Beata Virgo Maria – Known, But Rarely Seen
The weather, my good friend Arnaud, and great visibility allowed the mounting of a small search for “La Vierge (The Virgin)” – also known as “Our Lady of the Seabed”. The statue, located about 100 meters off Quai Rauba Capeu, sits at a depth of about 16 meters. The statue is about 3 meters tall, and was realized in 1968 by the sculptor Alfred Gualtierotti.
I first learned about it several weeks ago, and I had wanted to find it, but logistics, vacation, and weather conditions had prevented it. This weekend was the first moment when everything was just right, and we set out to search for it. Due to the excellent visibility, we were able to locate it within about 15 minutes.
It is a beauty of a statue, and stirs the emotions to look at it. I won’t say too much more on the subject, but will let the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy the photos!
Meeting the Virgin
Deep in Prayer
Plage de l’Escalet near St. Tropez – New Discoveries
Aguillette, Needlefish, or Garfish
A few weeks ago, I went to visit the small town of St. Tropez. The town itself is rich and full of pomp. Huge yachts, fancy cars, lots of celebrities all about, and expensive designer shops. Not exactly my kind of place.
The town was nice enough, I enjoyed to architecture and the setting quite a bit. However, the highlight was the nearby beach of l’Escalet. What a jewel. Clear water, beautiful sands, and a healthy ecosystem as far as I could tell.
I have never seen as many fish anywhere in the Mediterranean as I saw there. Huge schools of sardines and saupe were everywhere, and at times, I could hardly fit even a small part of the schools into the view of my wide angle. I took a bunch of video, and condensed it down to around four minutes.
While editing the video, I realized I had over ten solid minutes of footage of huge schools of fish. School after school passed my angle of view, and it was honestly hard to cut it down.The end result is below. I just want to say that I accidentally grabbed my chipped wide angle dome on the way out the door (I bought another one after I chipped my first one, and kept it for spare parts). It is fine for photos – it rarely ever shows, but for video, it shows almost all the time. I also had something on my lens on the interior of my camera, but once I hit the water, there was nothing to be done about it. Sorry for that and I hope you can enjoy the vid just the same!
Sole (flounder) and a grande vive (greater weever)
To my absolute delight, I finally got close to a bunch of species that I had either very rarely seen from a distance, or never even knew existed in my area. These included the aguillette (needlefish, or garfish), rombou, petite sole jaune (both are varieties of flounders), grande vive (greater weever), and what I think is a dragonnet, but I have not been able to get a positive identification on it yet.
I got some decent photos of all of them, and then immediately began researching my new discoveries online the second I arrived at home. It turns out that the vive (or weever), has a vicious poisonous sting that can cause intensive pain for up to two weeks. It has dorsal fins with spines that if touched, will inject their venom and make the aggressor wish they had never gone near.
I also learned that the aguillette (or needlefish) has been known to be attracted to flashy objects, sometime propelling themselves towards the object while airborne. In other countries, these fish are a huge danger to fishermen while fishing at night. They will occasionally hurl themselves out of the water towards the light source, and stick their shark points into whatever they hit, including people. Their sharp beaks can pierce arteries, organs, and flesh. I even read one report of a young man in the Mediterranean who was pierced through his nose and out the side of his cheek. A little bit of surgery later, and he was good as new.
However, such attacks are rare in this area. But this leads me to a huge question; why do I always seem to learn these types of things AFTER I go chasing after something with my camera?
As always, enjoy the photos!
Underwater Secrets – Grim Reminders of The Deep
Marker dedicated to Cyril Isoardi - free diver
In the waters just beyond the Cap de Nice at a depth of 27 meters (88 feet), there lies a large stone marker dedicated to a late 80′s and early 90′s freediving prodigy named Cyril Isoardi. A friend and I happened to stumble upon this marker by complete accident. Whereas my friend knew who it was, and was familiar with the story of the diver and the marker, it was completely new to me. It was a really special discovery, but at the same time, a sobering reminder of the dangers of freediving.
