Diving with the great white sharks of Isla Guadalupe, MX
For the past several years, my buddy Ryan and I have been checking the Big Five sharks from our diving to-do list. The Big Five are the apex predator sharks: bull, great hammerhead, oceanic whitetip, tiger, and great white. With a quick trek to Isla Guadalupe, we checked the final one from our list: the great white. We dove with Nautilus aboard the Belle Amie, easily the most luxurious liveaboard dive boat we've encountered. This was the first time that we had been in dive cages (a requirement of the Mexican government). After years of diving outside of cages with the likes of tiger sharks and oceanic whitetips, the cages were rather anti-climactic. In hindsight, it would have been nice to begin our shark adventures with this trip, then work our way up to the tigers. Having said that, we still had a wonderful time. Enjoy a few photos from the weekend.
Gear used
camera: Sony RX-100 Mark 2
housing: Nauticam NA-RX100II
strobes: two Inon Z-240 Type 4
attachment lenses: Inon UWL-H100 28LD Wide Conversion Lens, Dome Lens Unit II for UWL-H100
Scuba diving in Bonaire
I just returned from another incredible week of reef diving from Bonaire, a small Dutch island, located off the northwest coast of Venezuela and home of the healthiest coral reef in the Caribbean. This was the third time that I stayed at Captain Don's Habitat, an eco dive resort centrally located just north of Kralendijk, the island's capital. A tip of the hat to Rita with Maduro Dive Fanta-Seas for helping with the car rental, diving, and lodging arrangements (including securing a free room upgrade and a better dive package than I was able to find)! It was a great week of diving where we encountered everything from frogfish, to seahorses, to a school of squid. Here are a few photos from the trip, ranging from macro to ultra-wide. Enjoy. Gear used
camera: Sony RX-100 Mark 2
housing: Nauticam NA-RX100II
strobes: two Inon Z-240 Type 4
attachment lenses: Inon UWL-H100 28LD Wide Conversion Lens, Dome Lens Unit II for UWL-H100, Inon +6 diopter close-up lens
Dollie Barnes in the recording studio
The new Dollie Barnes album is one of my most anticipated upcoming Houston releases. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time with the band while they were recording with Steve Christensen at The Treehouse at SugarHill Recording Studios. Spending time in the studio, watching these songs evolve, while surrounded by so many talented friends was an honor and a pleasure. I hope you enjoy peaking behind the curtain as much as I enjoyed experiencing the moment.
Three days in Santa Fe
I spent a long weekend in Santa Fe with friends for the annual Fiestas de Santa Fe. The weekend was filled with adventures eating, drinking, visiting galleries, and attending the burning of Old Man Gloom at Zozobra. We even had time to visit Bandelier National Monument for a day of hiking. I was fortunate enough to contribute photos for a travel piece for the Houston Chronicle. I've embedded the gallery below.
It’s always a delight to collaborate with Frankie — you can read her words in the travel article HERE.