# Pics from my SCUBA trips



## Patwa

so I decided i'd let you all have a peek into my other hobby ...which, of course, was a direct result of being in _this_ hobby  ...it's funny how things work out, eh? ...doing this also helps me kill time while my new display cycles  Bayinaung also gave me the go ahead, so I can't argue with that

I took up SCUBA diving years back on a trip to Australia....got my PADI Open Water while diving the Great Barrier Reef there. Years later, on my second trip to the Philippines, I was successfully certified as an Advanced Open Water diver.....woot!

The funny thing is I can't really swim all that well.....well, I suck. But, put me underwater with SCUBA and this is what you get:

Easter Island

moi next to a 1000 year old porites lobata colony (the predominate coral on these reefs)


extremely nutrient poor water = some of the best visibility in the world


school of endemic Easter Island butterflyfish




yellow p. verrucosa....this was one of only two specimens from this genus I encountered on all my dives ...extremely rare on this reef (the other was baby blue)


(not a real Moai....was sunk here for the movie "Rapa Nui")


At the top of the image is the Easter Island Rainbow wrasse (coris debueni), which is endemic to the island and is probably the rarest coris wrasse in the world.


huge banana wrasse!




1000+ year old porites lobata colony


endemic Easter Island damsel...gorgeous


about $15-$20k worth of fish in this shot. Hota Matu'a pygmy angels, femininus wrasses.....i'm pretty sure I pissed myself when I saw these guys






supposed Spanish ghaleon anchor







ill post more pics later


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## coldmantis

Beautiful thanks for sharing

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


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## kamal

Thank you for sharing that is awesome.


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## des

These photos of your experience are simply amazing! I'm happy you're sharing this with us. 

Those Easter Island butterflyfish in the photos look Photoshop (obviously not). Especially that 4th one! It's the way they glow around the edges. 

Those wrasse are unreal.


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## Patwa

you're welcome  if you click a photo it'll take you to my Flickr page with the rest of the pics from the set.

This was the first time using my SLR.....still have lots to learn


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## mmatt

Awesome pic and great quality. Makes me want to dive there. My fiancée and I got our open water last year and did our first saltwater open water dive in punta Cana in January and it was awesome. Tons of life. Nothing as clear and amazing as these pics. Absolutely stunning an well done


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## Patwa

good for you  i've never dived in the Caribbean....but this year I have to attend two weddings - one in Jamaica and the other in Costa Rica. If anyone can recommend dive sites for either place, id really appreciate it!


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## mmatt

Patwa said:


> good for you  i've never dived in the Caribbean....but this year I have to attend two weddings - one in Jamaica and the other in Costa Rica. If anyone can recommend dive sites for either place, id really appreciate it!


Trip advisor is prob your best bet. But from what I've heard is that the west coast of Jamaica has some great spots.


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## Patwa

hmm...I think ill be in Ocho Rios, but ill do my best to get out to that side.

time for more pics 

Komodo National Park, Flores, Indonesia

manta rays!






notice the diver holding on to the rock? we're diving in the Flores Sea, a junction between the Indian and Pacific Oceans that sees tremendous tidal surges. We had to add extra weights to our belt for these dives otherwise we'd be tossed around in the current. Our dive master mentioned 2 people had died on dives in the past 3 years as a result of not being able to "hold on"


hawksbill turtle




sweetlips


resting white tips








adult mappa puffer....prolly the most beautiful puffer in the ocean, imo


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## mmatt

Wow!😮 absolutely stunning! Totally jealous. Lol


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## kuopan

these pictures are absolutely amazing! looks like you had a really good camera as well!


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## Patwa

thanks 



mmatt said:


> Wow!&#128558; absolutely stunning! Totally jealous. Lol


you have no idea, matt. I got to Flores...paid for my dive package not knowing anything about what I would be seeing apart from coral and fish.....next thing, the DM was "OK our first dive tomorrow will be with the mantas" I was like....NO WAY!  I couldn't sleep I was sooo excited!


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## altcharacter

It's pics like these that make me happy knowing that there are still areas in the ocean that are untouched.

Thanks!


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## mmatt

Patwa said:


> thanks
> 
> you have no idea, matt. I got to Flores...paid for my dive package not knowing anything about what I would be seeing apart from coral and fish.....next thing, the DM was "OK our first dive tomorrow will be with the mantas" I was like....NO WAY!  I couldn't sleep I was sooo excited!


Lol ya I don't doubt it! That's badass. Those things are huge! The one thing id love to do is dive with sharks. Might regret it at the time but is something is still love to do. Lol Either way those dive locations you've been at are unbelievable. The camera work helps too. You were using an slr? What kind of casing were you using? And what kind of depths were you at?


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## mmatt

altcharacter said:


> It's pics like these that make me happy knowing that there are still areas in the ocean that are untouched.
> 
> Thanks!


This is so so true. Hopefully it all continues to improves.


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## explor3r

Thanks for sharing these pictures very nice and no better feeling in the world that swim with hundreds of fishes surrounded by corals.


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## Patwa

altcharacter said:


> It's pics like these that make me happy knowing that there are still areas in the ocean that are untouched.


yep...it is a very humbling experience to be there surrounded by such natural beauty.



mmatt said:


> Lol ya I don't doubt it! That's badass. Those things are huge! The one thing id love to do is dive with sharks. Might regret it at the time but is something is still love to do. Lol Either way those dive locations you've been at are unbelievable. The camera work helps too. You were using an slr? What kind of casing were you using? And what kind of depths were you at?


I use a Nikon SLR exclusively for my dives now (with an Ikelite housing and Ikelite DS125 strobe) ...but in the past I used my old point and shoots and whatever the dive operator had available for rent (which usually means sometimes good or sometimes totally crap cameras)

Depths are usually less than 20m for proper reef shots...but most of mine are within 10m of the surface.