We picked a dive spot at random and started exploring. After a couple dives to about 17 meters or so, my partner noted that he thought he saw a stone marker at depth. I dove in the same area and confirmed that there was a statue there. By my estimate, I thought it was at about 20 meters, so we prepped to dive a bit deeper. When I dove again, I pressed to the bottom, and began taking photos. I noted that there didn’t seem to be much light, and glanced down at my watch and saw that I was at 27 meters! After realizing how deep I was, I booked it to the surface. At about 12 meters, my partner met me to escort me to the surface. The whole thing passed without event, but I was certainly glad to have a.) a good partner and b.) oxygen in my lungs.
Cyril Isoardi was well recognized as an up-an-coming force in the free diving world, and had made over 50 dives to depths of 100 (330 feet) meters or more using the free diving No-Limits Technique. The story goes that he began training intensively, and in the ten days before his death had made rapid progress with numerous dives. It was in this span that he progressed from about 112 meters max to 122 meters. Then, on March 29th, 1994, he took his sled down to 128 meters. Several minutes later the sled resurfaced, but he did not. His body was never recovered. No one knows what happened to him, and why he never resurfaced. He was 24 years old. According to what I have heard, his death (as well as the death of a notable Italian free diver at about the same time) sent a lot of waves across the free diving world and raised many questions about safety and security within the discipline.
Some time after his death, the stone marked was sunk near the place where he lost his life. I never met him, but I am grateful I got to discover his legacy – especially in the way I did. I can’t think of anything more fitting.
Free diver with Castagnoles
Marker dedicated to Cyril Isoardi - free diver
Some bottle divers swimming above
Waving hello
EDIT: I added a geotag in Flickr so those who want to locate this marker can use the map as a guide. View it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/azur-diving/6113627158/map/
Chlorinated Coolness
It’s no secret that swimming pools aren’t really my thing. In my book, they are good for training – that’s about it. Imagine my surprise when I went to the pool with my girlfriend’s niece and nephew and actually had a lot of fun – not to mention the fact that I escaped with a few fun photos!
I originally took my cameras with me simply to do some comparisons between the wide angle capabilities of the two. If you are curious, I got a much wider field of view with my Canon G9 than my D10 with the same wide angle dome (the D10 wide angle dome mount is a bayonet-style mount that I modded myself).
Long story short, I had a blast at the pool and I learned that my girlfriend’s niece is a total ham for the camera. Enjoy the shots.
Close encounters of the silly kind
Making a splash - and bubbles!
Goofiness rules beneath the surface
Learning to swim
Cap du Dramont Photos
“for whatever we lose (like a you or a me) / it’s always ourselves we find in the sea”
Free Diving at the Cap du Dramont
Free Diving at the Cap du Dramont
Free Diving at the Cap du Dramont
Oh Beautiful Corsica! Recollections From Miomo 5-11.
Miomo, just outside of Bastia, is a pretty little village
A couple weeks ago, my girlfriend and I sneaked away to Miomo, Corscia for a short, but superb four day weekend. We boarded a ferry from the port in Nice, and settled in for a pleasant six hour commute. On the way there, we saw several dolphins playing in the wake of the boat, and reveled in the clear, deep blue of the sea.
The Corsican accent is pretty pronounced, and was at first, difficult to understand. It is a mix of Italian and French accents with a strange emphasis on certain vowels. I am funny with accents, I was told that by the end of our four days, I had begun to pick up the accent when I spoke. That was fine with me. I really grew to like the accent and the people by the time we left.
We stayed at the hotel : l’Ariana in Miomo, and the staff there were wonderful! I don’t usually call out places to stay in my posts, but the staff and the people were a cut above. They were incredibly accommodating and friendly. We passed quite a bit of time with the staff, just chatting, swapping stories and asking questions. If you are looking for great hotel in the area, this is the one. Just try to get a room with a view of the sea. I should also note the hotel itself was great too – featuring a pool, a wonderful bar overlooking the sea, and a pretty good restaurant to boot.
The water was exceptionally clear
I should also call out the little pizzeria down the street too (there is only one, you can’t miss it). The owner there was super nice to us when we arrived after close. He made us two pizzas to go, and packed up a bottle of Rosé, and even borrowed us two glasses so we could picnic on the beach. Thanks for the wonderful service and thoughtfulness! Oh, and the pizzas were great too. I highly recommend the “Miomaise”.
