Pics from Culebra & Vieques, Puerto Rico

[Dave C]

Here is a link to some photos from a recent trip I took to Culebra and Vieques Islands, Puerto Rico. They were all taken by snorkeling:
Culebra & Vieques Puerto Rico underwater 2008 Photo Gallery by Dave_Clausen at pbase.com
All except the last eight pictures were taken in Culebra, where I spent most of my time. In comparison to other places I have in the Caribbean, Culebra topside was a very laid-back, undeveloped place. In the shallow waters where I snorkeled, there was a good growth of coral, both hard and soft. I saw more pillar coral there than I have ever seen elsewhere, and feather duster worms also seemed particularly abundant. However, it was probably the least "fishy" place I have visited in the Caribbean. Mostly what you saw were your typical small wrasse and damsels, and blue tang schools. I plan to a write a little longer trip report and put it on the SB Caribbean travel board. Here are a few of the better photos:

Gray angelfish

Feather duster worms

Tangs

Blackbar soldierfish

 

[Larry C]

Very nice. The Featherdusters and Soldierfish are especially impressive. Looks like good diving.

 

[marcienko]

Very nice shots.Thank you for sharing.Really like #1 and #3

 

[dogenia]

What setup are you using?

 

[AndyT]

Great series - well done !!

 

[paradicio]

Great shots! Now you've got me really excited about my upcoming Puerto Rico trip this year!

 

[Dave C]

Dogenia,

My camera is a Canon PowerShot A630 with a Canon housing, internal flash only. It's 8 megapixels, and I've only had it since last summer. I set ISO to 100 and white balance to "cloudy", everything else on auto. Previously, I had a 3 megapixel Canon for years, so the new camera allows me to make much closer crops. Sometimes I feel compared to my old camera that I am almost cheating. However, it's hard to get close to fish when snorkeling, and the increased ability to make an acceptable crop opens up a whole new dimension in my photos.

Everyone else, thanks for the complements!

 

[alashas]

Thanks, Dave, great photos!

Have you written a report about your experiences at Culebra & Vieques? We're thinking about going there in late Dec. - early Jan. Did you swim in Bio Bay? Which island did you prefer?

Appreciate any feedback, alashas http://honeymoon2.smugmug.com/

 

[Dave C]

Alashas - you will have a good time at either island. Here is something I wrote on Tripadvisor in which I compared Vieques and Culebra:
Isla de Vieques forums: Vieques vs. Culebra: my impressions - TripAdvisor
Here is a trip report on Tripadvisor I wrote about Vieques:
Isla de Vieques forums: Vieques: pictures and perceptions - TripAdvisor
I was intending to write a trip report about Culebra, where we spent most of our time, but I never got around to it. Maybe your question will motivate me to finally do so, but I've already forgotten a lot now! One overall impression I had of Culebra, based on snorkeling only, was that the coral growth was good, but there weren't many fish compared to other places I have been in the Caribbean. Still, when I look back at my uw photos, I am quite happy with what I got so I can't complain too much.

As I said in the Tripadvisor post, I'd recommend going to both islands, but I suppose most people only have the vacation time to visit one. You can send me a private message on this board (Scubaboard) if you want.

 

[blownsvtlightning]

Dogenia,

My camera is a Canon PowerShot A630 with a Canon housing, internal flash only. It's 8 megapixels, and I've only had it since last summer. I set ISO to 100 and white balance to "cloudy", everything else on auto. Previously, I had a 3 megapixel Canon for years, so the new camera allows me to make much closer crops. Sometimes I feel compared to my old camera that I am almost cheating. However, it's hard to get close to fish when snorkeling, and the increased ability to make an acceptable crop opens up a whole new dimension in my photos.

Everyone else, thanks for the complements!

I have the a620 and canon housing, do you have any experience with the A620? would you think I would experience similiar results? what depth were you at in most of these? your pics are beautiful. I have photography as a hobby. I shoot with all canon gear.. A620 is my PS I also have a canon DSLR and acessories.