On my Easter Island dive I went down to 59m.....it was unbelievable to hit that depth and look up and see other divers at 20m



explor3r said:


> Thanks for sharing these pictures very nice and no better feeling in the world that swim with hundreds of fishes surrounded by corals.


thanks  one of my other hobbies is bonsai ... I get the same feeling when I hike through Carolinian forests here in Ontario or far off rainforests in Australia and Borneo


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## Patwa

time for more pics to get your Friday started right 

*Panglao & Balicasag Islands, Philippines*

green turtle with lazy remora








feather star ...I saw so many on these dives
















Moorish Idol






lots of soft coral like these around


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## TankCla

Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## TypeZERO

awesome pics! thanks for sharing them!!!!


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## Patwa

thanks guys

best part is I was going through my old pics this week and found two sets from dives I did in Borneo that i've never posted online....more reef candy for you guys, eh


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## noy

just saw this today - amazing photos!

that's real marine photography!


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## Patwa

been a while since my last update...i bet some of you are in withdrawal 

maze brain









barrel sponge.....always had the crazy idea to hide in one and scare the crap out of my dive buddy lol


















linckia starfish and green kubaryana nudibranch









gorgeous yellow leathers





















































just a little tabling acro









porites colony with christmas tree worms


















chalice









anemones









purple pygmy seahorse (h. bargibanti) on purple gorgonian (m. plectana)









banded sea snake ...sorta like nature's slithering contradiction: very highly venomous, but with the temperament of a little puppy, also, its jaws don't open wide enough to make biting humans possible









my divemaster, Noel (Genesis Divers)


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## KJSMSW

Love it!

Never seen a Barrel Sponge before. Interesting. They look huge!


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## Patwa

update time!

more of that barrel sponge...gorgeous purple specimen









porites sp.?









tomato clowns









black coral (branching tubastrea) - this dive site is known world-wide for this particular type of coral









orange sponge (we see this one a lot in the hobby)













































crown of thorns starfish, coral predator









monti? maybe a scroll coral (tubastrea sp.)









pink goni


















sweet yellow leather!









interesting tunicate


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## Announce

Awesome Pictures! I'd love to hear more about your time in Flores, who did you dive with? I am doing my Dive Master internship there this summer and feel like im jumping head first into it.


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## Flexin5

very nice pictures! the next time i go snorkeling or diving i'm thinking about taking a setup for my slr instead of my underwater point and shoot.


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## Hamish

Thanks for Sharing.


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## Patwa

Announce said:


> Awesome Pictures! I'd love to hear more about your time in Flores, who did you dive with? I am doing my Dive Master internship there this summer and feel like im jumping head first into it.


oooh, im jealous! Flores is, by far, the most unique and interesting locale i've dived in all of the Indo-Pacific. It's part of the coral triangle so it should be obvious, eh? lol ...but man, it's spectacular.

check out my Flores flickr album: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjuQ6pvN

and the Komodo Dragons: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjui5VKw

(you can easily fit in a visit with them during the time between your dives - the dive operator will let you know)

I signed up with Bajo Dive Club out of Labuan Bajo. Nothing but compliments for them. Two of my DMs, a married couple, were working there to earn travel money as they back-packed across Asia. They're back home in San Diego now; let me know if you want me to put you in contact with them for more details.

oh man, ive got so much more advice about Flores...quite a breath of relief from tourist-ravaged Bali.....i need to go back! lol



Flexin5 said:


> very nice pictures! the next time i go snorkeling or diving i'm thinking about taking a setup for my slr instead of my underwater point and shoot.


do it  the only drawback to my SLR rig is that it is so heavy.....close to 20lbs with my heaviest lens (105mm f/2.8 macro). best to take your initial dive with just the rig and no camera to get a feel for it.

but yeah, if you're savvy with your SLR topside, then it's a no brainer - take it underwater, stat.


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## Flexin5

Patwa said:


> oooh, im jealous! Flores is, by far, the most unique and interesting locale i've dived in all of the Indo-Pacific. It's part of the coral triangle so it should be obvious, eh? lol ...but man, it's spectacular.
> 
> check out my Flores flickr album: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjuQ6pvN
> 
> and the Komodo Dragons: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjui5VKw
> 
> (you can easily fit in a visit with them during the time between your dives - the dive operator will let you know)
> 
> I signed up with Bajo Dive Club out of Labuan Bajo. Nothing but compliments for them. Two of my DMs, a married couple, were working there to earn travel money as they back-packed across Asia. They're back home in San Diego now; let me know if you want me to put you in contact with them for more details.
> 
> oh man, ive got so much more advice about Flores...quite a breath of relief from tourist-ravaged Bali.....i need to go back! lol
> 
> do it  the only drawback to my SLR rig is that it is so heavy.....close to 20lbs with my heaviest lens (105mm f/2.8 macro). best to take your initial dive with just the rig and no camera to get a feel for it.
> 
> but yeah, if you're savvy with your SLR topside, then it's a no brainer - take it underwater, stat.


i hear ya on that one. thats the reason i didn't take it with me the last time, i have a 1d mk ii so it's bigger than the rest of the slr's, and with the 24-70L i wouldn't be diving i'd be sinking! add to that a flash and bracket haha

the lense is a F2.8 so i'm thinking that it'll be nice for low-light underwater.


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## rickcasa

Only thing better than getting the chance to dive in these exotic locales is actually bringing back some photos to share the experience. great work....you really captured what I love about this hobby...the beauty of nature in all its glory!!


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## Letigrama

oh so green with envy!!!

I would love to try scuba diving again but im scared. Years ago when i was i teenager we tried and i felt suffocated right away, i panicked.... then again i never even snorkeled before so this was a bad experience.... i snorkeled for the first time last year in Freeport at dead's man reef, highly recommend it. It was amazing. Though i had a bit of panic surge, i was able to calm myself down and do it. I am thinking with a few more times of snorkeling, i might be able to finally try again....fantastic pictures. It really does make such an important connnection for us to see what we are trying to re-create in our tanks, is fascinating!

What are the black angels you have in several of the 1st batch of pictures?


