Over the last few months the reef balls have become home to a huge amount of marine life. The structures themselves are now so covered in growth that most of the reef balls are indistinguishable from the rest of the substrate.
One of the new methods to monitor and catalog the growth on the reef ball has been to install a numbered tag to each one. This will allow Valerie and others to identify each reef ball and watch the changes to the growth over time. Once all the reef balls are tagged, a map will be made that shows positioning, depths, and distances. With 92 reef balls now in place assistance is required to help Val and her team install these tags. About one third of the reef balls have been tagged to date. Anyone interested in helping us out please contact Val either by email or on facebook.
As for the dive itself the visibility at the reef balls was probably the worst I've seen in a very long time. The amount of particulate, overcast sky and current made for one of the most difficult underwater photo dives I've ever been on. Anyone who has ever dove around Vancouver Island knows that during certain times of the year you can jump in the water and the conditions can be so bad its like diving at night. This was one of those days! I'm always up for a challenge and working in those conditions really provided me with an opportunity to be more creative and think outside the box when I wanted to take an image. There are so many factors that come into play and having the mind set to make the best of a poor situation will help at the very least produce one or two images that are usable.
After the gentle boat ride back into Canadian waters from the Diamond Knot, we needed to make a decision on where to dive on the second part of this adventure. My initial idea when I created this shootout was to dive Race Rocks as the second dive on this trip, but due to the large tidal exchange, the only place to dive at Race was "the cathedrals". This is the area between West Race and Helicopter Rock which is basically an area that is made up of a relatively flat bottom with large boulders scattered around. There is not a great deal of marine life in this location compared to what inhabits Great Race and West Race Wall. As a group we decided that this site didn't interest us and a suggestion was made to dive the historical wreck of the Barnard Castle. I had not been on this wreck for many years and none of the other members of our group had ever dove it.
The Barnard Castle was a wooden steamer built in 1878 and was 260 ft. in length. The steamer hit Rosedale Reef on November 2, 1886 but managed to limp to Bentinck Island where it sank in Pilot Bay. The ship was loaded with a shipment of coal when it sank and numerous salvage operations over the years failed to raise the ship or recover all of the cargo. In more recent years the British Columbia Artificial Reef Society has placed plaques around this historic site to create an underwater marine trek. Each one of the plaques represent an important piece of this historically significant wreck.
Our dive on this wreck was very interesting at the start, when we discovered that the floating markers that are normally attached to it were missing. We ended up dropping anchor and initiating a circular search pattern to find the wreck along the sandy bottom of Pilot bay which is covered in patches of eel grass. Once we had found the wreck, finding all of the plaques was quite a challenge, in the end we only managed to uncover two. The ship itself doesn't resemble a ship at all anymore, however pieces of deck plates, the two massive boilers, and the iron screw are all still visible. I am sure we would have been able to find more if the kelp growth wasn't as thick as it was. There were large schools of Black Rockfish all over the wreck, as well as numerous other creatures. The most fascinating part of this dive, other than the historical value of the the ship, was the coal scattered about the wreck and surrounding area. Coal is very light and filled with air, so you can lift what would seem to be huge heavy chunks with ease as they are almost neutrally buoyant; so cool!! Another interesting find was the bull kelp add attached to the chunks of coal. The coal was just heavy enough to weigh the kelp down but the coal was suspended in mid-water. It was quite a unique sight!
The Barnard Castle is a wreck worth diving, not only because of its historical significance, but also to see the cargo that is strewn around the area.
Thank you to everyone who made this West Coast Shootout such a memorable one: Jason, Chris, Nicole, Jesse and Ken, it was a great day!
I am really looking forward to the next adventure as always!
It isn't very often as a photographer that you get to be a part of a truly epic trip. These trips are the ones where your go to a great destination with awesome people and everyone comes back raving about how amazing the experience was.