The absolute highlight of the trip was the boat trip back. We saw lots of rare animals and fish, including at least six or seven Mola Mola, or Poisson Lune. We saw more dolphins very close to Nice, a squid, and several whales. One whale surfaced several times very near to the ship, and we got to see it closer than I have ever seen before. It was incredible.
On to the photos. The water was cool and clear. The waters in the area aren’t very deep, so you have to get pretty far from shore in order to do any diving. Shooting conditions were pretty wonderful overall, but I didn’t really find much in the way of subject matter. There were a lot of fish, but they were pretty timid, and I just didn’t find a lot of little critters to shoot. I was hoping for some interesting nudibranch, or flabelline, or shrimp or something, but I searched in vain. We saw lots of things, just nothing terribly unusual. I took advantage of the clear waters to do some live action shots and had some success. I continued to utilize my simulated HDR technique to bring out the detail in the water. You can see the rays of light playing in many of the shots below.
Back At It, With a New Concept
I am now experimenting with simulated HDR
I haven’t made any posts lately, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been at it. The water conditions have just been miserable for the last few weeks. I snapped a few shots here and there the last few weeks, but it was hard to shoot in the soup that was the Mediterranean.
Last week had decent visibility, but the sea wasn’t exactly cooperative. Lots of waves and I had myself a little accident. I reached for a rock, and there just happened to be a rascasse (or scorpionfish) who wasn’t too pleased to have my hand placed upon his back. Well, he shared his displeasure by stinging me, and I didn’t have a chance to explain that I just didn’t see him there. Turns out that scropionfish venom is not only painful, but I happen to be allergic. I got some meds for the allergy, and suffered through the pain for a couple of days, and everything was eventually fine. I will be carrying anti-allergy meds with me whenever I go diving from now on.
On to the photos! This week, I started playing with HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos and wondering how I could apply that technique to underwater photography. What HDR photos do is they allow the photographer to take several photos of different exposures and combine them together in order to bring out all of the details in a scene. I found myself thinking that this technique would be great for underwater photos, but there was a huge hurdle I could not get past – you need to take 3 photos and then combine them. Underwater, everything moves – the water, the fish, the light. It is simply impossible, even under the best of conditions, to get three successive photos that are close enough together to create a useable HDR.
I then remembered an article I read about a technique called “Simulted HDR”. In this technique you take one RAW photo at perfect exposure, and export it three times: one over-exposed, one perfectly exposed, and one under-exposed. You then combine the photos like you would when creating a regular HDR photo in order to create a similar effect. It’s not perfect, but I have begun to adapt this technque for use in my underwater photography.
Below, you can see my first attempt at it. I am pretty happy with the results, and will be working more with the technique this summer. Next week I will be in Corsica, and will be SURE to put this new technique to use.
Enjoy!
Dive 4-10-2011 Busy, Busy, Busy
Probably my favorite shot of the year so far.
Well, not much to report, except I haven’t been in front of the computer much lately. Well, except for work, which has been very, very busy. I’ve been putting in a lot of hours the last few weeks, and while this week has been relatively quiet, I have a feeling that the next three will be pretty reckless. It’s good to be busy though.
Add to that the fact the the weather has been beautiful… Well the old computer starts to seem awfully unattractive in my off hours. When I do have down time, I find myself watching an episode or two of MASH. What a great show. I’ve been watching it for a while now, and I have been pleased to find flashes of absolute brilliance written into it. For example, in season 4, episode 18, Hawkeye launches into a wonderful monologue where he picks up a hunk of garlic, a tea cup, and a stone. He begins to juggle. He says:
“I give you the human person, thumb and fingers, flexing madly, straining to keep aloft the leaden realities of life; ignorance, death, and madness. Thus we create for ourselves the illusion that we have power, that are in control, that we are…. loved.”
He stops juggling as he catches the garlic. Later as he leaves, the family at whose house he is staying offers him the three items he was juggling as a gift. He takes the garlic and hands it back to the woman and he says pensively “the love, I leave with you”, and steps out the door.
Tiny, tiny shrimp on the tip of my glove.
