From A Storm

I can't remember which hurricane/tropical storm/depression this was from but I wanted to share the posts. They are more of fun time that was captured than anything photographically worth writing home about. Michael Marrero and I went out shooting at the White St. pier during the high of the winds (probably around 60mph) with our ikelite underwater housings and had some fun with the locals. We managed to get quite a bit of attention with these housings on land, about 1 foot across. Enjoy, JP.

Just Take the Camera.

I just haven't taken the camera anywhere lately. Been a little ill and uninspired for months. A couple days ago some friends asked about getting some of my photos printed, I guess thats all the inspiration I needed. I should think more highly of my photos, I get my humbleness from my father. Hope you enjoy the scenery. JP

A walk in the park...

Just went for a ride, took 10 photos. I think this is the first time I picked the simple one first. This was with my manual 35mm f/2. Enjoy, JP.

Unpublished fishing...

I'm not sure if any of these photos have made it on here, nor did I feel like checking before this post. This is from March, 3 of last year somewhere near the bay keys. This permit weighed in at 26.5 lbs. Some cool angles from in the water (not sure who to credit for the photos). I just retrieved these photos from my mothers ancient PC that I didn't know still existed. Enjoy, JP.

The Bar has been Raised

An earlier post "D2X to the Limit" showed some bar shots taken in low light at the highest sensitivities I would flirt with with the D2X. One of the reasons for upgrading(?) to the newer D300 was the renowned high ISO capabilities for a reduced sensor DSLR. These photos were taken at ISO 700, 1000, and 2500 respectively. They are hands down better than the older D2X at over twice the sensitivity. They are pretty good photos as well :) Enjoy, JP.

California Sunset

Finally got Photoshop CS3 so I got an itch to try it out and started looking through photos. This photo was made from three bracketed shots from -1EV to +1EV. I'm not sure the location exactly but it is was somewhere close to San Diego. Shot with Nikon D2X and Nikkor 17-55mm. Enjoy.

Gone Down...

First shot in the ocean testing the newly acquired Nikon D300 with Tokina 12-24mm f/4 submerged in Ikelite DSLR underwater housing with 6 dome port. More to come soon... JP.

S'more Tarpon

Just another lazy day on the boat that ends up producing another 30 minute tarpon fight. Caught on the way home in the Key West Ship Harbor. A lot of work that never gets old. Enjoy the photos, JP.

Once Upon A Time...

About 4 summers ago I was free diving at the Marquesus Islands west of Key West. Me and four other guys went down for a weekend of spear fishing which ended with about 50 speared fish. Half way through the first day I saw a large mutton snapper at the bottom in about 22 feet of water. Hardly did I ever think I could get hurt at this depth. I shot to the bottom after the fish swimming as fast as I could never thinking about equalizing, and at about 17 ft. I heard what sounded like me head exploding. My mouth and sinuses immediately filled with water and i spiraled the surface in complete dis-array. I had blown my eardrum completely. When I went to the doctor the next week i was told that the ear would heal, in time, on its own. I pain I felt that day was like any other. And from that day forward I was afraid to dive anything more than a pool.
Fast forward to last summer and I was at the Dry Tortugas on a short fishing trip with, my then new, boss. We decided to jump since we weren't having much luck with the lines. As soon as I jumped in grouper scattered in every direction. It had been three years since I blew my eardrum. I went down to test my ear and on the way back up from my first descent I shot a 10 lb. hogfish. Once the fish was in the boat I then spotted a large black grouper shoot under a rock, 26 ft. down. I went down to the bottom, this time clearing, and sat at the bottom looking under the rock waiting for the fish to peek its head. Within seconds I felt bubbles coming from my ear and then warm water rush into my sinuses. It had happened again.
I then thought I would never be able to dive again. I thought i would be limited to around the 15 ft. range which would limit me forever.
Last year before It happened I had bought a scuba certification class on radio auction. I tried for a whole year to get rid of it, even taking a loss, knowing I would not be able to complete the course. May 1st, 2008 came before I could sell the class and I had two choices, take the loss or try to dive.
I decided to try it, it couldn't hurt anymore than the first time.
This last Saturday was my first dive in the pool. I passed all my skills with no problem from my ears. At around 1:30pm we went on the Sea Eagle to eastern dry rocks for my first open water dive. We dropped in and because of visibility we stopped at a spot just under 20 ft. The instructor and I descended. I cleared my ears as often as I could, almost every 3 feet or so. When I hit bottom I was relieved knowing I could at least shallow reefs. I did two dives and passed all my skills test.
After my dives Saturday the only boat that wasn't full on Sunday was the Pelican going a wreck just off the reef called Joe's Tug. My instructor, more confident than I, asked if I would like to try the dive. Its not that I don't think I can dive, I just had no clue what the pressure would do to my ear.
The second days visibility was around 50 ft. much better than the 10 ft. the day before. We jumped in and started the descent. The instructor just told me if I had any problems we would stop the dive and ascent to the surface. We slowly went down the mooring line. The first time I looked at my computer I was at 33 ft. I was astonished that I felt no pressure at all on my ears. In less than 30 seconds I was standing at the bottom giving my instructor a big "O.K." to let her know everything is fine.
This probably is not a big deal to most people who dive but for someone who blew their ear drum twice, I was probably the happiest person on earth.
As we swan from the mooring to explore the wreck my dive instructor looked back and laughed hysterically as she watched me take a picture of my depth gauge at 66 ft. The bottom we probably hit just over 70 ft.
Once upon a time I thought I would be the only person from Key West to never be able to scuba dive. That was a painful thought.
I would like to give a plug to Karen at Subtropic Dive Center who was my instructor. Amazingly good at making scuba a lot less overwhelming than it may seem for those learning it. She was wonderful from beginning to end. A big thank you for that. Enjoy the photos, JP.
P.S. the photo of my depth gauge was out of focus, shucks.

