Photo Essay

You’ve done it all and seen it all underwater, right?  Challenge!  How about 12’ crocs up close and personal?  If you are struggling with ‘just another pretty reef’ diving – and are willing to suffer a bit of rough and ready – then a trip to Chinchorro Bank has to be the remedy for you.  The bank is a shallow expanse of reefs, mangroves and a bit of dry land, 30 miles off the southernmost Caribbean coast of Mexico, just north of the border with Belize.

A couple years ago, I would never have guessed my vacation time would be spent packing an ever changing assortment of dive gear into checked luggage and carry-on camera gear, hoping on a series of planes, diving, and then repeating that process all over again.  To further complicate airline luggage rules, you also have these bulky dry suits and undergarments to pack and you begin to think, why would people do this to themselves?  Put simply, because it's so worth it!

In an age where most photos are viewed on a computer or smart phone screen, there's a new generation of affordable cameras that can hold their own against much more sophisticated systems. Of course, there's a time and a place where each camera system (compact, mirrorless, DSLR, or other) excels, and good reason to invest in the system that's right for you.

Say the word 'Fiji' in a room full of divers and you can watch as eyes widen and smiles begin to appear on suntanned faces.

The nation of Fiji is comprised of over three hundred beautiful islands in the South Pacific ocean. The unique topography, where towering green mountains drop straight into a crystal clear ocean fringed with coral reefs, has attracted tourists for decades. Newlyweds kick their feet up and watch sunset, surfers take shade inside racing emerald tubes and, most importantly for us, scuba divers and freedivers explore the reefs below the surface.

Raja Ampat: a well-known diving mecca. It is diverse and stunning both above and below the water surface. The schools of fish and reefscapes are praised, but it has not been recognized as a macro / muck dive hotspot... until now!

After sailing our yacht through Raja Ampat for over 3 months, we had done more than 100 dives and were a little “wide-angled” out. We had experienced immense colour, soft corals and fish schools for the majority of the dives and we were looking for a change.