I'm down on St. Croix for a family vacation and some diving. I don't currently have an underwater camera, but someone was nice enough to lend me an Oly 8080 + Ikelite Housing + 2 x DS-125s.

Marjo lives down here, and was kind enough to take me diving today ... we had a great day. We did two dives ... both shore dives. First was in Cane Bay where we did a shore dive on a wall just off-shore. The dive shop was right on the beach and we walked right in. After a bit of a swim, we descended. It was my first dive in almost a year and I left the camera topside to get used to the water again. It took about 10 seconds. Marjo's sync cord wasn't working so I don't think there are any images from this dive ... Visibility was ok, but not great and there weren't any big animals about. I can see how this would be a great dive with a bit more viz.

After a quick trip through the rain forest, a visit with a local wise-man who collects junk and a fruit smoothie at the rain forest smoothie stand, we made it to the Fredericksted Pier. We got the local critter report indicating a big, yellow frogfish was in the hood and seahorse and batfish were out and about. We grabbed our gear and walked down the pier. I jumped in (about 10 feet down) and Marjo handed me the cameras and then jumped in, too. We swam to one of the old pylons from the old pier to look for the frogfish. Alas, we couldn't find it ... so we headed to the new pier to look for the seahorse. Near the end of the pier, we did indeed see a very large, yellow seahorse.

The pier was a cool dive. We were under for about 70 minutes. I brought the Oly and tried to figure it out ... it takes nice images, but the AF is slow and it takes 10 seconds to write a RAW file. Nevertheless, I managed to get a couple decent shots. I'll be here all week, so stay tuned ... unfortunately, I got no images of the seahorse. I had fouled up the settings by that point to try for a cool wide angle shot and couldn't get them back to what I needed for the seahorse when the time came. Oh well. Next time.

Thank you, Marjo!!!!

Here's a few from the pier:

Isnt St Croix great We live there during the winter, so if anyone is ever there during that time you'll have 3 guides

Was your prize-winning Christmas tree worm shot taken here? Seems to be more variety of them here than I've seen anywhere else.

Today was another fun day ... didn't take the camera, but saw a nice variety of critters again today - 4 big seahorse, 4 octopus (one fully out and about .. maybe because the skies were dark, dunno), tons of different little crab and shrimp, several "dice" fish of various sizes, a TINY moray ... another GREAT critter dive on the pier.

The pier is awesome, especially at night. But even Cane Bay at night brings out cool stuff. During the day we never see nudibranchs, but at night you can find them.

The christmas tree shot wasnt taken there, but ive done a lot of practicing there Once you've seen it all you find different things to photograph.

A tip.. mating hamlets at sunset. You go to Cane Bay, and about 30 minutes before sunset enter the water, then dive along the wall towards the west, between the training buoy and the big buoy at about 50-60 feet. You'll find pairs of hamlets.

Cool Jeremy... glad you found more,seahorses especially as the one yesterday was a little uncooperative! Though I thought were doing the wrecks today...? I would much rather been out there diving with you today than locked up in the IT dungeon... (ok not complaining, its a pretty cool place to work, but diving still beats the office anyday)

Actually we found TWO seahorses yesterday:

This one


and this one

(this was when my sync cord died)

Tomorrow you get to dive with my favorite dive buddy and critter spotter extraordinaire, Doreen. She is also an excellent and very patient model by the way!

Too funny ... I almost forgot about the carousel horse! Glad there was enough light to pull that off without strobes.

Today was AWESOME. The visibility was MUCH improved, N2Blue was great and Doreen was a terrific buddy. We did Alien Nation and Swirling Blue Reef of Death. There were tons of things to see ... especially spotted drum ... from the teensiest baby to a nearly full grown adult and everything in between. We probably saw 6 in total. There was also a fun encounter with a couple of squid ... I had the camera setup for a 5 inch focus, and Derek, Doreen and I had a lot of fun trying to wrangle the squid into position for a macro shot, but somehow they seemed a bit quicker than us ...

Doreen and I are gonna dive again on Thursday and Friday with N2Blue.

I'll post a couple of pics from today in a bit.

P.S.

