Monterey Bay Underwater

Medusae Ballet

The elegant and delicate nature of jellies continues to capture my attention and interest while SCUBA diving the emerald green waters of the Monterey Bay. These gracefal cnidarians, the sea nettles, often come in to the near shore in numbers, drifting with the current.

Granite Point Pinnacle

A the time I made this underwater image, I had been SCUBA diving for almost twelve years and doing photography for almost eight. This image of a colorful temperate reef and kelp forest is one of the photographs I feel most epitomizes the experience of diving in Monterey Bay and Point Lobos.

Golden Rose Anemone

Fish-eating anemones, Urticina piscivora, are wonderful macro subjects for underwater photographers. Early in my SCUBA diving experiences, I would often seek these flower animals out to create detailed close-ups.

10 Fathoms

Monochrome photos can help accentuate the relationships of light and dark, patterns and shapes, textures and patterns.

Golden Kelp Rockfish Portrait

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the temperate reefs of the central California coast contain a variety of rockfish, a type of scorpionfish, such as this golden kelp rockfish, Sebastes atrovirens. Their habitat is indeed the giant kelp forests.

The Underwater Ballet

A large group of California sea lions visits this slow and uncoordinate SCUBA diver. These marine mammals are called pinnipeds and can swim up to 25 miles per hour underwater and have an unparraleled grace.

Three-lined Nudibranch

The three-lined nudibranch, Flabellina trilineata, makes a great underwater macro subject for SCUBA divers exploring the Monterey Bay.

Forest of Green

When ths sun comes out and the light shines through the kelp forest, there is no better place to be than underwater along the coast of California.

Monterey Bay Reef #3

SCUBA diving Point Lobos in Carmel is one of my favorite things to do in the outdoors. Here, a diver swims through the kelp forests above a colorful, invertebrate encrusted reef.

Schooling Blue Rockfish #1

Diving in the kelp forests of Monterey Bay is one thing. Diving with a school of blue rockfish in the kelp forest is a whole other level. One of the perks of diving in cold water, especially at Point Lobos, is these schools of blue rockfish.

Giant Green Anemone #1

While SCUBA diving along the northern Big Sur coast, I came across this perfect specimen of an Anthopleura xanthogrammica, a giant green sea anemone.

Kelp Cathedral

Very few experiences are quite like swimming through a large, healthy kelp forest. The feeling of flying through three dimensional space is one of the main draws of SCUBA diving in California.

Red Rose Anemones #1

The Monterey Bay is host to a wide diversity of marine invertebrates such as these red fish-eating anemones

Schooling Blue Rockfish #2

Diving in the kelp forests of Monterey Bay is one thing. Diving with a school of blue rockfish in the kelp forest is a whole other level. One of the perks of diving in cold water, especially at Point Lobos, is these schools of blue rockfish.

Cabezon Uncamouflaged

A large sculpin, the cabezon, lays on white sponges under the kelp forest off the coast of Carmel, California in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Crevice Kelpfish #1

Close up photo of a crevice kelpfish off Monastery Beach in Carmel, California, part of the larger Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Dancing Medusae

For years I had wanted to be SCUBA diving when a bllom of sea nettles jellyfish came into the Monterey Bay. In the summer of 2009, I got my chance and wen t for a dive in Carmel near Point Lobos State Reserve. Thee graceful pelagic drifters are amazing to observe and photograph.

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Go With the Flow

For years I had wanted to be SCUBA diving when a bllom of sea nettles jellyfish came into the Monterey Bay. In the summer of 2009, I got my chance and wen t for a dive in Carmel near Point Lobos State Reserve. Thee graceful pelagic drifters are amazing to observe and photograph.

Kelp Forest Diver #1

A diver swims along a colorful temperate reef in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Underwater activities such as SCUBA diving are quite popular amongst the lush kelp forests off shore.

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The Element of Surprise #2

SCUBA diving offers the element of surprise. You often never know what creature or critter you will encounter, especially off the coast of California where pelagic drifters such as this egg yolk jelly accidentally wind up under the kelp forest.

Hopkins Rose Nudibranch

A hopkins rose nudibranch (Okenia rosacea) searches for its next meal along the coast of Monterey, California.

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Carmel Kelp Forest #2

Often times the best view while SCUBA diving in the Monterey Bay is to simply look up through the kelp forest towards the surface of the ocean.

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Scalyhead Sculpin #1

Close up photo of a scalyhead sculpin off Monastery Beach in Carmel, California, part of the larger Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.