Blinded by the light

It's good to have some time off work. It's even better to spend that time underwater doing the thing you love the most. No, not eating pizza (although that's close second) but taking photos.

Another good thing is getting to the dive sites early as not only do you have the whole place to yourself but you also have the perfect lighting to maximise the impact of your shots.

We had some some fun today with a first dive taking us passed the statue of Amphitrite, out to the wreck of the Nicholson then onto the main wall for a nice deep long dive to enjoy the scenery and play with snappers, groupers, turtles and triggerfish of which there where many.

Roland proved a most accommodating model, a bit high maintenance as most models are, but proved quite photogenic once he manged to keep his legs shut. And that's not something you'll commonly hear about him, let me tell you!

Our constant companion, Spot the snapper was with us all throughout both dives and proved to a faithful companion and additional photographers aid when required with no complaints.

Lovers of the deep.

There were some really nice macro opportunities down there as well, not just the big scenic stuff, but you really had to work for it. We had some fine examples of gobies and blennies as always.

 There was also a great example of a mantis shrimp which I think is a dark mantis going by the book, but I'm sure someone will be quick enough to correct me if I am wrong. It was quite happy to sit in the open and wasn't overly bothered by me getting in a couple of shots.

We also had quite a few squat anemone shrimp hiding in the crevices as well which I don't personally find that often here, but maybe that's just me.

 Over three hours in the water with great scenery and marine life not to mention the perfect lighting. This is why we dive.