kdgonzalez

Hi Bob, Last month I did a 10 day trip around Komodo and I have also done shorter trips in the prior years. The north side its definitely the best area and even in peak season the currents are ripping, so I would hate to see it when its "bad". The south side also has a lot of life but its bitter cold for being so close the equator, temps mid 60s F. I have only spend a short amount of time in Ambon at the beginning of a liveaboard but I would definitely spend time there if you can, particularly if predicted Komodo diving wont be at its best. Just know that Ambon is great for macro and muck, not sure if thats what you are into. Alternatively you can also spend the time diving in Bali which is fantastic.

yes. they were all shot in Lembeh strait

cardinalfish by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Double ended pipefish by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Flounder by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Jack in jelly by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr

Unknown octopus species Octopus by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Octopus by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr octopus sp by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr octopus sp by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr

diminuative paper nautilus/argonauts. these guys are dwarfs in comparison to the large females male paper nautilus/argonaut on jellyfish by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr male paper nautilus/argonaut on jellyfish by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr

a few more nautilus pics. These were riding their normal jellies rather than trash paper nautilus/argonaut on jelly by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr paper nautilus/argonaut on jellyfish by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr paper nautilus/argonaut on jelly by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr

Hi Tutup, For what its worth I have had a great experience with my YSD2. The complaints that I had heard was that if something goes wrong with the strobe customer service was a nightmare to deal with; however, this was explicitly customer service in Japan. One of my YSD2 was firing without a trigger right after I bought it, probably less than 1 month. I contacted US customer service and I had a replacement not a repair within 1 week. My personal experience with customer service has been exemplary. The YSD2 perform optimally for me and I highly recommend them.

Hi Troporobo I use a pair of YSD2. Speaking to a lot of other photographers during this trip they had either tried the YSD2 or knew of someone who had tried them with pretty poor results. Although the complaints seem to be with support if something goes wrong rather than the actual strobe. For what its worth when I first purchased my strobe one was firing without a flash trigger and it was replaced within a week by Sea and Sea. The strobes were set up above the port, about 2 and 10 oclock position and close to the housing, almost to the point of touching it since most subjects are less than 1 foot from the port. I was shooting at +0.7-1.5 EV on both strobes. I use a sola red 1200 for a modeling/focus light.

female paper nautilus/Argonaut riding plastic trash. Although I did see many riding their normal jellyfish, this one made me sad considering the amount of trash we are putting into the world and our oceans. Female Paper Nautilus by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr paper nautilus/argonaut with plastic trash by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Female Paper Nautilus by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr

Hello everybody, I just returned from a 3 week trip to Indonesia. My first week was spent in Lembeh with NAD Lembeh and had the opportunity to go on my first black water dives. Needless to say I quickly became addicted and didnt miss any dives. A quick review of my experience with NAD Lembeh. I will echo most of the reviews I have seen on the website regarding my experience, it was phenomenal. Although this was my first trip to Lembeh and thus have nothing else to compare it to I will say that I will not be staying anywhere else during any future visits. I had a nice room by the beach, bed was very comfortable and AC worked to perfection. The food was fantastic, and they were very accommodating since I am vegetarian. The dive boats are great with ample room for all on board. The staff carry all your equipment to and from the dive boat and set it up, including the camera. The camera room was very ample with lots of charging space. There are computers to edit/post but I did not take advantage of this service. Since I was in a room by myself I had my own dive guide/buddy/photographic assistant which was Andri. He was great, very patient and never in any rush to move on. It didnt matter whether we spent 30 seconds or 30 minutes in a subject there was never any rush. Here are a few shots taken during black water. Critique highly encouraged. Many more to come including during regular dives. Many more posted on Flickr. Larval wonderpus Blackwater-2 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Blackwater-2 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Larval mimic octopus, maybe? blackwater-7 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr blackwater (1 of 1) by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Larval long arm octopus blackwater (1 of 1)-5 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Larval Long Arm Octopus by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr blackwater (1 of 1)-6 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr

Wolfgang, I completely agree with you that to keep any animal including salt water fish and corals intensive research should be done, while I would like to see people proof basic knowledge or have license I don't think that would ever happen. I agree that farm raised fish are more expensive than wild caught but I think simply if you cant afford the farm raised one then dont buy the wild caught one. It is estimated that 70-90% of wild caught fishes dont even make it to the tank as they they along the way, so I think its fair to say that wild caught fish do have shorter lifespans than farm raised fish. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tropical-depression-your-saltwater-fish-tank-may-be-killing-the-ocean/ Of course there are exceptions as you have pointed out with your fish. The lifespan of saltwater fish, either farm raised or wild caught is also dependent on the caretaker and given the lifespan of your fish I suspect you are quite knowledgeable and do a great job. To answer your provocative question regarding whether it is better to keep fish v eat them I would say that it depends on the fish and how it was caught. A fish that is not threaten that you caught yourself is a lot less ecologically damaging than an aquarium fish caught with cyanide. Of course the argument is reversed when you compare dynamite fishing/long line/gill net to a farm raised aquarium fish. I am vegetarian, I turned vegetarian a few years ago for environmental reasons, not moral or health reasons. I will still eat occasional fish/meat but only under certain circumstances such as fish I catch myself.

This is the lesser of two evils. Cyanide poisoning for aquarium fish causes complete devastation to corals and invertebrates whose body mass cannot handle the cyanide load. Wild caught fish also have a markedly decrease lifespan in captivity and new advances in fish and invertebrate reproduction have made aquacultured corals and fish easily accessible and leaves wild fish in the ocean. If we could convince all salt water fish owners to only buy aquacultured fish and corals the worlds ocean would be a much healthier spot. I unfortunately stand on my soapbox as a remorseful prior saltwater fish owner.

Hello everyone. I will be heading to Indonesia (Lembeh, Bima, Bali) for 3 weeks in August-September. I am a doctor and I collect all the supplies that cannot be sterilized or reused due to the standards of practice in the US but are usually widely welcomed abroad. I will usually take these supplies and donate them to the local clinics or hospital. Does anyone have any contacts in the medical fields in these places that could use the supplies. I have tried to ask the local dive companies that I am going with but nobody has answered me. Thanks.

I really enjoy diving a bit farther north in Amed. Its a very sleepy fishing village but amazing muck diving right off the beach. It is also a short boat ride from the Liberty wreck. I dive with a small company Amed Zen Divers, the owner is Wayan he always leads my dive, just me and him. We usually spend about 90 minutes each dive on the water. I always tell him what it is that I want to see and he finds it for me. He also charges the same as all the other dive shops for a 2 tank dive but its incredibly awesome to have your own guide for an unlimited time.

I shoot with the Nikon D7200 also and I use the Nikon 60 mm 2.8 micro for macro and fish photography. Since you are using it on a crop sensor it ends up being closer to a 90mm. I have not tried it but I understand one of its draw backs is for super macro as it would be very difficult to use multipliers since its focus distance is so close. It is an amazing lens and great autofocus for macro, with most photos at tack sharp. Ive used it from the tiniest Shaun the sheep nudibranch to great fish portraits. Below are a couple of samples, check out my flickr for more. https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/camera-lenses/af-s-micro-nikkor-60mm-f2.8g-ed.html indonesia-28 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr indonesia by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Indonesia-39 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Indonesia-2 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr Indonesia-38 by Karyll Gonzalez, on Flickr You can also use the Nikon 105mm, which with a crop lens would be like using a multiplier for supermacro. I have it but have not used it underwater. My understanding is that you have to use the manual focus mostly.