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## Patwa

Flexin5 said:


> i hear ya on that one. thats the reason i didn't take it with me the last time, i have a 1d mk ii so it's bigger than the rest of the slr's, and with the 24-70L i wouldn't be diving i'd be sinking! add to that a flash and bracket haha
> 
> the lense is a F2.8 so i'm thinking that it'll be nice for low-light underwater.


yeah, i'd say keep that full-frame beast for topside shots (or take it down for shots you can turn around and sell to Nat Geo ) however, a decent cropped-sensor SLR would be more than enough for amateur underwater photos.



Letigrama said:


> oh so green with envy!!!
> 
> I would love to try scuba diving again but im scared. Years ago when i was i teenager we tried and i felt suffocated right away, i panicked.... then again i never even snorkeled before so this was a bad experience.... i snorkeled for the first time last year in Freeport at dead's man reef, highly recommend it. It was amazing. Though i had a bit of panic surge, i was able to calm myself down and do it. I am thinking with a few more times of snorkeling, i might be able to finally try again....fantastic pictures. It really does make such an important connnection for us to see what we are trying to re-create in our tanks, is fascinating!
> 
> What are the black angels you have in several of the 1st batch of pictures?


black angels? hmm...I think you mean the black butterflyfish? they're c. litus, the Easter Island butterflyfish  it's endemic to the area and quite numerous around the reefs there. The only (pygmy) angelfish I know of in Easter Island is c. hotamatua.

yeah, you just have to see past your fears to really get the most out of life!

believe it or not, i can barely swim.....in fact, i'm not very good at it so much so that I would never go into water without my rash guard or a wetsuit, esp. if I can't feel the bottom with my feet.

but with SCUBA or a snorkel i'm quite relaxed, I can dive deep (59m is the deepest i've gone with SCUBA...for those who know, that is VERY DEEP!!!! lol)

learning to SCUBA was one of the most intense, challenging tasks i've ever undertaken....but i was so happy to have done it. one of the best decision ive ever made.


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## Announce

Patwa said:


> oooh, im jealous! Flores is, by far, the most unique and interesting locale i've dived in all of the Indo-Pacific. It's part of the coral triangle so it should be obvious, eh? lol ...but man, it's spectacular.
> 
> check out my Flores flickr album: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjuQ6pvN
> 
> and the Komodo Dragons: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjui5VKw
> 
> (you can easily fit in a visit with them during the time between your dives - the dive operator will let you know)
> 
> I signed up with Bajo Dive Club out of Labuan Bajo. Nothing but compliments for them. Two of my DMs, a married couple, were working there to earn travel money as they back-packed across Asia. They're back home in San Diego now; let me know if you want me to put you in contact with them for more details.
> 
> oh man, ive got so much more advice about Flores...quite a breath of relief from tourist-ravaged Bali.....i need to go back! lol


I'll take any advice you may have. I loved diving in Bali, and am excited to see how Komodo compares. I am sure after six weeks there I will be quite the expert on the area. I am going with Wicked Diving if you have heard anything.


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## Patwa

Announce said:


> I'll take any advice you may have. I loved diving in Bali, and am excited to see how Komodo compares. I am sure after six weeks there I will be quite the expert on the area. I am going with Wicked Diving if you have heard anything.


Bali diving is supposedly really good (never dived there..as yet!), but Flores was different, mainly due to the prevalence of heavy currents flowing through the area....and of course, way less annoying aussie tourists

I'd say try and dive as much sites as you can....Komodo Nat Park has some very unique sites....some are known for the nudis, while some are known for the mantas, and some for their tubastreas.

However, topside, Flores is an ecological wonder. There's so much to do and see. Interesting geology/geomorphology....i'd recommened taking a few days, renting a bike and riding over the island. I know there are some very vibrant seagrass beds you can snorkel....no idea what you can find there, but it should be interesting.

kelimutu


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## Patwa

woot...my new display just finished cycling 

time to celebrate with more dive photos



















aggressive tomato clown...he left his anemone to come "check" me out.....



























crinoid in motion









rockfish




































ball anemone









colourful sponge



























gobi in his burrow...no sign of his shrimp buddy tho


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## explor3r

That is so cool make me want to take another vacation 
Great pics thanks for sharing


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## Patwa

explor3r said:


> That is so cool make me want to take another vacation
> Great pics thanks for sharing


same here...I can't look at these shots without pining about my next trip underwater 

next up is Jamaica (will be my first time diving in the Caribbean)...then maybe Costa Rica in early Fall. Then....*drum roll* ...the Red Sea in early 2015. that's if my dive buddy in Lebanon doesn't let me down lol

where else does _this_ happen?


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## Marz

what an awesome pic of kelimutu! I can't believe you came home 

All the pictures are wonderful BTW.


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## explor3r

Patwa said:


> same here...I can't look at these shots without pining about my next trip underwater
> 
> next up is Jamaica (will be my first time diving in the Caribbean)...then maybe Costa Rica in early Fall. Then....*drum roll* ...the Red Sea in early 2015. that's if my dive buddy in Lebanon doesn't let me down lol
> 
> where else does _this_ happen?


Wow I can`t believe that picture


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## Patwa

Marz said:


> what an awesome pic of kelimutu! I can't believe you came home
> 
> All the pictures are wonderful BTW.


(sorry, that wasn't my pic of Kelimutu - I should have mentioned that)

but yes, it was tough leaving Flores  ...but, I will go back, and i'll spend much more time!

here are a few of my fav landscape shots....one of my other hobbies is natural landscape photography 

These were taken in Patagonia, Chile


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## Marz

Patwa said:


> here are a few of my fav landscape shots....one of my other hobbies is natural landscape photography


....and obviously very good at your hobby. Those are excellent pictures.


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## Patwa

just started to stock my display with corals! time to post some more dive pics

moray eel hiding under the soft corals









psychedelic urchin


















dendronepthea













































looks like a symphyllia....or a lobo









bubble coral with commensal crab









platygyra









favia









pectinia









war coral (favia)


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## Patwa

more shots 

sponge









lobo









anchor coral









ribbon eel









white-eye moray


















dendronepthea









anemone with commensal shrimp









drool-worthy pectinia









couple white-eyed morays in s single hole









dive master Noel


















lionfish









skunk clown



























seriatopora?