Though I thought were doing the wrecks today...?
We did ... on the first dive of the day; the second was on the pier from the boat. And of course there was a Frogfish on the deck of one of the ships that I missed ... but I missed it for a good reason: I followed the dive plan!

I've decided this is the "square aspect christmas tree worm" trip ...

The Oly 8080 is a great camera, but I'm struggling with focus underwater. I've taken to setting it on super macro with a manual focus of 4-6 inches ... which makes it the perfect christmas tree worm setup.

Here's some from today:

Hi Jeremy, say hi to Derek and Annemarie from Julie and me

Hey Jeremy, nicely done with the unfamiliar Olli... So where's the G9 and UCL's? Have a nice trip, Tim

I've got hit the pier one more time so I can get a seahorse shot. I got nothing on Sunday. I fouled up the macro setup trying to do a (failed) wide shot of a big sponge on the pylon and couldn't revert.

Maybe Doreen will do a pier dive with me after the boat dives on Thursday or Friday ...

I dove with Derek today and he sends his regards. Annemarie is on her way back from Holland ... I may see her Thursday or Friday.

He told me about one time when you guys found a pigmy seahorse on the mooring line that was basically microscopic ...

I like diving with him a lot! Big thumbs up for N2Blue on St. Croix.

Thanks! I sold the entire G9 setup this year as I decided I was gonna house my D700 (or get a G10) ... and then I lost my job ...

I'll hopefully buy something soon once I'm gainfully employed again .... I've been using DS-125s down here and I'm thinking I'd like to get an Ikelite D700 housing and twin DS-160s. I'm enjoying using TTL flash control on macro shots .... if I'm feeling rich, I'll go Sea & Sea with twin Z240s.

FWIW Nikon cameras can TTL with Ike strobes in other housings with the proper connections, an advantage of Nikon over Canon

http://ikelite.com/web_two/ittl_adapter.html

Julie actually has an image from that seahorse online It's obviously not a pygmy, just a very small baby sea horse. Although you cant tell from this picture:

Ha, ha yeah I hope you get to go to pier with Doreen, she is the critter queen, I see more frogfish and seahorses on dives with her than I see when I am REALLY looking myself! Like Derek said, she should be consulting the DM's. (Tho the truth is that she is so concerned about the wellbeing of her critter friends that getting her "STX critter whereabout report" is a bit of a special deal).

Cor, that is a super cute little seahorse! So cool! I've seen "pregnant" seahorses here, but never actually any juveniles. Way cool shot!

Cor ... Wow ... nice!!

Here's one of the few non-Christmas tree shots I took today ... not the greatest eel shot, but he was in quite the awkward spot. I saw a baby one of these yesterday that was TINY.

Hi all, I had to log in to follow Jeremy's picture posts from here in STX. I generally don't post (as you can see) but Jeremy and Marjo were being so kind I had to say thanks. LOVE the photos so keep them coming - hopefully there will be more to come this week.

Glad you had a good time Jeremy but where is the turtle eye photo?? - LOL. Doesn't it just figure that with your super macro lens setup we'd get a turtle to almost kiss you.

I'd be up for a pier dive if you have the time either Thur or Fri. If we're lucky some of our favorite creatures will be in their favorite hiding spots. MARJO, wish you could join us, call if you find you're coming down with a little dive fever and need to leave work early!

Hi Doreen! Unfortunately, the camera's 'premature actuation' issue (it has a HAIR trigger) and the 12 second write time totally fouled up that turtle opportunity ... I got two completely out of focus and poorly framed shots ... I thought the first one I was trying to take might have worked by sheer luck, but it didn't. My hat goes off to all the Oly 8080 shooters out there. I've seen some great shots from that camera and now I know what went into achieving them.

Given how quickly we got back from the boat dives yesterday, I think a pier dive after the boat dives sounds like great idea. Tomorrow would be good.

I'm not diving today, but the ocean looks even calmer and clearer than yesterday - hope that lasts for a while. I had some great snorkeling this am with my son ... we saw two juvenile spotted drums, a kind of trunk fish I've never seen before with orange rings around the eyes and a really cute barracuda about 10 inches long ... When he saw it, he said: "What's that one?" I said: "A baby barracuda" ... at which point he laughed and said: "I thought they were fierce!" ... to which I replied: "Only if you are a little fish" ... and he laughed again.