Anyways, on to the photos. I caught a shot of a new nudibranch this week, which I was very excited about. I also got a really great shot of a diver swimming to the surface, probably my favorite shot of the year so far. The most fun shot of the week award goes to the macro shot of a tiny, almost microscopic shrimp on the very tip of my glove. It was swimming past me, and looked like a self-propelled particle in the water. I reached out to touch it having no idea what it was), and it climbed on to my glove, quickly making itself at home.
I named him Fred. Fred was kind enough to model for me, and I saw him safely on his way before getting back into the boat.
Well, that’s it for this week. As always, enjoy the photos!
Dive 4-2-2011 – Spring Is Here!
The triptérygions changed their colors for spring
Spring is officially here in Nice. The sun was shining, the triptérygions changed their colors for spring, and the sun bathers reappeared this weekend. You can feel it in the air, happy times are here again.
It was a really good weekend for photos. For the first time, I feel like I am starting to get better at using my strobe light with my photography. This is especially evident with my macro work. My super macro shots came out extremely clean and crisp with colors that really pop. The only issue I am coming across is that I am getting many photos with details that are often washed out. This comes with me dumping so much light on the subject. Next up will be some research on how to avoid this.
Other than that, it was a fun dive this morning, with lot of strange critters about. There were some new ones that I have yet to identify, and there was another that can be seen quite often that exhibited some behavior I had never seen; it formed a giant rope-like colony with many individuals stuck together. It was something to see.
Hope it feels like spring wherever you are. Enjoy the shots.
2-12-2011 First Dive of 2011
Small Spider Crab in Anemone
Where to begin? Since my last post plenty of things have changed. I moved out of my new place, made some new friends, got closer to some old friends, and started learning how to live the single life again. I can’t say I’m unhappy, life is too full of wonder to curl up into a ball for too long. At some point you have to start living again. I recently read a quote that I think it sums it up:
“Love can consign us to hell or to paradise, but it always takes us somewhere. We simply have to accept it, because it is what nourishes our existence.”
The last five months have been a heck of a ride, and I feel like I’ve finally come out on the other side. That means it is time to get back to what is important: my real work.
This week, I went on a couple dives and managed to FINALLY get a passable picture of a crab in an anemone. These are super hard to shoot, because they usually either hide themselves well, or the anemones are moving around so much that it is hard to focus on the crab itself. In this case, I was lucky enough to get close enough, and catch the crab a bit out in the open. It worked out well I think.
Also, in this week’s shots is the largest Doris Dalmatien that I have ever seen. As I came up on it, it had it’s feeders extended and it looked really impressive, but due to a flash malfunction, I missed the very first shot I took. After that, it closed it’s feeder tuft and became much less impressive. Ahh c’est la vie.
This week’s shots are taken either at the Phare in St.Jean Cap-Ferrat, or at the Cap de Nice.
Enjoy:
12-19-2010 Last Dive Of The Year
Nudibranch
Well, I dove my last dive of the year today, closing the book on an excellent season. My photo work certainly grew by leaps and bounds this last year, and I fully expect next year to be full of growth as well.
I’ll be heading to England over the Christmas holiday, and definitely won’t hit the water until at least the weekend after New Year’s. I guess there is a lot of snow up in England just now, but I am still hopeful it will be a good little vacation. I know everyone says the food isn’t that great up there, but I am looking forward to trying the beef Wellington! Ha.
Anyways, I didn’t take many shots, and there is nothing spectacular in this week’s set, but there is one pretty nice shot of two nudibranch feeding. I’ve never seen two specimens that close before, and it was at least something cool. I didn’t get any time to really shoot them, because it was just at the end of the outing. I had to take a couple of quick shots then roll out. Enjoy, and have a Merry X-mas, a Happy Hanukkah, a Super Kwanzaa, a Bo-Delicious Boxing Day and a Happy New Year!
Dive 11-6
My new shrimp discovery: Crevette drimo
I finally got back to the water after several weeks, and got to work out my new strobe again. I made a few new discoveries, one of which I have yet to identify. The first of these discoveries was a type of shrimp I had never seen before. It was tucked way back in a small crevasse, and I had some serious trouble even getting a shot at it. I did get a couple decent shots, but it took some serious acrobatics on my part to get my equipment even near enough to shoot it. I was able to track the identity down, and it turns out it is a “Crevette drimo” or Mediterranean bumblebee shrimp.