<3 <3 <3


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## Patwa

last set from the Philippines










anemone with commensal crab


















juvy catfish?


















sea squirt



























I believe this is astreopora









montipora









puffers









yellow leaf scorpionfish









frogfish


















peacock mantis


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## rburns24

-
The gorgonian in the first photo is absolutely stunning.
-


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## Flexin5

Patwa said:


> same here...I can't look at these shots without pining about my next trip underwater
> 
> next up is Jamaica (will be my first time diving in the Caribbean)...then maybe Costa Rica in early Fall. Then....*drum roll* ...the Red Sea in early 2015. that's if my dive buddy in Lebanon doesn't let me down lol
> 
> where else does _this_ happen?


that is an amazing capture!


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## Patwa

...crazy week on GTAA for me.....made lots of new friends while being majorly disappointed in others.....and lookit! 4 racks of ribs for myself .....you win some, you lose some lol

all it means: time for some new pics! 

the next few sets are all from Borneo ...it's one helluva locale for diving. So much life in these waters....highly recommended if you ever get a chance to go to Malaysia (maybe try and avoid Malaysian Airlines for now though)

*Mabul Island, Borneo* - This island is known as one of the best in the world for "muck" diving ....that is, a dive site known for lots of inverts and other micro faunas, while sparse on coral

cardinals and a coral banded shrimp (those yellow spotted ones are all kinds of awesome!)


















copperband




































nudibranch (looks identical to a blue dragon nudi, except it's not blue!)









alligator fish









dragon pipefish









volitans lionfish









reticulated nudi (Chromodoris reticulata says Google) 









sea squirt and dragon pipefish









acropora something something (caroliniana?? just a wild guess)


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## Patwa

more pics!

volitans lion









purple sponge









baby fungia









platygyra









seale's cardinal and yellow-striped cardinal and banded pipefish









lurking puffer









urchin with fish









puffer









school of ring-tailed cardinals









leptastrea









nudi (can anyone ID species?)









bubble anemone with commensal shrimp









flaming pink leaf scorpionfish


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## Bayinaung

man, I haven't seen those cardinals and that scorpion fish here in shops. it's amazing how much nice commonplace fish haven't landed in the trade. dude, I wish I had seen what corals look like under blue light years ago. all this shit was under my nose. instead I was keeping southamerican freshwater fish. lmao.


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## verano

awesome photos thanks for sharing.


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## Patwa

TGIF! time for more photos

lobo









fimbriated moray and zigzag oyster









well camouflaged rockfish









a couple nice tunicate specimens









batfish









acropora sp.









favia? although it looks like a less dimpley version of diploastrea sp.









acropora sp.









purple cespitularia









huge gorgonian sp.









that's it for my Mabul Island shots.


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## johnnyriker

Some amazing pictures! Best I've seen in a while. Really jealous.


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## Patwa

thanks mate 

z


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## Hamish

*Pics*

Thanks Zak, nice to see that BatFish in the wild, looks like you had a blast.


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## Patwa

just got back from some sweet diving in Jamaica....was pleasantly surprised at the overall good health of the reefs. gonna take a while to go through the photos and post them ...but im lazy tonight so ill post more of my old shots for the time-being 

this is Sibuan Island, also in Borneo....so sorry for the crappy pics, i had to rent a camera coz mine died ...turned out to be a total miss. Did my best to try and salvage some colour in lightroom

banded sea snake









mappa puffer









crocea completely embedded into the rock


















huge hermit crab....i wasn't sure what to make of him...his size alone meant he might eat coral....and everything else it wanted. It was around this time I heard a huge "bang!". Turned out it was dynamite fishing on the other side of the island. Let me tell you, hearing dynamite going off underwater is incredibly loud and unsettling, especially if it catches you off guard. Shark finning was also rampant here, I was told. :/









always a bright spot seeing these guys




































maxima, also completely embedded in the rock



























crocodile fish


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## Bayinaung

Patwa said:


> drool-worthy pectinia


Patwa, where in Phil did you take that pic, and at what depth was it?


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## Patwa

that was somewhere under Balicasag Island, Bohol at about 15m max.....it was down deep coz I had to leave the dive group and dive down to get the shot. huge colony.

i just got back from Jamaica  was testing out a strobe during the dives...got lots of shots, but most are meh ..here's one of the nicer ones


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## explor3r

Very nice!!!! please share more pictures. We want candy


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## Patwa

might take some time  ...i have to do a pile of corrections to fix the majority of the photos. I took more photos underwater in Jamaica than I took on land 

plus i haven't even posted my shots of Australia's Great Barrier Reef yet


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## Bayinaung

strobe made things look flat. how's flash under water? 

btw, did you see peeps collecting corals and fish in Bohol? it's pretty close to Cebu area where majority of collection seems to be happening.


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## Patwa

flat? you commenting on the pic of the trumpetfish in front of the gorgonian? coz there's no depth there to begin with coz the gorg covers the entire image and the fish is thin like a knife, strobe or no strobe

but yeah, the strobe im going to use going forward is the Ikelite DS125....it's pretty powerful....does a great job when I get everything lined up.....but im seeing lots of serious photographers using two DS125s....might try and get a second one before my next diving trip

Re: Phils

I didn't see anything of the sort in Bohol...but I only dived off Panglao Island. There maybe be some collection happening elsewhere, not sure. Panglao is heavily infested with tourists....they come for the pristine underwater life...and man, it's amazing diving for sure!

I do know the fish collectors in Cebu have a well established operation...but i'm a bit unsure how the soft coral collection business is operating.


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## Patwa

last few photos from Sibuan Island, Borneo (again, these were taken with a crappy rental camera.....that's why they suck so hard compared to my other shots lol)
































































maxima clam almost completely embedded in a porites colony










yumas









anchor coral









fungia









moray













































fried egg nudi


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## Bullet

Crappy camera or not, you've taken some awesome pics (as always!) 
Thanks for sharing


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## explor3r

Wow amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks for sharing...beautiful


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## blue ocean

Did you bring any frags home ?