The plan for the West Coast Shootout #7 was to dive the shipwreck of the Diamond Knot. The wreck itself is located just off the coast of Washington State, north of Port Angeles. The ship is steeped with history and was the focal point of the largest salvage operation on the Pacific coast. She sank in 1947 after a collision with another ship while carrying 154,000 cases of Alaskan canned salmon valued at over four million dollars. Most of the cargo was recovered, however this left the ship in a shattered mess of twisted wreckage. What makes this wreck so breathtaking is the amount of marine life that inhabits the expanse of the ship. There is a tremendous amount of water flowing through the area, and the currents are very unpredictable. These currents bring nutrients and food to the area, helping to create the perfect environment for life to flourish. The ship is completely covered with life: sponges, hydrocorals, tunicates and anemones adorn every inch, and large schools of rockfish hide around the superstructure. Sea stars and urchins cling to broken deck plates and wolf eels peer out from their man-made dens. The ship structure is twisted, with the stern laying on its port side while the mid section is collapsed in on itself from the salvage work. A single mast still stands towards the bow of the ship and one of the huge anchors still rests, ready to be dropped from its housing on the bow. The stern is completely covered with large Plumose Anemones, which creates a giant wall of white giving an eerie, ghostly effect as the light bounces off of it.
On this beautiful sunny day in Victoria, the conditions seemed perfect for the trip across the channel to Port Angeles. The currents were providing us with a slack tide that, according to the book, was about an hour and a half long. Everything seemed to be perfect. The group of divers on this trip was made up of five others plus myself. We are all very experienced and two of us had been on the Diamond Knot before. The trip over was not as the Victoria weather man had predicted: the seas were very choppy, the wind had picked up, and a huge fog bank had rolled in eclipsing the sun and the beautiful July weather. The captain decided to push through the weather assuming it would be calm on the Port Angeles side. After a forty-five minute bumpy boat ride we had made it through the nasty weather and reached the shipwreck. The fog had dissipated, the wind had died and the seas were flat calm. This was going to be awesome! The only thing missing was the sun. We attached to the the wreck and slipped into the water. We had tied off on the stern section of the wreck and the current was dying down. The wreck started to come into view around the eighty foot mark as the visibility was limited due to the combination of large particulate filling the water and the lack of sun over head; it was dark making for very challenging photographic conditions. It was difficult to take large wide angle images of the ship in the limited visibility, however I managed to make the best of the situation and switched my focus to the abundant marine life all over the ship.
As a group we all knew that we only had a limited amount of time underwater due to the current beginning to flow once again. Slack tide is not always as long as the book predicts, and in this particular instance the book was a little off. The slack only ended up being about thirty minutes long which shortened everyone's dive, but what a mind blowing thirty minutes it was!!! All of us came out of the water raving about how much life was on the wreck and how beautiful it was. The trip back to Victoria and our second dive was relatively calm, the sun had come out and the seas had flattened.
It was time to go MACRO on the reef balls! The dives that I have done on the Ogden Point Reef Balls thus far have been to photograph divers either collecting, measuring, or recording the life that has been developing in and around the habitat. This ecosystem has grown exponentially over the last few months, and I really wanted to get some images of the marine life that was living underneath the kelp and inside the reef balls. To my surprise the dive was truly one to remember. The creatures that Valerie and I encountered were amazing, and to see Val's face after we broke the surface was priceless. She was ecstatic, as was I, with all that we has seen. The reef balls have grown into a great community including a vast array of marine life, and anyone who has a chance should visit this great little dive site just off the breakwater.
One of the biggest thrills I get from these shootouts is seeing people who have dove a location countless times and are still able to come out of the water with a big smile on their face, saying "Wow, that was amazing!" The Ogden Point Breakwater is home to an amazing array of aquatic species and draws divers and snorkelers from all over the world. I have called this little piece of heaven my diving home base for many years and still am amazed each and every time I go for a dive. The group that assembled for this shootout adventure was comprised of divers from Victoria and other parts of Canada. We had veteran breakwater divers, and divers that had never experienced the majesty of this area.
