Photos from Derek's 2012 trip to Kadavu Island in Fiji

I’ll be releasing several photos from the trip both as stock and fine art, so sign up for the mailing list for announcements or follow Wild Ocean Photo on Facebook.

More photos from Fiji in the Stock section of my site.

Special thanks to Richard and the staff at Matava Resort for the unparalleled hospitality, Lorna for all of her patience, and Janice for spotting the ghost pipefish!

I brought my scuba gear along, expecting to teach them a first lesson about what it takes to breathe underwater, but when I asked them what it was I smiled widely as they shouted out “scuba gear”! One of the kids even knew that the tanks hold air and not oxygen…something that many adults don’t even get.

Lucky for me the kids didn’t know *everything* about the ocean, so I was able to teach them a few things, like how California Sheephead change from female to male, and just how small a pygmy seahorse is.

Most surprising was that I didn’t get 23 little questions about sharks, rather, I was asked about what pygmy seahorses eat and what kind of trees Solomon Islanders made their boats from.

It was an amazing experience to talk first hand with the adults of the future and absolutely heartwarming to hear how much they already knew about the ocean after only six or seven years of life.

From my perspective it looks like success on the part of our educators, and if there’s a generation that will be able to protect our oceans, it’s theirs!

So to all the teachers out there, I really appreciate what you’re doing, and to the first graders of Mr. Carter’s class, it was a really fun hanging out with you – it was a day that I’ll never forget!

The photos selected for the exhibit are winning entries from California Ocean and Coastal Photography Contest. The contest features photographs that reflect the importance that the coast and ocean has for California residents and the role that the Coastal Commission, Natural Resources Agency and Ocean Protection Council have played in preserving coastal and marine resources.

Santa Monica’s Mayor Richard Bloom requested that this traveling exhibit be brought to Santa Monica. “I’m thrilled that these beautiful images are going to be available to residents and visitors in Santa Monica and encourage people to come take a look,” he said. “The photos represent what we all love about the California coast.”

“I am excited to present science and art together to educate the general public about how interconnected these two disciplines are. The ability to see what the ocean looks like underwater through this exhibit is a great tool to inspire awareness and conservation of the ocean environment. We are pleased to partner with the California Coastal Commission to bring this opportunity to our Aquarium,” said Vicki Wawerchak, Aquarium Director.

• A new Decor section to show off the Fine Art photography
• Added lots of new photographs including several from my travels to the Fiji, Hawai’i and the Galapagos
• New “responsive” design that looks great on any screen
• New Fine Art gallery viewer

For publishers interested in licensing, there’s a new Stock images section, a private client area for reviewing selections, and the image library is now searchable.

A lot of thanks go out on this one – Danielle Manzon for the new designs, Brendan L. for his editorial eye, and Dan Haskovec for his technical guidance and server configuration magic. Finally my eternal gratitude to Nicole Love for the inspiration and original wildoceanphoto designs that I’ll always love.

The photos selected for the exhibit are winning entries from California Ocean and Coastal Photography Contest. The contest features photographs that reflect the importance that the coast and ocean has for California residents and the role that the Coastal Commission, Natural Resources Agency and Ocean Protection Council have played in preserving coastal and marine resources.

A photo of Pyrosoma atlanticum underwater © Peter Wirtz (peterwirtz2004yahoo.com), used with permission

 

Another view of Pyrosoma atlanticum. © Steve Murvine, used with permission

 

Diver with her hands full of atlanticum © Gayle Van Leer, used with permission

I set down my glass and expeditiously walked outside to find several people leaning over the rail, looking down into the ocean at a few hundred tubular pinkish somethings that were floating in the water. Each of the pink things was between eight and sixteen-or-so inches long, closed at one end and tapered, with a strange bumpy texture. Some of them curiously expanded and contracted as they moved around.

I couldn’t help saying “looks like someone with a container ship of sex toys lost their cargo!”

Was this some bizarre New Year’s gift for those at sea?

I’d had champagne before, and never remembered it having this kind of an effect, so I was sure it had to be something else. Just then, a nearby crewman had netted one of the pink things and brought it on board for further inspection (and perhaps a gag or two). The pink things turned out to be a large group of Pyrosoma atlanticum – they’re free-floating cylindrical-shaped tunicates; each one is made up of hundreds to thousands of tiny individual creatures, known as zooids. Each zooid is a few millimeters in size and embedded in a common gelatinous tunic that joins all of the individuals. That explains the bumps that were on the outside…they were zooids, and certainly not designed for “pleasure”.

My ship-mates took a few photographs for identification (and comic) purposes, then returned the phallic little tunicate to the sea.

A true Wild Ocean story indeed.

Happy New Year!

Derek

It has been over a year since my last trip to the island, and I’m looking forward to photographing some of the amazingly colorful macro life that can be found in the Channel Islands. I was glad to see some familiar faces and know that I’ll get to spend the next few days with old friends, not to
mention some of the coolest crew members ever to walk the deck of a dive boat – Mark, Cary, Spencer, and Aaron it’s great to be back, and Greg – sorry to have missed you.

Before I sign off, a special thanks to Dr. Meier who is back on the mainland, but was good enough to send his diopters on the trip with me. Many thanks!

More soon,
Derek

Derek with the Tube Dwelling Anemone on display at the San Diego Natural History Museum

The photograph was one of 70 entries accepted to the show from more than 1,100 entries that were submitted for consideration, and will be on display at the museum from November 13, 2010 through January 30, 2011.

Best of Nature is an international juried show, for nature-based abstract and impressionistic images from the world around us.

Part of my mission as an underwater photographer is to show people what’s in the ocean. World Oceans Day is the perfect opportunity to share photographs of the amazing things I’ve seen underwater with my friends and neighbors.

Several award-winning photos are on display, including New Kelp from the 2009 Best of Nature Photography Show.

The Pannikin is located at
510 North Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. The exhibition is free and to the public. Ends July 4, 2010.

I tested the site using the iPad and it officially looks great!

Tap the photo of the anemonefish below to browse the full-sized high-resolution photos on wildoceanphoto.com on your iPad.

Anemonefish photo