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## Sea MunnKey

Can't top these underwater shots .... awesome views!!


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## Patwa

thanks 



blue ocean said:


> Did you bring any frags home ?


I wish.....not legally possible as a tourist 

however, I can say that we have a much more vibrant variety of corals right here in our local shops. When you're diving it's pretty much drab, boring corals all over the place, with nice, cherry pieces infrequently scattered here and there. I do more drooling over corals at stores here than I do while diving lol



Sea MunnKey said:


> Can't top these underwater shots .... awesome views!!


liking those pics of Borneo, eh? i'm gonna post pics from Sipadan next


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## Sea MunnKey

Patwa said:


> liking those pics of Borneo, eh? i'm gonna post pics from Sipadan next


Yeah man ... my old "backyard" huh? I may be heading to Bali very soon. Too bad I don't dive ...


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## Bayinaung

man! that looks pretty amazing.


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## Patwa

time for a new set! 

The following pics are from another dive site from the island of Borneo. This site is simply known as *Sipadan* and is one of the best dive sites in the entire world by virtue of being on so many 'top 5' and 'top 10' lists. From copious amounts of resident sharks and turtles, to massive tabling acropora colonies, this is one of the most beautiful dive sites in the entire world and surely the best that Borneo has to offer. I can back that up 100% from my personal experience there. I feel so privileged to have dived there and cannot wait to go back! 

In addition, Sipadan is unique for one particular geologic reason: It's the only oceanic island in Borneo and one of the few in the entire world. That means the island itself is connected to an oceanic plate instead of a continental plate/shelf. This fact essentially means the depth of the water surrounding Sipadan is extreme....drop-offs plummet to 600 metres or so. In contrast, continental islands have depths up to approx 70 metres. This exceptional depth means a wide variety of sealife, including pelagics, visit or make Sipadan their home.

the deep blue area drops off hundreds of metres to the ocean floor.....kinda freaky when you think of it!



























montipora









resting white-tip









grey shark









holy acropora!



























Entrance to 'Turtle Cavern'









Warning for divers. It's called Turtle Cavern because it's littered with skeleton of turtles who have wandered in and gotten lost, thereby drowning from not being able to surface for air.









Inside Turtle Cavern looking out


















Sipadan is LOADED with life....thousands of fish and hundreds of coral species have been identified here


----------



## teemee

curious to know if you may know if there are still shark finning stations on Mabul?
There were when I dove Sipidan in 2005ish... Hope not. 
Were you staying on Mabul/Kapalai/? or the mainland?


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## Patwa

Indeed, there is! I did a quick walk-though of a local fish market in Semporna and noticed some sharks...many of them juveniles  

Finning is still rampant in the area from bits i've read here and there since I was in Borneo. More so, destructive fishing techniques are still being used. It's the demand for it that drives it, China and other Asian markets pushing it, of course. Also, poverty is a big problem...there is a sizable population of sea gypsies....i'm sure some have used finning as an income source, too.

On one of my dives on Sibuan Island, at maybe 5 metres, I heard a HUGE boom. My dive master turned to us and motioned with his hand that something exploded. Topside, I enquired what exactly was going on and he said the locals were dynamite fishing on the other side of the island.

I stayed on the mainland for a short while, then overnighted on Mabul for the dive package I signed up for.


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## Flexin5

man seeing these pics i can't wait to go scuba in thailand!


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## Patwa

niiiccceee. you're gonna love it!  

have you sorted out the case and strobe combo yet?


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## teemee

Flexin5 said:


> man seeing these pics i can't wait to go scuba in thailand!


when are you going? where are you going?
I've probably done 150 dives in Thailand. If you need to know anything, just give me a shout...


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## Sea MunnKey

Man ... if only I could move back and set up a beachfront retirement home in front of a lagoon with a natural reef garden ... in front of the house!! 

Imagine that when I don't have to do water changes, check water parameters and have all my diving buddies to collect all kinds of corals from all over Sabah or as a matter of fact the whole Borneo island .... dreams can come true ... no?


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## explor3r

Man these pictures come good in this time of year..wishing I was there lol..keep them coming


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## Flexin5

teemee said:


> when are you going? where are you going?
> I've probably done 150 dives in Thailand. If you need to know anything, just give me a shout...


i'm going to phuket, planning it now, probably going to go for the end of feb, begining of march. i'm going to try to squeeze in about 5 dives, and i'll be doing underwater photography for them all.

i want to go to:

-koh racha noi
-koh bon
-anemone reef?

still researching which spots tho.


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## PaulF757

*Dive*

I'm trying to plan a dive in the Keys on the second week of December. Anyone wanna come? I can get you cheap flights.


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## teemee

if you can go early in the new year, i'd love to!


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## PaulF757

teemee said:


> if you can go early in the new year, i'd love to!


Going to Cozumel with the family in Jan. Sorry.


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## Patwa

been a while...update time 



















m. confusa


















in the middle of a swirling school of barracuda









about 2m of water here....got a nasty gash on my leg coz it was choppy...we rushed in the water to see this school of bumphead parrotfish...check out the tiny juvy green turtle at the bottom!









so small 









bumphead parrotfish doing what they do best: eating corals and pooping sand...they say most of our beaches are composed of this very sand









titan trigger


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## explor3r

Amazing as usual keep posting!!


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## Bullet

Beautiful pics 
Almost makes me feel like I am there !


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## Patwa

thanks guys! really appreciate the comments!  

so much so i'll post some more pics later this evening  I have so much pics to still post, it's crazy lol

but good news (for me )....almost ready to purchase my flight to the Middle East in April/May 2015!!!! .....time to dive the Red Sea and Oman! wooohoo!!


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## zoapaly

wow Titan trigger looking nice , more pictures please


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## Patwa




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## uniboob

The photo of the Titan trigger, any idea the species of wrasse behind it in photo? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Patwa

uniboob said:


> The photo of the Titan trigger, any idea the species of wrasse behind it in photo?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


checkerboard wrasse


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## Rappyfly

Pls keep them coming. envy looking at them, why my tank isn't look close to it.


