Freediver moving to seattle * I'm Here*

[derek b]

Hello,

My name is derek, Im currently living in honolulu, I enjoy freediving and freedive photography. Im pretty excited about exploring the waters in the sound.

[airsix]

Welcome!

And... lets click on over here and take a look at your photo galler.... Whoa! Your photos are spectacular. Wow. :smt038

-Ben

[spatman]

welcome, derek! i couldn't agree more with ben, your pictures are outstanding. looking forward to seeing your work up here.

[Dusty2]

Awesome stuff and welcome to the Northwest! Sad to say I fear your in for culture shock. No blue water up here it's all green and COLD. It's about close in and macro. Not much wide angle to be had under our murky waters and your coming at the worst time of year for viz. The spring bloom is starting and soon the viz will be at it's worst.

Ah well, It will definitely be something different and I hope you find it interesting.

[Alexitt]

Very nice work!!! Welcome to the Pacific NW... It'll be quite a change from what you're used to but I think you'll enjoy it.
You may want a sliiiiightly thicker wetsuit though.

[Sockmonkey]

Aloha Derek. A-mazing photos. Really freaking amazing.

If you make it to the Big Island before you head to the NW let me know.

-Eric

[Dashrynn]

The scene captures are nice, and the submarine with the free diver in the foreground is neat!

I know of one free diver here on the island that wears camo and takes pictures too. He isn't on the board though. It would be neat to see a free diver in the water while im diving.

Welcome to the club!

[CaptnJack]

Hello,

My name is derek, Im currently living in honolulu, I enjoy freediving and freedive photography. Im pretty excited about exploring the waters in the sound.

Welcome. Hit me up when you get here, I have some dive suggestions that I suspect fit into your photography interests. Where exactly are you moving to?

Cheers
Richard

[Mattleycrue76]

Welcome, and wow amazing pics. One of my favs is the one petting the shark.

Here sharky sharky....

[derek b]

Thanks everyone for the welcomes, and complements on my site. In preparation to move, and a recent injury (torn mcl) I kinda forgot about this site. I've also been trying to prolong my stay here on oahu as long as possible. So far I have been able to extend my flight till Aug7.

I should be staying in the Kitsap county area while I search for jobs and or school in the seattle area. Im looking at going to seattle central or Uw.

I would like to stay with my wide angle shots. I was there in feb. for a wedding and saw Tons of sea lions and otters. Are the large marine animals ( orcas, 6gills, squid, whales, riverotters?) approachable or baitable?

[Mattleycrue76]

Thanks everyone for the welcomes, and complements on my site. In preparation to move, and a recent injury (torn mcl) I kinda forgot about this site. I've also been trying to prolong my stay here on oahu as long as possible. So far I have been able to extend my flight till Aug7.

I should be staying in the Kitsap county area while I search for jobs and or school in the seattle area. Im looking at going to seattle central or Uw.

I would like to stay with my wide angle shots. I was there in feb. for a wedding and saw Tons of sea lions and otters. Are the large marine animals ( orcas, 6gills, squid, whales, riverotters?) approachable or baitable?

Sixgills are a very rare sighting. Some people have successfully chummed for them but it's usually deep and dark (around 100+ ft). Can't comment on otters, large squid, or whales as Iv'e never seen one under water but it's safe to say that sighting are very rare as well. Seals and Sea lions on the other hand are a bit more common but I'd still be very careful when getting near a 1200 lb Stellar sea lion bull

[WASP7000]

What is that sub? Research, tours?

[derek b]

What is that sub? Research, tours?

The submarine a 64 passenger tour sub. The Atlantis submarine company sank 2 wrecks 70 ft apart and take tourist around to see the wildlife and scuba divers. Its pretty fun to dive down and wave at all the japanese tourist. They get pretty excited seeing free divers.

Sixgills are a very rare sighting. Some people have successfully chummed for them but it's usually deep and dark (around 100+ ft). Can't comment on otters, large squid, or whales as Iv'e never seen one under water but it's safe to say that sighting are very rare as well. Seals and Sea lions on the other hand are a bit more common but I'd still be very careful when getting near a 1200 lb Stellar sea lion bull

I wonder if the wildlife is a rare sighting because of the noise and bubbles of scuba, bad visibility or they just are not around.
Obviously i'm going to take time learning about any animal larger than me before I try to dive with them on purpose.

[Jan K]

You sure have a great eye for photography ! Welcome to the club and I am looking forward to see your take on the Pacific Northwest underwater environment. I am sure you will find it inspiring too - I did.

[rjarnold]

Up at Neah Bay the grey whales were feeding pretty close to the rock jetty. My husband dropped off the boat and met one face to face!

But, these 'events' will probably be few and far between for you, unfortunately.

If you need any info on the UW, feel free to drop me a line as I'm currently a graduate student there.

[derek b]

Well I arrived in seattle today. Hung out with my brother and jumped in the waters in kitsap county. ( Illahee state park.) Got a couple videos Im sure its nothing that you guys havnt seen. Three different types of crabs a HUGE sea anemone. I actually saw quite a bit of small bait fish all around the docks.

Here Is my final video and memory of hawaii. My friend Paul goes down to 103' stands on the bottom and waits for the sub to pass over him 8*O.
[vimeo] http://www.vimeo.com/13725202[/vimeo]


here is todays dive.. nothing special but it shows me the challenges I do and do not face.
[vimeo] http://www.vimeo.com/13813629[/vimeo]

One thing I would like to fix is my stabilization issues. the camera is a little shaky when trying to pan.

[Blaiz]

Welcome officially to the area! So what did you think of the new surroundings?