this crazy adventure at the Curacao Sea Aquarium.
Here is a close-up photo showing the extended polyps of a Giant Slit-Pore Sea Rod, Plexaurella nutans. These are beautiful Gorgonians or Octocorals that cover the reef and look like swaying underwater trees!! They can be found growing between 30-160 feet and in some spots in Curacao there are areas that look like underwater forests and with every passing wave they sway back and forth!! If disturbed these single little flowers you see called polyps will quickly retract inside the branches and it will then look like a yellow stick. Each single little polyp you see is capable of grabbing food that passes by and acts as a water filter of sorts which in turn feeds the whole animal, so cool!!
Time to walk the dogs and do some trail work, see you all soon, have a wonderful weekend! Barry
Mar 2, 12 Comments Off
Good morning from Curacao. It’s again 5:30 in the morning and it’s just me and the puppy that are awake, everyone else is still fast asleep. Like normal if I don’t get this sent in the evenings I have to get up early or it just plain won’t get done. Yesterday was busy at Substation, we did a dive at 9:00, 11:00 and 1:00 and after that I was done! I was supposed to go biking with Stijn and Arjan but just had nothing left and I have learned from experience that diving and biking do not mix!! I went to check on the baby octopus a few times yesterday but he stayed in his shell all day. At 8:30 last night I went back to work to see if he had finally come out and I ran into our friend Joe who told me that he was just out and that he took a few photos for me. I have the camera all set up in front of this aquarium, all folks need to do is turn it on including the strobes and shoot away, I made it super easy for all involved in case I was not around and the octopus was out. I did go and get him some more food (little snails) as well yesterday but as of last night I haven’t seen him eat anything. So along with my baby octopus project I also have baby squids that are currently calling the Substation and our little lagoon home. I think there are around 20 now and they range in sizes from one inch to almost three inches in length. This is a baby Caribbean Reef Squid, Sepioteuthis sepioidea and as you can see by the photo he already looks like an adult. As I photographed these I was floating at the waters surface in about 10 feet of water and shooting down on them as they were directly under me. As I continued to float there they all slowly moved under me thinking I was now less of a threat and a pretty cool thing to hide under. I wished I could have had this on video, they were all now so close hiding all around my camera that I was unable to focus even with my 105 macro lens! I ended up just floating there motionless for 15 minutes with my little squid babies all nestled under me and got to watch them change colors, play and do what baby squids do. Eventually my back and neck had enough of being in this weird position and I had to move. The second I did they all took off but didn’t go far away, they seem to like the protection our lagoon has to offer not to mention all the small fish and food for them to eat, stay tuned for more.
Today I will shooting some more rare deep-water fish and hopefully get a killer shot of the baby octopus and after work I am going riding with Stijn.
That’s about it, time to make the coffee, have a great day, Barry
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