UnderDC

My wife is a non-photographer diver. Our most recent trips have been to Raja and Komodo. I was shocked when she asked if we could go back to Lembeh. Muck diving can be very addictive. Often on the liveaboard boats the divers don't understand muck so it's hard to convince the operators to spend much time at the muck sites. For us, muck diving is like a treasure hunt. My wife seaches for critters and then I photograph them. She will also mark the spots where the guides have found something so that I can take my time without worrying about missing a good find. Over the years, our teamwork and relationship have improved from our combined effort to find an photograph unusual creatures. I think you will have a great time in Lembeh but it is definetely a vacation that is focused on diving. Durring the first two weeks we spent in Lembeh, I saw something I had never seen before on every single dive! I would suggest that you add a week in Bunaken to the trip. The diving is beautiful and once you have incurred the cost and time to get to Lembeh, it's worth it to spend some time in the surrounding area.

Found at dusk somewhere in Raja Ampat. I did see some Denise's on other dives in the area. Could this be a wayward Denise's that has befriended a Raja Ampat Pygmy? Or is it an albino Raja Ampat Pygmy? Are these guys able to morph their color to match the gorgonian they attach to? Is there such a thing as an albino pygmy seahorse? Are the Raja Ampat Pygmy's a distinct species or are they the same species as the Denise's just with a red gorgonian habitat? I have seen various shades of what I think are Denise's Pygmy's - some very orange to some that were almost pure white. In every occasion they match the color of their host gorgonian very well. Please, someone enlighten me. I don't have photos from another angle as it was almost dark and I didn't want to hit them too many times with the strobes.

Any update on the contest?

I can save you some time with Scuba Seraya. I've already tried to book around the same time but the Hugy Cup is being held there from June 20 to August 14 and all the rooms are booked for that event. I considered joining in the event but 150 Euro /per person /per day is a little too pricey for me. I'm pretty sure that I will be able to photograph the exact same fish quite comfortably at 20% of the price at my alternate lodging location.

I did the Calgary to Manado trip in July. We used Air Canada/United for Calgary-Vancouver-Hong Kong-Singapore. Then after a couple days in Singapore we flew Silk Air over to Manado. The only hitch was that our original Silk Air booking was cancled. Make sure you don't book any of the seasonal "extra" flights with them. i.e. fly on the regular flight days not on a Thursday.