My second big discovery of the day was a type of starfish that I had never seen before, and I cannot identify. It looks much like the “Etoile de mer épineuse”, or Blue Spiny Starfish, but it was quite yellow. Maybe this is a seasonal change, or perhaps a close cousin? I have yet to find out. [Update: shortly after publishing, I was able to track the starfish in question down. Turns out it is a "Eoile de mer glacialis". It is related to the Etiole de mer epineuse. So there you have it.]
One last note, I saw five octopus during my outing, which is a lot. I think that breaks my previous record by at least 2. I saw several different varieties, and got quite close to a number of them. I actually had one cornered out in the open where he had no hole to squish into, when he went after my strobe light. I had it detached from my camera in an effort to line up some cool lighting, but he grabbed it and gave it quite a tug. I wrestled it away from him, but in the struggle, I lost position and he got away. I got a little ink for my trouble, and missed the shot. It at least makes for an interesting story.
Anyways, enjoy this week’s shots.
Dive 10-23
Macro shots show much improvement with the new strobe
I had some distracting life-type things come up recently that have kept me from posting my most recent shots. Sorry to anyone who was waiting on them.
This set of shots is interesting, as it is the first set of shots I took with my new strobe! Yes, I finally got a strobe for my underwater rig, and I can already see the difference. I was really able to get some more dramatic light, and there is a significant difference in color. However, the most impressive thing is that I was able to drop my F-stop value way down for my macro shots. This means that I can get a much larger depth of field and much more sharpness than before.
I was very impressed with the results that I got on my very first attempt, and am looking to get back out and try again.
Be sure to check out the sea cucumber shot. It was coming out of some sort of strange sac. I’m not sure if it was hatching, shedding, or reproducing. If anyone knows what that is, please let me know. Enjoy!
Weekend 10-10-2010
My favorite shot from the past couple weeks
For all those who have been bugging me, sorry it took so long to get these up. I’ve been in an odd mode lately. I have been a schizophrenic melange of extremely overbusy/super lazy. When I have not been busting my tail with some household or work project, I have been a crazy couch potato. I think it is a combination of my U.S. trip, and winter creeping in that has my energies so messed up.
Anyways, nothing really new beyond that. I have some shots from club dives through the last couple weekends, and I wanted to get those up before people start getting mad at me. I had one or two pretty nice shots that I liked quite a bit from the last couple weeks, as well a bunch of other so-so shots.
Weekend 9-22-2010
Oeuf au plat with crowd of Oblade
Well, I got back at it this weekend. Felt good to finally be able to spend some time in the water and do some diving. The last month has been a real whirlwind. I had a great time in the ‘States, and got in some quality time with the family, and that is always a good thing but I really fell behind at life. Since I got back, my life has been pretty stacked up with work, but I finally feel like I have been able to dig myself out just enough to get things back to normal.
Anyways, I got more oeuf au plat shots this weekend. They are invading over here. I have seen them almost every weekend I have been out for a couple of months now. Everyone I have talked to tells me that they are normally only rarely seen, but this year they are everywhere. Is this an effect of climate change or changes in the ecosystem? Or could it be just a fluke? I hope to learn more on the topic.
Weekend Shots, TF1, Oeuf Au Plat, Wide Angle Issues, and More…
TF1 Cameraman shooting the CIPA this weekend
Well, this is going to be my last post for a bit. I might pop on to link to the CIPA TV appearance if it gets online, but no photos for a few weeks since I will be “state-side” until mid-sept.
TV appearance you ask? There was a news crew that came out for one of the major French TV stations (TF1) on Saturday to film the CIPA (my diving club). I assume there were mostly there to catch Guillaume, but they were shooting the whole club, so I think I’ve got a good shot to make my French national TV debut in the near future. I have no idea when the piece is going to air, but I will post it when I get it.
