After getting sick so much on the boat dives I decided to do shore diving through the rest of the week. The shore diving was just as amazing as the reefs we went to on the boat, and I had more time to spend with the marine life without worrying about getting back to the boat. I first checked out the wreck of the Prince Albert, a 140 ft wreck sitting in 65 fsw. Vis wasn’t always great on the wreck but it was amazing to be able to swim around such a massive structure that is accessed so easily. Further over the wreck lies Newman’s Wall a beautiful wall filled with masses of fish from soldierfish to nassau grouper and trumpet fish. I loved shooting wide on the shark dive and coming off the high from my success with that dive, so I made the decision to shoot wide the rest of the week. I would find an interesting subject get as close a possible, gain its trust get a few shots, back off, change settings and strobe positioning and head back in to get a better composition. This worked for most of the good shots I got and every day I came back to the same spot and began to learn the reef and follow its pattern. But by far my favorite part of the shore diving was Coco View Wall, an amazingly stunning wall with corals and sponges everywhere. Every day I would venture a little further down the wall and find something new.
By far my favorite dive on the wall was a 72 minute dive I did one day, where I found a 6ft long green moray. He sat curled around some rocks in a corner of the wall in 45 fsw. Every day I saw the eel there and would visit it. But on my 72 minute dive I decided to get a photo that would capture it’s personality. I sat with the eeel for 40 minutes face to face with. It’s deep blue eye would stare into me as I sat less than a foot away from it. Even with it curved back teeth, opening and closing it mouth slowly, moving its head back and forth, just as curious of me as I of it, I wasn’t afraid of it. Even though it could easily have bitten me it didn’t, we kind of had a trust. I respected it and it let me photograph. I ended up getting a shot that is personally one of my favorite shots from the whole trip. But more importantly I got to experience a green moray eel in the wild, spending time with it that most people will never get.