Marjo ... I think you were looking a little pale yesterday, are you sure you aren't coming down with something? Are there any mysterious tropical illnesses that are cured by sipping air from a tank under pressure?

Oh yes I really think I am coming down with that tropical crud that can only be cured by a nitrogen fix! Yeah... but I don't think my boss will fall for it, he's a pretty sharp dude (Doreen will agree) and unfortunately I am all tangled up wrestling with the IT gremlins and probably will be doing so for the next few night trying to get the resort all prepared for my prolonged absence a week and 3 days from now. Glad to hear you got some snorkel time in with your son today Jeremy, lookes like really calm seas today! It is kind of torture to sit here in my office looking out over the perfectly glassy ocean wishing I was in the water rather than behind the desk... I'll try to catch up with you "post dive". So glad you are getting in some bottom time on our awesome "secret" reefs!

Today, I left the camera behind for the boat dives in the morning saving the batteries for a pier dive afterward ... went looking for frogfish and seahorses with Doreen.

We did find a small, black frogfish ... but he was in like 2 feet of water and the current made a photograph impossible ... too bad - he was cute.

I did get a couple decent shots of some seahorse:





One more day of diving tomorrow, then back to Babylon ...

Wow, great job. I still have never gotten photos or video of seashorses (a bit of not good video) have only seen them a couple of times...

Great shots Jeremy!
Well Marjo, we had fun but you didn't really miss a traditional 'great pier' dive. First there were 2 large groups getting in b4 us, jeezh if we'd only been a little earlier. Then even though the surface chop and current was terrible I really wanted to snorkel, and we did, almost to the end to better the seahorse shot opportunity. On the way out I only spot checked favorate spots quickly for frog fish since it was so rough and hard to stay away from banging into the pier columns given the current. Besides, we were on a seahorse pic mission. So finally we reach the end, hide from the current behind some columns to rest a few moments and then drop down only to find it wasn't just a surface current but instead was still strong and we would have to dive at a 45 degree angle all the way in. LOL. It ranks in the top 2 worse currents at the pier that I've experienced. Of course after building up Jeremy's expectations, my spotting wasn't what I was hoping. Many creatures were missing from their favorite spots. We did manage a few seahorses, sting ray and cute octopus inking encounter. I always enjoy the pier but have to say this was a bit of work today. We laughed afterward when Jeremy noted that the current diving in from the end of the pier was stronger than the current we had for our drift dive off the boat earlier that day. Hope you'll forgive me Jeremy!

Oh my goodness, forgive you? Don't be silly - it was great ... work, for sure ... but so totally worth it. I just wish I could have saved some more strength for a last assault on the old dolphin! By the time we surfaced, I was ready to surrender to the current. We fought it going out on the surface ... we fought it coming back underwater ... it was almost 2 hours of swimming against a very strong current. I'm wiped! ... but ready for more tomorrow!

Batteries are all charged up ... now time for me to do the same! See you in the AM!

Jeremy, look at it this way: after all this commando-diving, you are allowed to eat ANYTHING at the resort, plus you'll come back from vacation in even better shape! Looking out over the ocean from my hill itblooks like you are going to have a gorgeous day with sunshine and calm seas. Enjoy!

Oh, believe me ... I have!


It was another beautiful day of diving today with Doreen and the good people of N2Blue ... we did 'Armageddon' - a cool site made up of ruble from the old pier destroyed in 1989 dropped in about 75-90 feet. Weird landscape of girders, old tires, concrete platforms, etc. I would love to come back and shoot it with the 17-35. I left the camera on deck.

Second (and last of the week) dive was 'Aquarium' ... and we stayed down almost 80 minutes to get every last drop ... here's a few pics from the dive:









... and this one is actually from yesterday ... I like this one ... I only wish the focus and DOF were better ...



Sadly, I fly back to NYC tomorrow ... it was a blast.

Hats off to St. Croix - it was GREAT!

HUGE thanks to Marjo, Doreen, N2Blue and Cane Bay Diving for helping making this a TERRIFIC trip.

I'll definitely be back.

Congrats Jeremy,
Glad you had a good trip. I'm looking now at the huge pile of stuff that I'm hauling to Florida for a couple of weeks of diving and I must tell you I'm very jealous. You may have discovered the secret to packing light, just have great friends and borrow a camera and housing and ......., I'm not sure if that is absolutely kosher though. You miss all the fun of lugging the gear through airports.

Love the shot of the eggs!
Safe travels,
Steve

Love the xmas tree worms and the Sergant major eggs! Looks like you got a hang of that rig too!

Awesome that you got to go to Armageddon. One of my fav sites, such a surreal place. Like diving in a lost city, everything there is super sized, and the "big guys" like hanging there. So glad that you got to come hang out here on our little island (and at the Buccaneer!), because this is a little bit of a "secret" spot - since St. Thomas gets all the media focus. All the good diving is here, but we don't have those cruise ships and t-shirt shops and all that hoopla. Maybe it is best to keep it that way...

Thanks, Steve ... I wish it were so ... I tried to arrange for exactly that - a camera down here waiting for me ... but ended up borrowing one from someone in NY and lugging it with me.

Another option - one which I may try at some point - is to ship the stuff ahead of the trip and ship it back at the end ... I've done that with regular bags before, but never gear. That may become more and more attractive as the baggage charges on the plane really start to pile up. But we did good on this trip ... family of four, one idiot diver with dive junk and a full u/w camera setup + SLR bag with tripod and lenses for topside - all in two 50lb bags with two 35lb carry-ons.



My new obsession ... eggs ... I have been hooked on Christmas Trees for years, but eggs are my new thing.

Have a great trip to Florida and say hi to Flipper! ... one of his buddies sneaked up on me yesterday and squeaked quite loud, but vanished before I saw it. There's a global dolphin conspiracy ... when I go diving, they do exactly that ... come nearby, make noise and disappear before I can catch a glimpse. You are smart to work with the "union" crew.



Shhhh ...

Keep it nice and quiet!

Thanks again and see you next time for sure!

More terrific pictures Jeremy! It was great diving with you and hope you and family have a safe trip home today.

If you want to ship gear ahead of a trip here and need an address feel free to get in touch. Marjo can jump in with her thoughts but I'd suggest USPS priority (insured and tracked of course) and leave yourself 10 days of time. My priority mail usually arrives within 5 days (Marjo have you ever had it arrive in 3?) but I've also had it take longer.

I'm back in the water today, I know it is a tough life but someone has to live it. I too vote to keep STX a secret, only between us and the thousands of wetpixel readers, LOL.

Cheers to all those members reading this and if you make it to St Croix I hope meet you!

Yes, incidentally I had two "3 day priority" shipments in the last two weeks - both from B&H in NY. I agree that USPS is the best option when shipping anything down here. If anyone is on their way here and considering whipping something down n advance, just contact me here and I will be happy to help (with that or any other arrangements).

As for keeping STX a secret.. this is a bit off the "photo" subject, but still relevant, and it feels very important to me. It is is one of those issues that I ponder a lot. Ours is one of the few islands in the Caribbean that is still "real", we still have untouched wilderness, comparatively healthy reefs (this I could go on and on about shifting baselines...), and we lack touts and other hassles that come with mass tourism. On one hand, I of course very much wish for economic propsperity for everyone on the island, but on the other hand having seen what has happened to so many of the destinations in the Caribbean (and elsewhere as well), I wish we could keep mass tourism away (and of course I like our uncrowded beaches and reefs) My personal preference would be if we could attract divers and other visitors who have an appreciation for the environment and environmental issues. Visitors who would stay on island in our hotels, patronize our restaurants and local tour and dive operators and other businesses. People who wuld stay at least for a few days and make a connection with the island. I saddens me to see people put their hopes on a future of masstourism and especially cruiseship tourism - which brings lots of visitors but the stays are short, the visitors have their meals on the ship and of course there is no hotel nights generated from these visitors etc All of this is just my opinion and does not reflect thd opinion of any person or business that I work or am involved with. So to me, the best kind of visitor would be just divers, underwater photographers, people with a love of the oceans and people who have an involvement in forums, groups and organizations that encourage ecological awareness. Like Wetpixel. This is why I am so thrilled whenever someone I have met here comes to visit here and it truly a joy to be given the opportiunity to share some of "our secret paradise" and try to help make it a good experience.