Other than that, the weekend was a good mix of awesomeness and frustration. I had a great couple of outings this weekend, with lots of stuff to shoot, but I had some issues with my new replacement Fantasea BigEye G Series lens that made me miss a lot of shots. I chipped my old one (which I NEVER had a single issue with), and I had to pony up to get it replaced since I found it an incredible tool. To make a long story short, my new one came, and it seems to have either some errant moisture inside it, or some sort of subtle chemical stain on the inside of the glass that likes to ruin photos. It is not fogging that I am having a problem with. Moderate fogging I could probably deal with; it is a definite defect that really sucks. I have reached out to Fantasea technical support to get it resolved, and I will keep you all posted as to how it goes. [Update: I posted an email to support, and they responded within a few hours on a Sunday, which is a good sign. They asked for a receipt, and a photo of the defect, which I promptly supplied.]
“Méduse œuf au plat”, or egg jellyfish
Last but not least, after having seen my first “Méduse œuf au plat”, or egg jellyfish a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon at least seven that I counted earlier today. When it rains it pours I guess. As of a few weeks ago, I had never seen one, but now I’ve seen at least eight in the last few weeks. I wasn’t too pleased with my shots from last time, and while not perfect, I am quite a bit happier with the ones I got today.
Enjoy, and I’ll be back with more shots in late Sept.
Weekend 8-1-2010 Apnea Diving with the CIPA
Freediving in Villefranche
Well, I as in northern France all last week for a buddy’s birthday bash so I didn’t get a chance to update my photos from last week. I’ll post them in two updates, since I kind of had two different themes going on last weekend. The first half was pretty heavy free diving, and the second was mostly practicing my macro techniques as you will see in the next post. If my photos from this week look an awful lot like the ones from my last batch, they are. I had so much fun a few weeks ago, that I decided to go visit the exact same spots and do the exact things again. This first batch is the freediving part, taken in two sessions at Villefranche.
Weekend 7-24-2010
Monopalm coolness
Well, this weekend was a get-back-to normal weekend after the big vacation to Corsica, and so I decided to get back to the old freediving club. I hadn’t been out with the club since about mid May, and I figured it was about time to actually do some serious training. My intentions were good, but after 2 warm up dives of less than 20 meters, I found myself snap, snap, snapping away. I ended up taking a bunch of shots between the 10-15 meter mark, and never ended up getting any deep water work in. It was great nonetheless, as it gave me a chance to string multiple shallow dives together for the purposes of lining up a shot. Plus, I found some good shooting positions and got some practice in at shooting freedive subjects.
In addition, I went out Sunday and discovered some strange little shrimp or crabs under a rock. They were so small I couldn’t even tell what they were with the naked eye. All I could see were some little leg-like things waving in the water. I just threw on my dual stacked macro lenses and started shooting, figuring I would be able to tell what exactly it was once I got to shore. I really like the shots, mostly because we can now see details that would not be really possible withouth the camera.
Back from Corsica
The waters in Scandola were incredibly clear
We got back from Corsica on Monday night. All I can say is wow! What a paradise. We went scuba diving near St. Florent (Ludo Beach), The Cape of Corsica in the north, as well as near Calvi. We were supposed to have done one dive in Porto, farther south, but if got cancelled because of weather. The diving was good, especially near Calvi, but the best thing we did (and indeed one of the best things I’ve ever done on vacation) was to rent a boat out of Porto and cruise up the coast of the Scandola reserve, stopping to snorkel and freedive along the way.
The Scandola reserve is a protected nature reserve with no roads and foot access. The only way to see the area is by boat, and the only way to dive it is without a tank, as scuba diving is not permitted. The shoreline is absolutely stunning, the water was crystal clear, there were critters everywhere, and the water was warm and wonderful. If you are heading to Corsica, I highly recommend the town of Porto and a trip out to the Scandola reserve by rented boat. If you don’t have a license, that’s okay, you can rent a little boat that takes about an hour and a half to get you there, but it still leaves you a load of time to explore if you leave early enough. The next time I am in Corsica, I will be heading back to Porto/Scandola as quickly as I can.
