Artist's Reception @ Peaberry & Galette

During the month of June, a sampling of my photos will be on exhibit at Peaberry & Galette coffee shop in the Keauhou Shopping Center. This past Friday (6/6/14), Betty arranged an artist's reception for me. We had a pretty fantastic turnout and had a great time. Plenty of food, wine and talk story about the ocean and photography!

New Restaurant in Town - With Mantas!

Recently, Betty and I dined at one of the newest restaurants in town "Rays on the Bay" in the Sheraton Keauhou Resort and Spa. It was truly a wonderful dining experience with superb food and excellent service.

The restaurant has a nice atmosphere with covered, outdoor seating overlooking Keauhou Bay, where Betty and I have the majority of our manta ray encounters when SCUBA diving.

Betty had the Steak & Lobster...

and I had the Mahi Mahi & Lobster.

Everything was wonderfully seasoned and very tasty. I sampled Betty's steak and found it to be as tender and flavorful as she claimed it to be.

The Mai Tais were nice, too!

After dinner, we lingered by the railing and watched the manta rays that were attracted by the lights shining into the water. I tried to photograph them but it was too dark.

I would highly recommend "Rays on the Bay" to visitors and Kama'aina alike!

Kailey

Our last big surf of the season has come and gone (hopefully) and we now have consistent calm sea conditions all along the Kona Coast. When the sea gets flat like this I like to get away from Honaunau and check out some of the bays and beaches that are usually more exposed to the surf.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

On Memorial Day, I ventured down to Keauhou Bay to see if I could find some mantas to swim with me. I was lucky and found two!  By far the more social of the pair was Kailey, the one pictured here. She remained very calm and collected as I settled into her orbit of the cleaning stations on the south side of the bay.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

Kailey was named by the diver who first reported her existence to the Manta Pacific Research Foundation (MPRF). The great folks at MPRF identified her for me when I e-mailed them a photo. They do a wonderful job of monitoring the manta ray dive operations along the Kona Coast and have established guidelines for dive operators who offer Manta Night Dives. MPRF has also been instrumental in getting legislation passed to protect the resident manta rays of Hawai'i from fishing and capture for public aquaria.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

Unfortunately, the ocean is an untamed environment and no organization can protect every manta from the countless hazards out there. Kailey is missing her entire left cephalic lobe. This is the fin-like extension that forms one of the manta's "horns". When unfurled, these lobes funnel plankton into the mouth during feeding. Fortunately, Kailey's injury is well-healed and she appears well nourished as well. Hopefully, she'll be around to delight divers and snorkelers for a long time to come.

Good Things in Small Packages

This past Saturday there was a n outrigger canoe race launching from my favorite dive spot, Honaunau Bay. This was the first weekend in quite a while where the surf was fairly calm and I felt I needed to get in the water. I decided to go to Keauhou Bay, hoping to photograph the big manta rays that frequent the area. Alas, that was not to be, the mantas apparently being elsewhere engaged. On the return leg of my second dive I glimpsed a bright yellow blob on a piece of coral rubble. The blob turned out to be a tiny, juvenile Commerson's frogfish (Antennarius commerson).

All Photos Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

While it doesn't look camouflaged, this little fish is closely mimicking a local sponge species. Eventually, this inch-long individual will grow to about a foot in length and resemble an algae, sponge and coral-encrusted rock on the sea floor.

The Curious Ringtail

We all tend to make generalizations about animal behavior as we like things to be neat and tidy and predictable. This is useful as it conditions us to think about what we can expect when we interact with nature. This type of thinking has probably served to allow our species to prosper as it kept cavemen from trying to pet the wild bears back in the day.

Photo Copyright 2012 by Barry Fackler

However, animals can exhibit some individualism, as well. Wrasses tend to be fast-moving swimmers that have almost no interest in associating with divers. The ringtail wrasse (Oxycheilinus unifasciatus) is a toothy predator that often hovers motionless over the reef waiting for prey to approach. The presence of a human interloper usually sends the wrasse off in search of more peaceful hunting grounds. But recently, at Keauhou Bay, I was swimming along when I saw a ringtail in the distance abruptly change course and start swimming casually toward me. I was certain it would change course again before coming very close, but such was not the case.

Photo Copyright 2012 by Barry Fackler

The fish studied me coldly and dispassionately for a few seconds, angling its body around as to get a good look. I got a clear impression of curiosity on the creature's part. This, of course, afforded me the opportunity to fire off several good shots of the wrasse. When it all was over, the fish swam serenely away as did I. I had my photos and the wrasse had whatever thoughts he might have to muse over.

Photo Copyright 2012 by Barry Fackler