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## Patwa

time for an update 

I should mention that last month I did a couple dives down in the Turks and Caicos....some excellent wall diving to be had, with huge 7000ft drop-offs that are awe-inspiring to say the least. Got some great shots that i'll share at some point down the road, so don't worry.

For now, i'll continue with more pics from *Sipadan, Borneo*:

huge mappa puffer


















bleaching? or the result of being preyed upon by hungry bumphead parrot fish? i'm going with the latter









SPS heaven...look at them table corals!









large squarespot anthias (male?)









rockfish (can you find him?)









favia sp. (speciosa? pallida? who knows?)









Coral grouper - only thing missing is my frying pan, some soy sauce and garlic and green onions for garnish









Carnation coral









juvenile green turtle, dude









lotsa fish!









titan trigger









symphyllia agaricia









my shark pic photobombed by a fat chromis









white-tip reef shark - Sipadan is renowned for its abundant shark population...they're everywhere!









Zach


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## balutpenoy2oy

beautiful seaworld.....hope this will never last ...


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## Patwa

haha I love your name.... I tried balut once when I was in San Jose, Mindoro....never, ever doing that again!


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## explor3r

Zack amazing pictures keep feeding us


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## Flexin5

Please keep the pics coming, i'm becoming more and more fascinated with underwater photography, should be getting my chance to try it out soon!


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## Marz

Excellent pictures. I need to start diving again


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## Patwa

update!

symphyllia sp.









highlighter yellow cycloceris sp. (who wouldn't want this in their tank??)









freckled hawkfish resting on acropora sp









porities sp. (?)









echinophyllia sp.









tube sponges









shy turtle lol


















montipora capricornis









symphyllia agaricia









montipora danae









porites sp.









spooky squirrel fish hangout









one of the most pristine looking green turtles i've ever come across...not even a speck of algae or parasites! and he was HUGE!!!









acropora sp.









another MASSIVE green turtle, this one with black markings on his carapace









Sipadan is also known for a large population of sea turtles....most are not even shy and just sit there looking back at you









huge table colonies of acropora sp.


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## Patwa

So long, Sipadan, you will be missed. (yes, that's indeed how small the island of Sipadan is)


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## Bayinaung

nice stuff. thanks for sharing.


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## Hamish

very nice, keep em comin


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## Bayinaung

more please!


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## noy

awesome stuff!


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## Patwa

TGIF!

Time for a new set of pics: *Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, Australia*

This set has the distinction of being the first time I ever SCUBA dived (2008) ...and the first time I ever used a camera underwater  (Canon S1-IS and custom Canon housing)

the initial pics aren't too spectacular as I was working out the settings on the camera (and it didn't shoot RAW, unfortunately).

enjoy!

sunset over the GBR









reef fish waiting patiently for us to throw out our breakfast leftovers 









this is the first pic I ever took underwater! (turbinaria sp.)









and the second pic is of a sea turtle 









it was hard keeping up with this guy









this section of the reef was heavily laden with softies













































platygyra sp.









light blue stag









fields and fields of stag coral everywhere









my first, ever selfie! ....I was doing it before it became cool haha


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## zoapaly

) wow very nice pics , the last one look so kool :


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## Patwa

you haven't seen anything yet 

I have about 200 pics from the GBR to post here ....wait 'til you see some of the SPS close-ups I got - I guarantee some of you SPS nerds and poindexters will piss your pants in excitement


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## Marz

As usual, great pictures. I always look forwards to updates to this thread


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## noy

awesome photos!


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## Patwa

large blue-spot stingray


















pink skunk clowns in an anemone









SPS island in the sand (little overexposed!)









one of the most gorgeous yellow leathers ive ever seen...beats my Tongan yellow, hands down


















huge tridacna sp. clam









check out that blue stag!


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## noy

wow, following along - great shots as usual!


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## Patwa

Heading waaaay up north for work....time to get a few pics posted before I go! 




























the "small" one on the left is about a foot long if my memory serves me right


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## explor3r

amazing pictures I can picture myself in there what else would u ask for. Thanks for sharing!


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## Flexin5

wow that's a crazy blue on that colony.


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## camps23

Wow....wow....wow


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## Bayinaung

man those stags are growing like bushes on land! the ones just off the sand, just how big are they?


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## duckhams

incredible!


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## Patwa

Bayinaung said:


> man those stags are growing like bushes on land! the ones just off the sand, just how big are they?


The one in the pic would be the size of one of those piddly Smart cars. However, there were colonies I recall being as big as cars, some even as long as a school bus. One of my certification dives was in a less "beautiful" area of the reef (lest we damage the corals while we're trying to do the tests) and all I remember was seeing forests of stag corals....all over the place.


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## Patwa

update

(If you can help me ID the SPS corals here, that'd be great)









































































yellow-tail fusilier









sunset....check out that silver lining 









six banded angel









sea cucumber...this guy was HUGE....about the length of a motorbike


















this was the first time I ever laid eyes on a sea turtle in the wild! I think this one is a Hawksbill....but i'm not 100% sure.


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## blue ocean

Beautiful shots and corals .


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## Patwa

Moorish Idol


















Sea Cucumber









huge porites colony/Christmas worm coral









This was my first time seeing a. ocellaris in the wild. Everyone in the dive group swarmed in and that's why there's a lot of sediment being kicked up

























some sort of encrusting montipora?


















pocillopora verrucosa




































acropora and pocillopora hanging out like old pals









lots of sergeant majors about


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## Sea MunnKey

Very nice & huge anemone ... that's a very nice colour colony(ies)!!!


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## Patwa

quick update!

sarcophyton and acro









carnation coral


















s. recta













































PATWA'S ULTRA LE RR BSF FC FB BRC AQSD WWC YELLOW TIP MONSTER PURPLE HAZE DRAGON ACRO, boyeeeeeee!


