The first dive of the day, we ventured to "the end". This walk to the end of the breakwater is challenging for even the most hardy of divers, packing all of your dive gear and walking the one kilometer trek to the lighthouse can be tiring, however the reward of jumping in the water at the end is awesome. Once beneath the waves, the first thing everyone noticed was the explosion of life: huge schools of Puget Sound, Black and Yelloweye Rockfish were everywhere. The rocks and rubble piles that make up the breakwater were covered with giant Plumose Anemones and hydrocorals. The end of the breakwater is quite different from the rest due to the currents that feed the area, allowing much more life to thrive. A few divers in the group were lucky enough to spot one of the resident wolf eels and a Giant Pacific Octopus. The current flow on this day was in our favor and we were able to slowly drift from the end back along the wall and experience all of the life that inhabits the breakwater.
The second dive of the day we entered at the first bend of the breakwater.After the long walk on the first dive, we aired on the side of caution and took it easy on this dive. The visibility had dropped considerably since the first dive so the photography opportunities had dwindled slightly, however the group and myself were determined to make the best of it. As an underwater photographer you normally enter the water with a plan and a shoot list which helps to create focus and enables you to make the most of each dive. However on this particular occasion we just decided to have a little fun!!
Anyone looking to dive this sites please check out the dive site descriptions: Ogden Point Breakwater
I'd like to thank everyone for coming out and making West Coast Shootout #6 a great success once again; these great days of diving couldn't happen without you.
Till the next adventure!!
Scott
posted by Scott Stevenson at 12:13 pm - 0 comments
Since I was invited to be a part of this project I have been fascinated with the amount of growth that has accumulated on and around the reef balls. So many animals have moved in and made these artificial structures their home and it's nice to see a positive impact on the environment for a change.
On this particular day, Valerie and I set out to photograph something a little bit more exciting than kelp and algae! I wanted to see what was living around the reef balls, and if there was any difference in the residents here from the species that call the breakwater their home. The reef balls are new to the environment, and my assumption that there would be fewer creatures was proven to be wrong. The area was teeming with clouds of small shrimp and it was apparent that this area had become a nursery for small fish and invertebrate species. The breakwater is a well established ecosystem with large groups of Plumose, Rose, and Painted Anemones. Huge schools of various rockfish congregate around different parts of the breakwater, and everywhere you look the substrate is covered with life. The reef balls have now become an extension of the breakwater. The creation of this new reef system has not diluted the marine life on the breakwater, but has enhanced it to ensure more growth and the creation of a new and more diverse area for the marine life to succeed. The future is very bright for this area and I hope that many divers and underwater photographers get a chance to enjoy this blossoming new marine ecosystem.
Social Media is all the rage these days. As a photographer in the limited market of underwater photography, it is important not to lose sight, or be overwhelmed by, all of the ways to share your work and broaden your audience. Just like any other traditional media, it takes a lot of hard work and creative/strategic thinking especially with so many platforms available to us: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, etc. There are many success stories that have used social media not only to broaden their appeal as a photographer, but also to open new doors for showcasing their work that at one time may not have been available to them through traditional forms of media. Social media is just one of the tools that can help you reach your goals of marketing yourself as a photographer but also raising social awareness through your images.
Here are some ideas to help photographers in their quest to increase their audience:
1. Research – Doing your research by reading, talking, and studying from others is immensely important. Try to figure out what is best for you and your particular situation.
2. Immerse yourself – Don’t just talk about it; actually do it. As you take more pictures or dive more in a particular area, you learn about the equipment and the environment. This technique also applies to social media. If you spend time as a member of these sites, you will be able to then talk about it and teach it to others with confidence, opening up your own network to new opportunities. If you recommend Flickr as your main tool then you must make sure that you are on that site and know the ins and outs of that social platform.
3. Follow through – When you set up a Facebook, Twitter, or Flickr account you must keep adding to the content. Remember that people will follow you, “like” your page, or subscribe to your channel because you have provided them with something that is both interesting and compelling. They are there to listen to you and they will want to engage and converse with you. Your ability to update your content is the key to keeping your fans coming back for more.
4. Creativity – Creativity, just like content, is extremely important. You must always make sure that your message is both useful and interesting for your targeted audience. As photographers we create images that transcend the tools, and how we design our social media network should be a reflection of those images.