A little fishing.

These photos are mainly what my life has consisted of for the last two months. Dry Tortugas twice and about five tarpon fishing trips that produced about 50 hook-ups. Its the time of year where all my time, and money, go into the water.
My interest in photography has changed completely in the past half year or so. I guess my enthusiasm of the Galapagos trip could only carry over so long. I love photographing wildlife but Key West isn't exactly wild anymore. I find myself more often than not shooting typical landscapes (sunsets, sunrises) or almost always taking the most of my photos on the water. This has made a large impact on how I use my equipment. I can honestly say that within the last year I have probably used my 70-200mm a half dozen times and out of those photos I can't clearly remember more than two of the photos. I also find myself using my two primes (50mm f/1.8 and 35mm f/2 MF) more than any other lenses cause of the speed and creativity created by moving the camera instead of the zoom ring. I also shoot so few photos that I just can't justify having a $4500 camera (now worth closer to $2000) that is big enough to deter me from taking it with me to everyday pictures. Its limiting since i'm not a professional.
As such i've decided to take a different approach to photography. I'm selling the D2X first and foremost and will be getting a scaled down nikon. Something that will allow me to have the camera with me more often. Second I will be selling my 70-200mm VR and 1.7x teleconvertor that I got with it. I will be keeping my Tokina 12-24mm which is by far my most able lens for shooting landscapes and close quarters like on the boat and architectures. Those three will free me up about $3800. I will also be selling my 17-55mm f/2.8 with mixed emotions. I don't have anything from 24-50mm except my manual focus 35mm which is useless at night. I like the lens, its super sharp and fast, but I just don't use it near as much as the $950 it is worth. All this is gets me to around $4750 with three lenses left.
The real change is the re-buy. The camera body I have not chose yet. Its not the most important thing to me anymore. What I will be getting is a ikelite underwater housing for whatever camera I do chose with a single strobe. With whatever I have left I will either get the Tokina 35mm f/2.8 macro or nikon 60mm f/2.8 macro which will give me a little more range.
The change comes mainly from a soul search. I don't find it usefull anymore to hang on to this equipment. I got most of for my Galapagos trip and the rest of my money I have spent on my website. I have made some prints for friends and others but I would be foolish to waste anymore time and money for anything but myself. The website will remain as soon as I update it. But I just don't think I can have a set-up waiting for my next safari, which could be a couple years away. I will be setting up my new cameras for my life and the things I want to do. If someone wants one of my moments for their wall, so be it. I will be starting scuba in less than a month and am on the water almost as much as land. I want my pictures under water to be at the quality of my photos above the surface. And I don't want to have a camera that is not useless enough for snap shots of my life. My joy with photography was documenting my perceivable world. That will be the main focus of my photography from now on. If just took a little fishing to figure it out. Enjoy, JP.


P.S. Greg Orepeza in second photo.