Huge Clown Tang making a run for it (very shallow waters - maybe 5-6' max)


















a. gemmifera??









encrusting monti


















another great day on one of the greatest reefs in the world!


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## zoapaly

Beautiful pics and corals , thanks for sharing👍👍


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## Patwa

update...










fire coral (millepora sp) smack in the middle of two acros



























platygyras


















Huge clown tang


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## explor3r

Nice I love the last piece!!!! Keep them coming


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## Bullet

Great pics Z 
Always a pleasure to view your great pics !
Sam


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## Patwa

explor3r said:


> Nice I love the last piece!!!! Keep them coming


that particular one (pink with green base) was all over the place!



Bullet said:


> Great pics Z
> Always a pleasure to view your great pics !
> Sam


thanks!

More Great Barrier Reef pics (still have a pile to go through)!

find the clown tang...









another clown tang









There's a reason why you don't see Clown Tangs in home reefs. More so, there's a reason why Clown Tangs have such a high mortality rate in captivity - their needs preclude the average reefer (or above-average reefer if you think you're a superstar ) from owning one coz, simply, we cannot provide an environment where it will grow and _thrive_.

Do us a favour, tell your LFS to stop bringing this fish in. It lives and feeds in the highly oxygenated and turbulent top tiers of the reef...that fact alone tells us our home reefs will not cut it.

pocillopora sp...quite common on the GBR




































Moorish Idol


















White-tip reef shark....this is the first shark I ever saw in person. I tried to swim after it but it was waaay too fast lol













































looks like boulder coral (diploastrea sp.)









can't beat these Aussie sunsets!


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## Rookie2013

Patwa said:


> so I decided i'd let you all have a peek into my other hobby ...which, of course, was a direct result of being in _this_ hobby  ...it's funny how things work out, eh? ...doing this also helps me kill time while my new display cycles  Bayinaung also gave me the go ahead, so I can't argue with that
> 
> I took up SCUBA diving years back on a trip to Australia....got my PADI Open Water while diving the Great Barrier Reef there. Years later, on my second trip to the Philippines, I was successfully certified as an Advanced Open Water diver.....woot!
> 
> The funny thing is I can't really swim all that well.....well, I suck. But, put me underwater with SCUBA and this is what you get:
> 
> Easter Island
> 
> moi next to a 1000 year old porites lobata colony (the predominate coral on these reefs)
> 
> 
> extremely nutrient poor water = some of the best visibility in the world
> 
> 
> school of endemic Easter Island butterflyfish
> 
> 
> 
> 
> yellow p. verrucosa....this was one of only two specimens from this genus I encountered on all my dives ...extremely rare on this reef (the other was baby blue)
> 
> 
> (not a real Moai....was sunk here for the movie "Rapa Nui")
> 
> 
> At the top of the image is the Easter Island Rainbow wrasse (coris debueni), which is endemic to the island and is probably the rarest coris wrasse in the world.
> 
> 
> huge banana wrasse!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 1000+ year old porites lobata colony
> 
> 
> endemic Easter Island damsel...gorgeous
> 
> 
> about $15-$20k worth of fish in this shot. Hota Matu'a pygmy angels, femininus wrasses.....i'm pretty sure I pissed myself when I saw these guys
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> supposed Spanish ghaleon anchor
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ill post more pics later


just one word STUNNING pics my friend...


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## Patwa

thanks!  

(I'm gonna have to re-process those Easter Island pics and get more of that blue haze removed).


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## Patwa

Heading back to South America this week ...and ending it all with a diving trip to the Galapagos Islands. Hopefully i'll have some nice shots of the reefs and hammerheads in the area to share with you all down the road! 

in the meantime, here's more of the GBR!

s. elegans growing on top of porites









what TRUE yellow leathers should look like! s. elegans









such variety









maybe caulastrea? or some bastard colony of l. hemprichii??









gorgeous blue stag!


















acan hillae or acan bowerbanki...??









symphyllia showing that sarcophyton who's the boss









colony of platygyra growing amongst the softies






















































Milln Reef from the liveaboard dive boat


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## Rookie2013

Wow just wow Patwa we really appreciate you sharing these amazing shots with us really feel as if we r diving with u 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## noy

fantastic photos


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## goobafish

Love this thread, great shots!


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## Flexin5

amazing shots as usual.


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## Patwa

thanks! I appreciate it.


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## zoapaly

Top ! @ Patwa


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## Patwa

woah....totally forgot about this thread. I promise to update it soon. Still many photos to post!

also just got back from Belize a few weeks ago ....dove the Great Blue Hole, made famous by Cousteau ...'twas a great blue disappointment, imo, but still a cool dive.


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## zoapaly

Following...
More pics please !


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## Rookie2013

Can't wait for the pics


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## infolific

Patwa said:


> also just got back from Belize a few weeks ago ....dove the Great Blue Hole, made famous by Cousteau ...'twas a great blue disappointment, imo, but still a cool dive.


Belize is where I did my first dives after being certified years ago. It was a great location. I skipped the Blue Hole though. Aside from it not being a great idea for a newly minted diver, I heard there wasn't much to see and the boat ride to it was long.

Was it disappointing because it was just a deep, dark dive i.e. not much in the way of life?


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## Sea MunnKey

C'mon Zach ... pictures, pictures, pictures


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## teemee

Zach, your problem is that you started your diving career with the some of the best places to dive, so good that pretty much anywhere is difficult to live up to them. You're left with the most remote (often expensive) places to go. I to a certain extent have the same problem. Lembeh never lets me down. And I will doing the Birds head seascape for my next trip, but who knows when that will be.


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## Patwa

infolific said:


> Belize is where I did my first dives after being certified years ago. It was a great location. I skipped the Blue Hole though. Aside from it not being a great idea for a newly minted diver, I heard there wasn't much to see and the boat ride to it was long.
> 
> Was it disappointing because it was just a deep, dark dive i.e. not much in the way of life?