5. Think about your audience – Who are you making these images for? When creating a brand, promoting a style or creatively collaborating with others, be sure to listen to others in and outside of your field. Take in different perspectives and incorporate them into your thinking. Whatever your objective is, being concise and acting on a well thought out plan will maintain your current clients but may also capture more of an audience outside your traditional scope. Sound ideas and execution more often than not lead to success.
As part of my on going desire to enable divers and photographers to experience new areas around the Pacific Northwest, West Coast Shootout # 5 was a shining example of this. I had met with a new charter operator and he had offered an excellent opportunity to explore the west coast of Vancouver Island. Pinnacle Dive Charters, owned and operated by Jesse Kunce runs his business out of the Western Communities just north of Victoria. Jesse's boat is an excellent dive boat that can accommodates to eight divers comfortably and has great range for day trips any where around Southern Vancouver Island.
The three dives on this particular day were epic, we had planned to do the west wall at Race Rocks, the natural tunnel that exists at Swordfish Island and an exploratory dive just south of Sooke BC, call the tongue. The weather conditions were perfect for a spring day in May; calm seas, no wind and a hint of sunshine. As always Race Rocks never disappoints. The west wall was covered with an amazing array of life from brooding anemones, hydrocorals and muticoloured sponges to basketstars and huge schools of black rockfish. This dive is one that can truly inspire divers and photographers. The tunnel at Swordfish Island is a unique natural anomaly. Running through the south end of the island about 50 feet in length and about 20 feet deep. One this particular day the tide was quite low and only half the tunnel was filled with water. This made for a challenging swim threw however with good buoyancy control and everyone been very mindful of the marine life it was an exhilarating experience. Once we all had exited the tunnel we swam north along the wall. This turned into an unprecedented destination due to an encounter with a Giant Pacific Octopus out in the open just sitting on the wall in about 45 feet of water. For some of the divers on the trip this was a first for them, a Giant Pacific Octopus out in the open and able to be photographed. So awesome, this is truly one of naturals wonders. The third dive "the tongue" located just south of Sooke was an interesting dive with large kelp forests and schools of rockfish and tubesnouts. The bottom was covered with large boulders and sand home to a variety of nudibranchs and tubeworms.
I'd like to thank and recommend to anyone looking booking a charter on Southern Vancouver Island to contact Jesse at Pinnacle Dive Charters. I will be working with him in the future to plan more dive adventures.
Images: Giant Pacific Octopus, Pinnacles Dive Boat, West Race Wall
Over the last few months there has been a tremendous amount of growth on the reef balls at Ogden Point. The kelp and algae have taken hold and exploded into an amazing marine habitat, with the reef ball structures themselves becoming home to numerous fish, and invertebrate species. After going out last month and photographing images of Valerie and other divers measuring the the growth of the kelp and algae with quadrats, the next step was to collect a multitude of species to be scientifically identified in order to create a reef ball marine life index to catalog the native species growing there and to assist in the discovery of new ones. From a photographic standpoint, this was quite a difficult job due to the density of the growth, combined with the poor visibility and current on this particular day. Composing an image for a magazine cover or for a website is a very different challenge compared to creating usable I.D. shots for scientists. The majority of my time was spent positioning myself in order to capture Valerie collecting various species as well as getting images that worked for her research. It is truly fascinating to witness the growth on the reef balls in such a short period of time.
The fourth installment of the West Coast Shootout turned into a spectacular day for everyone involved. The weather was great and the current was perfect. I'd like to thank the crew from Vancouver who made the trip over, and everyone else that helped to make the day into one of great shooting and good times.
Ten Mile Point was chosen as the destination for this trip to give everyone the chance to experience one of the best shore diving sites on southern Vancouver Island. The underwater photography opportunities, especially macro, are mind blowing. Ten Mile Point is a very unique location: the currents running along the wall have helped create a habitat so rich and diverse that this area is designated a marine protected park.
Divers have an unprecedented chance to experience multi-coloured sponges, soft corals, tunicates, and anemones along with a vast array of nudibranch, crab, and fish species as they investigate the wall. The dive today was a first for many of the people out for the shootout and to see everyone exiting the water with smiles and telling stories of what they had seen was great.
