Spotfin Squirrelfish

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

I took this photo of a spotfin squirrelfish (Neoniphron sammara) this past weekend at Honaunau and wanted to share it with you. While not perfect, this is, by far, the best shot I've ever gotten of this common species. They are almost always facing the reef, ready to hide before you can get close. The titular dorsal fin is often laid down and the silvery scales usually reflect back a lot of the strobe. This was just a "throwaway" attempt that turned out being my best picture of the day.

SCUBA in Men's Literature

When I was a wee lad, my Dad would take me to Chandu's Barber Shop to get my regulation  "flattop" haircut. This usually involved a bit of a wait in an environment fairly devoid of things of interest to a small boy. But I liked to read and Chandu kept a wealth of reading material of the variety politely referred to as "men's adventure magazines". These tomes had names like Stag, Argosy, and Saga and contained fantastically absurd stories of macho derring-do in situations of combat, survival against the elements, and the newly popular secret agent genre. They were luridly illustrated with scenes of rugged, often scarred, heroes battling evil-doers (Nazis & Reds usually) while a gorgeous well-endowed woman stood by trying in vain not to spill out of her underwear/bikini/lingerie. It was in these pages that I learned that WWII was essentially won by half-naked women.

But, I digress...

Often these testosterone tales would revolve around SCUBA diving and provided me with something interesting to think about aside from the obvious. Here is some artwork from these thrilling stories of yesteryear. Enjoy!

Beautiful, blonde, nude SCUBA women. Happens every day

The Buddy System: You fight the two bad guys. I'll rescue the babe.

No kidding. This actually happened!

Photo Mashup

Betty & I spent last weekend at the volcano celebrating our wedding anniversary so there was no diving. However, there were TWO state holidays that week (Prince Kuhio Day & Good Friday) which afforded some wonderful photo ops. Here's a smattering...    

Longnose Butterflyfish (Forcipiger flavissimus)

Day Octopus (Octopus cyanea)

Haig's Hermit Crab (Calcinus haigae)

Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)

That's all for now! Aloha!

A Visit to Where the Lava Meets the Sea

This weekend was our 23rd wedding anniversary. To celebrate, we decided to travel to the other side of the island to do a little lava viewing. We chartered a boat to take us close to the lava where we could see it flowing into the sea.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

Due to "technical difficulties" with the boat, our sunset charter didn't start until after sundown. We also had a bit of rain on the trip. Nevertheless, these small hardships were worth enduring as our boat got really close to the lava entry. The glowing magma, the billowing steam, and the hissing and popping sounds were all very spectacular and astonishing. We've seen lava flowing in the past, but seeing it enter the sea from the vantage point of a 
boat was really special.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

If you visit the Big Island, this is something you really need to put on your "must do" list. We had a great great time and will remember this short trip forever.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

A lava entry into the sea is one of those things that could end at any instant and possibly not recur in a lifetime. Also, there may come a time when authorities shut down trips like this due to the multiple hazards involved. We felt very fortunate to have had this great experience. 

All the way back, we were treated to the sight of marine bioluminescence flying in the prop wash behind our boat. A bonus for having started late. We then went back to our room at Volcano House, a hotel that sits on the rim of the active Kilauea caldera called Halemaumau. Our stay there will be the subject of a future post!

Chaetodon ornatissimus

Ornate Butterflyfish (Chaetodon ornatissimus) are among my favorite photo subjects because the are really cooperative, unlike many other tropical fish. Here's a couple shots from a recent dive.

Photos Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

One of the Regulars

As big as the ocean is, there are some creatures that stay in a very small area for their entire lives. Moray eels spend most of the daytime cloistered in holes in the reef. Occasionally, you see one out free swimming in the day but they usually come out to hunt at night. When daylight comes, they return to the safety of another hole in the reef.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

This particular undulated moray eel ( Gymnothorax undulatus) is an exception. It lives in a coral head around 80' down and has been there every time I looked for the past several years.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

No doubt it roams about at night searching for prey. But it seems that it always returns to it's specific, special place on the reef when the sun comes up. Truly a creature of habit,

Randomness

Aloha All,

Not much on my mind today so I thought I'd share some random photos that didn't require a lot of commentary or a separate post. Hope you like them!

All Photos Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler