Critters and macro

[seaworm]

Dove outside of Michigan once in Florida on a wreck, but other then that its been mostly MI.... I like to shot macro stills and wonder where and what time of year can I visit CA or even Washington state for little critter macro shots. This will be my first time in the Pacific and looking to photograph hermit crabs, crabs, lobsters and wolf eels... Please tell me you experience with these animals and where to find them and time of year? Maybe a boat charter that's good or shore dive with a buddy. Like I said its my first time out west and the main reason would be for photography...... Thanks

 

[MaxBottomtime]

There is no dive season on the west coast. We have macro critters, crustaceans and wolf eels year round.

 

[seaworm]

Did you take them pic yourself?



There must be a best time during the year where the water more clear!!!! Do you have an area where I can take lots of critter photos like crabs, lobsters and wolf eels. Is monaray bay perfect spot?

 

[Vegan Shark]

Fall can have spectacular visibility, but conditions are always a roll of the dice, especially if you're booking your trip in advance. Winter can also be awesome, but there are far more storms, and week-long periods where you won't want to be shore diving. Monterey has a large amount of crabs, and wolf eels can be found if you know where to look, but I've only seen lobsters consistently in the Channel Islands. I would personally book a multi-day trip to the Channel Islands, as you'll get to experience a diversity of sites and wildlife that you won't get just doing shore dives. Channel Islands also tend to have much more reliably good visibility and conditions than the mainland.

Here's a few sites:
Truth Aquatics Schedule and Rates
CALBOAT DIVING CALENDAR
Peace Dive Boat Calendar | Book Diving Trips in the Channel Islands

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Did you take them pic yourself?



There must be a best time during the year where the water more clear!!!! Do you have an area where I can take lots of critter photos like crabs, lobsters and wolf eels. Is monaray bay perfect spot?

Those are all mine, taken around Palos Verdes in Los Angeles County. As Vegan said, conditions can be great or bad any time of year. Right now they are great, but we're expecting big surf next weekend. Wolf eels can be found on wrecks below 80 feet, but I've found them on rocks near shore as well. I see crabs and lobsters on nearly every dive.
You will not likely see lobsters in Monterey. They are uncommon north of Big Sur.

 

[Jak Crow]

You can shoot macro almost all the time. Sometimes it's the only thing you can shoot.

Oh, and I found evidence of a lobster at the Breakwater and got a photo of it, instead of saying "I swear I saw a lobster at Breakwater!" :cool2:

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

See http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/ba_diving/ especially the two links that begin "Information ...".

And here's some of what you can expect to photograph in Monterey area:
http://chucktribolet.smugmug.com/

Chuck

 

[TSandM]

In Washington, we can shoot macro almost all the time. The only time the viz is going to be so bad that you can't is in late spring or early summer -- sort of the April to late June kind of time frame. Even then, the vast majority of the time, we can shoot macro, but we may have some days where the viz is so bad you just don't want to go diving at all.

We don't have lobsters, but we have squat lobsters. Nudibranchs, hermit crabs, gorgeous anemones, fish like grunt sculpins, and wolf eels and giant pacific octopuses are available year-round. Pacific Spiny Lumpsuckers are winter critters. Summer macro tends to have a beautiful backdrop of sea lettuce; winter diving makes the nudis easier to find, because they can't hide. There's no bad time to dive here, really.