Don't get me wrong, it was a good dive, and one I probably won't forget for a while. The issue was that it was a stormy day, and the water was choppy as wind speeds kicked up and died down from hour to hour. As a result, the waters in and around Lighthouse Atoll (where the GBH is located) was fairly turbid, which meant for poor visibility. This was doubly bad in my case as I dive with a full SLR camera rig, with strobe.

Good thing we had a marine cinematographer on our dive, though....as soon as I realized my photos wouldn't turn out as good as I had hoped, I bought his dive video. I'll post it later tonight as YouTube is blocked at work. Also didn't see much life at all....but that's not what makes the GBH famous - I was there for the massive (and I mean MASSIVE!!!) stalactites and the fact it was one helluva deep dive into a massive collapsed cave (my dive computer recorded my max depth at 43.5m).

It's not for newbie divers, you're absolutely right.

And yes, the trek out to the reef was about 2.5 hours, but honestly, it was a breeze  loved it. I booked with the best dive shop on Ambergris Caye, which also had the largest, fastest and most modern dive boat (so they claim lol). The day before I also dove Turneffe Reef (about 2 hours away), which is also one of the very few premiere dive spots in Belize (it's a UNESCO site). The local dives I did around Ambergris Caye (5 to 10 mins offshore, by skiff) as a warmup to GBH and Turneffe were "meh" not much to write home about, except for lots of fat nurse sharks haha



Sea MunnKey said:


> C'mon Zach ... pictures, pictures, pictures






teemee said:


> Zach, your problem is that you started your diving career with the some of the best places to dive, so good that pretty much anywhere is difficult to live up to them. You're left with the most remote (often expensive) places to go. I to a certain extent have the same problem. Lembeh never lets me down. And I will doing the Birds head seascape for my next trip, but who knows when that will be.


Yeah, I hear ya #firstworldproblems  I've dived a bunch of top 10 places but there's still so much more I want to see and so much more *I KNOW* will just blow my mind just as much as any other place i've dived to date (i'm easy to impress).

My dream list, as of right now, includes:

Okinawa
Gulf of Oman/Red Sea
Iceland
Zanzibar

Late this year or very early 2018 i'm heading back to the Indo-Pacific: East Timor, Bird's Head/Rajah Ampat and Philippines. For now i'm completely done with the Caribbean.... too many whips, fans and gorgonians.....not enough diversity in coral and fish 

Gimme a holla when/if you book Birds Head.


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## Rookie2013

I am jealous  lol

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Patwa

Here are the videos from my recent dive trip to Belize.

Half Moon Wall was one of the best dives i've ever done in the Caribbean, hands down....just amazing as far as Caribbean reefs go. I remember yelling 'woohoo' through my reg when I saw the numerous large Nassau groupers and fat Caribbean reef sharks lol

...and as mentioned before, the Great Blue Hole was a bit underwhelming due to the inclement weather, but still quite unique and unforgettable.

Both sites are part of the Belize Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
*
Great Blue Hole*

*Half Moon Wall
*
enjoy

PS...I tried to embed the vids in this post but it seems this flavour of vBulletin doesn't have the capability, or i'm missing something...sorry


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## Rookie2013

Awesome Congrats...so among all the divers which one were u...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Sea MunnKey

Hah ... I see Zach all over the Great Blue Hole video ... with his strobe 

Almost at the end of the Half Moon Wall (after dive) everyone lifted their arms above & side of chests doing this weird "finger wiggling" motion up above the tree top platform? What up with that?


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## Patwa

Rookie2013 said:


> Awesome Congrats...so among all the divers which one were u...


i'm the one with the sculpted body of Adonis, bald head, and the bigass camera with large strobe (a strobe is the term for the underwwater camera flash system)



Sea MunnKey said:


> Almost at the end of the Half Moon Wall (after dive) everyone lifted their arms above & side of chests doing this weird "finger wiggling" motion up above the tree top platform? What up with that?


haha that was us showing our "boobs" 

The tree top platform was to allow us to view the nesting red-footed booby birds. The only other place you can find these birds in great numbers is the Galapagos Islands.

z


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## Sea MunnKey

The deep dives is what I have this phobia ... looking into the abyss!!! But loving the fish and especially the corals


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## Rookie2013

Patwa said:


> i'm the one with the sculpted body of Adonis, bald head, and the bigass camera with large strobe (a strobe is the term for the underwwater camera flash system)


got it i did thought first it was probably you lol...great work with the camera by the way.


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## explor3r

Wow that`s incredible and beautiful i wish to go to Belice one day is no too far right
Keep feeding us please


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## Letigrama

omg stunning all- thanks for sharing


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## kookie_guy

This thread is way overdue for an update. Anything new to share?


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## Letigrama

John Pennekamp coral reef Key Largo


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## Patwa

Letigrama said:


> John Pennekamp coral reef Key Largo


nice pics, Letigrama. Looks like it was turbid down where you were....were these taken after a storm or is that the usual clarity there?

And you dive with your bracelet, and ring eh? Flashy and fashionable! Hopefully you don't get a hungry big fish going after the sparkling reflection from your ring...i've heard stories!


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## Patwa

OK, MORE DIVE PICS!

let's finish up Australia/Great Barrier Reef...then we can get onto some of my other photo sets










stylophora (extreme crop)









acro tables!


















favia and toadstool


















100% real colour...w/ minor touch-ups. Cornbred doesn't need to jack up the colours on this, but you know he will.









moseleya sp.


----------



## Patwa

t. crocea clam (?) completely embedded in rock









a. loripes? (acro nerds: help with this ID and any other acropora you see, please)









gorgeous platygyra sp









baby blue favia sp.









orange-coloured acropora









pink pocillopora sp.









was thinking a. abratonoides, but maybe not









favia being overrun by fire coral (millepora sp.)









t. maxima, half-embedded in rock









yep, that's a super red acro!









huge colony of lobophyllia sp.









amazingly yellow colonies of s. elegans (more yellow than Tonga and Fiji yellow toadstools)


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## kookie_guy

Awesome! Now just put these up on a big screen, put my gear on, and pretend I'm diving, lol.


----------

