Why did you start Ocean Defenders Alliance? At the core is the desire to help animals. I first got my start with nonprofits by combining my love of photography with this desire to help animals. I started diving in Ohio around Cleveland. I would swim in the lake to get in shape, but there were […]
Arrow Crab – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data Arrow crabs don’t seem to mind divers This is a photo of two arrow crabs fighting. During this dive, I remember watching the arrow crabs battle, presumably over territory. When the one arrow crab grabbed the other arrow crab’s blue claws, I took the shot. Arrow crabs […]
This shrimp can be found among anemone. Believe it or not, this beautiful shrimp is less than one inch long. Spotted cleaner shrimp are found among certain species of anemone, in this case a corkscrew anemone. As the name implies, this shrimp actually “cleans” the parasites, dead tissue, and algae off of fish. If you […]
To say the turtle was wrapped in fishing line would be an understatement Diving on a patch reef in the Florida Keys about a month ago, I came across this turtle. It swam right up to me and my dive buddy. To say he was wrapped up in fishing line would be an understatement. The turtle had fishing […]
The reefs were teeming with green sea turtles! The three photos that I contributed to this month’s underwater album all came from snorkeling adventures on my honeymoon. Jill and I got married in November, and we quickly made our way to Maui. There we spent 10 days taking in the sun, the hikes, the waterfalls, […]
The spinelets on this urchin can sting. This month I am featuring two urchins. I am always surprised when I come upon a reef that is covered in urchins. They are such peculiar creatures that spend most of their life in the exact same spot every day just eating the algae that is close enough […]
The red spines are typical to these urchins in Hawaii When I went underwater for my first snorkel in Hawaii, I was almost immediately met by the oddest-looking urchin that I had ever seen. After some research I found out that I was seeing my first Indo-Pacific endemic urchin, the Red Pencil Urchin; a.k.a. slate […]
Ormond Beach has been home to countless vacations for me and my family Ormond Beach, Florida has been the home to countless vacations for me and my family. Matt has even joined for some vacations there. It’s a great place nestled just north of Daytona Beach that has an expansive beach and small crowds. Whenever […]
Look closely, you can see the baby osprey in the nest. This is a photo of an osprey, my favorite sea bird. I took this photo down in Key Largo, Florida, where I used to live. I regularly visited this particular osprey nest. If you look closely, you can see the baby osprey in the nest. The […]
The sky had a wild orange glow A few years ago, I was diving about five miles off the coast of Key Largo, Florida. After we surfaced from our dive, we looked up and saw this. Wildfires in the Everglades National Park had sent thick smoke over the entire area. The sky had a wild […]