Ron Popeil Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 i was in hawaii last week and took as many pictures as i could. i stayed in kihei, maui and rented an underwater camera for the trip. it was really exciting for me since i hadnt been in hawaii for over 15 years. Ulua Beach was my favorite. you merely walked right out in to the ocean and boom. there was the reef. completely oblivious to the swimmers, beach tanners and hotels and cars going on just outside. it was great. pencil urchins everywhere. long spine urchins everywhere. rock boring urchins. everywhere. i didnt want to touch any of the rock work because....these guys were in every crevice. over every piece of rock. same with those saddle wrasses and lavender tangs. here is the only hawaiian cleaner wrasse i saw. with a moderate school of...whatever fish these are. they let me get pretty close. a hawkfish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 ornate angels! these are simply stunning fish. always in pairs. always so fun to follow around. ok, so not technically IN the water. but this guy was a lot of fun. there are thousands of little crab holes all over the beach. and if youre still they come out in droves. but they all know which hole they crept out of and can rocket back inside at ridiculous speeds. this guy was huge and i kept him out of his hole for a picture before he could dive back in. zebra moray! just snorkeling about one day, and some kayakers told me they had just seen a turtle. i found him! the farther out i went, the cooler stuff i found. like this sleeping turtle! he didnt mind me swimming around him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhand Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Wow that is amazing those angels are soooo beautiful and the moray wow thats a big one very cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpunk Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 that is really awesome... Affordable renting the under water camera out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 here are some shots of the varieties of corals present here. probably only a handful of species, but certainly plenty of color variations and growth forms. this encrusting species was like a beacon. so bright and lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 this parrot fish glowed like no other fish on the reef. a florescent color that almost seemed to glow. it is not easy holding your breath, swimming downwards, finding a fish, having the fish swim in one place, struggle to stay underwater, and try to take a picture before you asphyxiate. but this fish was a true gentleman and very patient with me. saddle wrasses. everywhere. and female bird wrasses. also everywhere. long nose butterflies. uh oh! i asked if these were a problem here. but apparently they are not. the dive guy said in hawaii, these crown of thorns tend to eat the dead or dying corals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 lots of porites with christmas tree worms on them. i was happy i got this little fish in there. more turtles! but closer! pink tail triggers. the pink in their tales is very bright underwater. racoons! super blue male boxfish! another fish who's colors were very intense even underwater. bryzoans maybe? a special prize if someone cant point out the star of this photo. this guy was basketball sized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 another zebra moray right next to the angler. when all of a sudden….. out of the reef comes this big old manta ray. the dive instructors were so excited afterwards. they have each other high fives and hooted. apparently they don't see mantas very often in this part of the reef. completely unconcerned with the four scuba divers. the ray would circle around us, flowing in slow motion, disappear for a while and then come right back around. a little white tip reef shark that the divers had been watching for the last three months. apparently he has slowly outgrown this little crevice he's been utilizing. saw several sizes of these white mouth morays. this one was probably the largest. i don't know how the dive master found this guy in the tiny hole he did, but here he was after inking and being flushed out. such great colors. and all of them flashing and pulsing as he sat exposed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 this was a real treat. banana moray! my girlfriends snorkel at molikini crater. the boat crew eventually went after it. but it was deep here. right near the edge of the rim. squirrel fish! for all the reading i had done on achilles in aquariums, this completely surprised me. i knew they needed aggressive water flow and highly oxygenated water. but this….was intense. so beautiful. at times these fish were a foot under the surface. i thought for sure waves would wash them up on land. they never strayed farther than this zone of the crater. grouper! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 i believe this guy was called a giant moray. and he was. he was deep. i don't think anyone else saw him. but this was as close as i wanted to get. with me flopping around down there, he looked easily agitated. PINK! these guys were frequently seen. i loved them because they always swam on their sides, nervously observing you while trying to pretend they were going about their business. they look like a trigger…but clench their tail like a tile fish. a big skate showed up. this was at "turtle island". everyone else was off looking for turtles….i found this little guy. heres the varieties of colors for these stylophora colonies. i believe they're stylophora. more turtles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 the whole trip, these were the only fish that absolutely did not want me anywhere near them. all the other fish were cautious, but these orange shoulder tangs….absolutely wanted to get far far away. they were also as fat as footballs. lounge chair cushions out in the reef. i was in about 10 feet of water when i see this little guy. slowly plowing through the sand. surrounded by endless sand in every direction. he wasn't alone though. he had a juvenile razor wrasse as a companion. he's currently buried directly above the crab, and when the coast was clear….would poke just his head up and look around like a snake. at least, i thought he was alone until this guy appeared and disappeared. i have to get at least one shot of these hawaiian staples in… at least a foot and a half long. there were hundreds more, but these were some of the best shots from the trip. thanks for looking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 the camera was only 60 bucks for the week! i wasnt entirely convinced it was going to take any sort of clear photographs. but i was very pleasantly surprised. took video too! however, i didnt do much with it. i should have, but it was easier for me just to take a million pictures than take the time to switch to video mode and potentially miss the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVPaquatics Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Wow so jealous. Do you feel like you would be able to catch some of the fish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 certainly not! far more respect was instilled in me for the divers that acquire our fish. they are fast. there are holes everywhere in the rocks. and one is not as angelic under the water as you would think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acuraguy55 Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 very nice photos, haven't seen the water that clear and filled with life in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisW Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 WOW! Thanks a lot for all the cool photos! Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bicyclebill Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 That is so AWESOME! I've never been to Hawaii, and have only snorkeled in Cabo (doesn't compare at all). thanks for sharing all these! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danik Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Nice pictures, we're you diving in the reserve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhand Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 wow thats truly amazing great pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gawf4fun Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Fantastic shots! I guess that i can cancel my own trip now. Ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 thanks for looking! no i was not in the reserve. most of these pictures were taken right off the beaches in kihei. the other locations i visited were referred to "coral gardens" "turtle town" and of molikini crater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 and one is not as angelic under the water as you would think. Just takes some practice Looks like you got to see a lot more corals then I was able to in Ohahu. I was shocked as well at how turbulent some of the waters were where the fish were living. Fun stuff though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batchelor Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 My family and I are going to Maui in June, for our 20 year anniv. Can you pm me a sort-of "do not miss list"? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks, Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckie Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Thanks for sharing so many great pic's. Looks like a gret time. Beckie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriz2fer Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 I would have been to tempted to grab the corals..lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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