Nudibranch near Calvi
The whole trip was amazing, and I have to say, I was amazed at the things we saw. Right away, from the boat we came in on, we saw dolphins as we arrived. They were jumping and playing next to our boat. We also saw a pod of dolphins playing near The Cape of Corsica in the north on our way to a dive. One thing I didn’t expect at all was to see a gigantic pod of whales on our way out, they were rolling parallel to the boat in the distance. I never thought I would see whales in the Mediterranean but we certainly did. In addition to those two marvels, we also saw rays, conger eels, moray eels of several varieties, nudibranch, barracuda, grouper, cuttlefish, several species of octopus, a triggerfish, and much more.
All in all, it was a fantastic week of sunshine, water, diving, and discovery. Corsica is truly a marvel, and I can’t wait to get back. If you are planning a trip, an want to go scuba diving, make sure to head over towards Calvi. Oh yeah, and one pro tip: if you see a wild pig on the island in Corsica, don’t feed them with your hands. Evidently, they will take everything you hand to them, even a finger or two!
[Update: For those of you who want to see where each shot was taken, I have attached geo-locationing to my shots on my flickr account here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/83275239@N00/sets/72157624429872639/map?&fLat=42.6194&fLon=8.9532&zl=10&order_by=recent ]
[Update 2: I have added the terrestrial shots to my other site. There are photos of Scandola and Piana there: http://www.w3rks.com/?p=63.]
A Few Shots From The Weekend.
Centure de Venus
Check out some weekend shots. I went diving with the CIPA on Saturday, and caught a decent photo of a “centure de Venus” (translates to “Belt of Venus”). Plus, I caught some shots of a seche or cuttlefish on Sunday, plus a few extra macro shots as well.
Blog Readers, Check out the pics here: http://www.azur-diving.com/2010/05/16/a-few-shots-from-the-weekend/
Video of Our Club by Francois Gautier
Below is a video created by Francois Gautier a long-time member of our CIPA (our diving club). I think it’s pretty freakin’ awesome, mostly because I am in it. 
Look for the guy in the wetsuit, and you’ll find me . Anyways, I’d like to give a special thanks to Francois for posting this. To everyone else, I recommend stopping over at his site: OceanColors
CIPA En Hiver by Francois Gautier
First Encounter with a Rhizostome
I had a very unique encounter today.
This morning while on our Saturday dive, I happened to look down, and I saw an unfamiliar shape moving beneath the surface. Turns out it was a Rhizostome; a relatively rare jellyfish that lives in open water, and can grow to 100cm/40 inches across! The one we saw wasn’t quite that big, but it was very impressive. Take a peek at the gallery. I am thrilled with the shots I got.
I couldn’t find much information about this beautiful creature, but I did find a couple of links on it:
Doris Link (French): http://doris.ffessm.fr/fiche.asp?varpositionf=1&fiche_numero=217
I found a short article on it here in English: http://www.vattenkikaren.gu.se/fakta/arter/cnidaria/scyphozo/rhizocto/rhizoce.html
See Guillaume Néry, World Record Freediver And President of CIPA
Guillaume Néry
[Update: For those of you looking for where to find Guillaume's Base Jumping Dean's Blue Hole Video, click here]
Guillaume is the President of the CIPA (my diving club), as well as a world champion free diver, recording depths of 113 meters (370 feet). He recently took bronze in the Bahamas at the free diving world championships in the no fins category, achieving a depth of 78 meters (256 feet). The following video is a short preview of a 52 minute documentary on the Orange Sport Channel this year.
I saw it earlier this week, and am really excited to post it, not only because it is pretty cool stuff, but it actually shows my hobby in detail. In it, you can see the beach near my apartment (very beginning), my club, the boat I take for free diving, several members of my club, several people I train and dive with, the places I dive, and even the very set of fins that I bought off one of the members of the club (I bought them off of him after this film was shot). It’s not about me, but the first 5 minutes of the video are really, very close to my life here in Nice. These are the places I go, and many of the people I see. It’s all in french, but for those of you who only speak English, enjoy the pretty scenery!
DEEP BLUE – L’apnée selon Guillaume Néry from Mi Ka on Vimeo.
Update: after the fact, I realized I should put a link to his blog for everyone to check out: http://guillaumenery.over-blog.com/.
