Napoleonfish Wants to Dive Together

This Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) wants to be this diver's buddy. You know, he might make a good buddy. He is a good swimmer, very well streamlined, knows the dive site well, easy to spot thanks to the iridescent blue color... Hmm, on second thought, maybe not... Since he doesn't need to think about bottom time, depth limit, or air consumption, he wouldn't want to come up with you. Never mind...

San Miguel of Fiji!

Diving the Bligh Waters of Fiji is a different experience than the usual Fiji diving. The water is a little colder and the current is stronger, but the sights you encounter is simply breathtaking. The offshore atolls of Fiji are completely covered with soft and hard corals, sea anemones, and tunicates. All around these colorful pinnacles, you see a dense swarm of red, pink, orange, and yellow anthias (those colorful goldfish-like reef fish) just like in this picture. After a few dives we said to each other, "This is like San Miguel of Fiji!" This comment will make sense to the hard-core California divers!

Fuzzy Table Coral at Banda Sea, Indonesia

When you are diving, sometimes you have to remember to stop and look up. Take this image I took in the Banda Sea for example. The surface of the water, with the silhouette of the boat and the sunlight filtering in, becomes a wonderful backdrop for the table coral (Acropora paniculata) with the reef fish swimming above it.

Dreamlike Kelp Forests

Photo by Gabriel Lu

Photo by Gabriel Lu

Like a captivating dream, gliding through the dense kelp forests of the Southern California Channel islands will leave you breathless. Sunlight filters through the thick canopy, trickling down to the marine life below. These lush forests are among the most dynamic ecosystems on earth.

Orange Skunk Clownfish Territory

Photo by Gabriel Lu

Photo by Gabriel Lu

An orange skunk clownfish darts out from the reef to charge an approaching diver. These cute little fish can get aggressive when protecting their family.