Great Barrier Reef WARNING LOTS OF PHOTOS!

[edr42]

[edr42]

[edr42]

[edr42]

Me taking a break whilst doing data collection, there was a huge pod of pilot whales and dolphins that came through during this data colletion session.

[edr42]

[edr42]

These guys were doing something with mud and quadrats, can't say i envied them.

[edr42]

[edr42]

More weird flat acroporoids.

[edr42]

[edr42]

Part of the motley crew.

[firefish8891]

Gorgeous photos Ed.

[edr42]

Funny story here, a bird got inside the netting draped over the Challenger III (big boat), so we had to go get the thing out before it broke something or made a mess.






flat corals

[edr42]

[edr42]

[edr42]

[edr42]

[edr42]

Alright, that'll do for now, I'll post the others soon.

[melev]

Thank you for posting up so many great pictures again. Your pictures seem to be improving too.

Since your camera is kaputt, what are you going to get this time?

The places where you go diving, are these restricted to educational use only or can anyone dive there?

One of your pictures looked like one enormous carpet anemone, or a bunch of them in one area. Is that what they were?
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...7/IMG_0041.jpg

[edr42]

That photo is a carpet of sarcophytum soft corals. Orpheus seems to have these huge fields of soft corals amidst the others, just like meadows. Quite odd, and possibly down to a bleaching from a few years ago when a very low tide coencided with a very hot day. It seems that the softies were the first to colonise, and now there are huge tracts of the things.

I have no idea what i'm gonna do about the camera though. My housing is dedicated to that model, and they don't make it anymore, so i'll have to get a whole new setup.
I'm looking at the canon IXUS850is with the canon WP-DC9 housing. Those by themselves come in at around $1200 AUS (with a lens/strobe mount, 4gb card, and extra battery).
Another option (and probably a good long term one) is the canon powershot G9, but that would be veeery expensive.
Add $700 for an Inon strobe, and about $600 for lenses (macro and wide angle).
So to get what i really want, i'm gonna need around $2500 Aus, and a small (make that large) miracle.

But heres to hoping that dreams come true
I'm going for a job at the GBR Aquarium in Townsville (largest living captive reef in the world!) that pays pretty well and has diving, so maybe there's hope.

[melev]

What about getting your camera repaired, since you have a good waterproof case that is still functional?

Or buying a used camera that is the same model, from Ebay or elsewhere? Might be a way to save some money and keep you busy taking pictures for us.

Remember that picture you emailed me? I can't find it now! Can you PM me your email address so I can search for your original email please?

[ezcompany]

hey there
I can't believe i didn't comment on this thread earlier.
reminds me of my times in the Philippines. I know pacific indo waters carry the most coral diversity compared to any other place in the world, but i gotta say these pics are simply breathtaking! maybe its because i wasn't into reefkeeping too much back when i was diving haha

anyways, i'm seriously thinking of scrapping everything here and going there to be your partner or something lol

thank you so much for sharing, if you need any parts for your camera equipment that you can't get over there let me know-

Jin

[Dyepes]

This by far has got to be my number one favorite image from those you have posted, and man you had plenty. But for ME personally, this picture just does it all, I love it I love it, and am considering taking it to FedEx/Kinko's to get it blown up for a poster in my room, (assuming we do not lose quality), and with your permission of course.

[melev]

I like that picture a lot as well, but (and I hope I don't ruin this for you) it seems like perhaps it was helped by humans to create that mix.

Since we do know there are efforts to reseed some reefs, when I saw that image yesterday I wondered if it was a project someone was working on. It just doesn't look like it happened naturally.

Definitely wallpaper material.

[edr42]

It's a great collection of corals, but i can assure you that there was no interference whatsoever. That was taken over on the windward side of Orpheus Island, which is out of bounds to almost everyone, including all but a handful of researchers.
Also, there is nothing that i am aware of that anyone can do to help coral colonise areas (on a larger than tiny scale) that exceeds what they can do themselves.

Reefs out here grow and colonise like there is no tomorrow. An area wiped flat and clean by a cyclone will be totally recolonised within a year, and will be back to it's former glory within about 5-10.

I agree with you though melev, it does look almost too good to be true. Almost like a coral candy shop window, with one of each flavour.

Dyepes, you have my permission to do what you wish (short of sell!) with my photo. I'm flattered you think so much of it to make a poster! Let me know if you need the origional (higher resolution), and i'll email it to you.

Oh, on that subject melev; i've sent you a pm with my email address(es).

My camera is beyond worth repairing (too old and battered), but i will be browsing ebay to see what i can find. I'm thinking it would be better long term though to take the opportunity and get a new system, which i can build on slowly as i get the money.

[ezcompany]

yeah, that pic had me debating with a friend!