Land & Sea: A Cat and A Dolphin Play

Ocean Dreams

Check out this awesome four and 1/2 minute video that provides a unique look at the sites in the ocean. Among the beauty you'll see a thresher shark, a loggerhead sea turtle and walls of bait fish. And if you stick in there until 3:58 min. you'll see one of the most amazing underwater creatures. In fact, diving with this creature is on my bucket list and I can't wait.

Thresher Sharks

I've never seen a thresher shark before this video. They are majestic looking with their long tail from which they get their name.

I looked up info about them and found this tidbit on wikipedia to be interesting: When hunting schooling fish, thresher sharks are known to "slap" the water, herding and stunning prey.[5] The elongated tail is used to swat smaller fish, stunning them before feeding. Thresher sharks are one of the few shark species known to jump fully out of the water making turns like dolphins, this behaviour is called breaching.

I would love to encounter on in person one day.

 

Addicted to Diving

It is no secret that I'm addicted to diving. In fact, when I have a hard time getting to sleep at night I dream that I'm taking a giant stride off the back of a boat in the ocean. I typically drift off somewhere below the surface as I dream that I'm playing underwater tourist.

Now I have one more thing to add to my addictive dreams: scuba shoes for ladies. You read that right, scuba shoes for ladies. Apparently other creative types realize there is an untapped market with lady divers. Check out these awesome scuba shoes designed to make an unforgettable fashion statement.

What color do you think I should get?

Humor for Divers

As scuba divers we've all seen many variations of the pirate signs in dive shops. But this one really made me laugh out loud. I wholeheartedly endorse the sentiment that I found on the website of Pirate Island Divers.

Researching how to stabilize underwater video and photos

 

I continue to marvel at the amazing underwater videos and photographs made by professional and amateur scuba divers.

As I think about the upcoming dive season, I am already planning new approaches I want to take to document my oceanic adventures.
One thing I'm particularly interested in is how to stabilize my videos so they flow and are not choppy.

For Christmas I received a tripod to stabilize my camera for night shots on land. Lee made a joke in passing and asked me how I planned on getting it to the ocean floor when we go diving.

His wit made me wonder how professionals such as Howard Hall create such smooth, flowing underwater video footage. I'm not sure if Howard uses an underwater tripod, but I have learned that they do indeed exist.

Right now, I'm sold on Joby's GorillaPod Focus. The reviews are pretty solid. I have a lot more research to do but I know I'm moving in the direction of an underwater tripod.

 

Any thoughts and recommendations? I'd love to hear from my fellow divers.

Related articles

• Review: Joby GorillaPod Focus With Ballhead X (crunchgear.com)

• Diver films as shark tries to eat camera (telegraph.co.uk)

• Win a Joby Gorillapod video tripod (valued at $30) from Joby (techvibes.com)

Underwater photography

As a budding amateur underwater photographer, I always enjoy looking at the work accomplished by other divers. This underwater photography contest site provides a plethora of beautiful photos to learn from and enjoy.

The site states: "Winning here (or even just being placed) is Underwater Photography's most coveted accolade because it says you succeeded in the most competitive environment there is, against the top talent of the moment.

Every year a panel of judges select the best images entered in our online photo contest from the previous year. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded for the top three from each category in order of merit."

Click the the many photos and you'll be sure to see sites and creatures that will amaze you.