It was the best of vis, it was the worst of vis...

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MaxBottomtime

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
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Location
Torrance, CA
# of dives
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I wanted to try something different today, so we headed out to one of the artificial reefs. The surface looked as if someone had spilled a billion gallons of Nestle's Quick in the water. I had misgivings, but figured if the chocolately goodness reached all the way to the bottom I would abort the dive. Fortunately the mud was only five feet thick. Below that, I had the best visibility I have seen this year. I could clearly make out the color of the corynactis covered concrete and boulders from more than fourty feet away.
I had my macro lens on the camera, so my shots were limited to anything within a couple of feet. I shot some metridium anemones, a California scorpionfish and a tiny Ronquil, then surfaced to change to a wide angle setup. After the longest one hour surface interval ever I raced back down the line.
Low tide had arrived during my time above, and the visibility dropped to fifteen feet. I shook my head, then made the best of a bad situation.
We are hoping the fog will allow us to go back tomorrow at high tide to explore the reef a little more.

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Stunning shots man!
The final two Metridium Anemones are my favorites. The Ronquil shots are awesome as well. Such a great photo-session.
Wowzers! :coolingoff:

What depths?
 

Have you seen Metridium Anemones in those depths before "locally"? Trying to wrap my head around what makes this site suitable for them to propagate and not other areas with similar depths. "certain combinations of temps/ current to bring in target nutrients/available light, etc..etc..."
 
I've seen pictures of metridiums on rocks south of the Northern Channel Islands, but hadn't found any myself until yesterday. All of the other metridiums I've seen in L.A. are on shipwrecks, usually deeper than 75 feet. If I can find a wolfeel in the rockpile I can save gas by not going all the way to the African Queen. :)
 
How are you shooting wide angle in green water without a trace of backscatter? Very pretty. You make it look warm.

Plenty of metridiums on the oil rigs, if that's considered "local".
 
Thanks. It's bad enough I'm envying your diving, I didn't want to believe you had magical powers too! Your pics really do [almost] make me want to get out my drysuit that hasn't been worn in about five years. (Then I remember how early I'd have to wake up to get on a dive boat and I regain my senses.)
 

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