Making Friends

Making friends for the world to see
Let the people know you got what you need
With a friend at hand you will see the light
If your friends are there, then everything's all right

            - Elton John 1971

Mahalo for Making Friends with Captain Bobby Mitchel

Vote for Captain Bobby....AGAIN...for 2016

ALOHA!

Yes, it's been another year and time for a new calendar for the Waikiki Aquarium. 1st of all, thank you all who supported me and voted last year! Mahalo! "Kona Manta" was picked and is now proudly part of the 2015 calendar. Yup, Captain Bobby is Mr. October, Baby! :)

This past year has been a struggle for me as 7 months of it was taken up by major surgery and rehab. While I wasn't able to get in and under the water as much as I wanted, I did manage to make one trip and got the pleasure to spend some time with many Humpback whales and a few undersea creatures in Maui.

From the hundreds of photos I have to choose from, I decided to enter these three for special reasons. Yes, three different photos so make sure to vote for a ALL THREE! :)

#1

Baby Gotta Escort
ˆˆˆˆˆ CLICK HERE TO VOTE ˆˆˆˆˆ

On the way out of Lahaina Harbor in Maui, we spotted a baby humpback whale being escorted by, and seemingly playing with, a couple of bottlenose dolphins. It was absolutely wonderful to watch.  The threesome seemed to be having a great time.

The above two images also appealed to me and showed how much fun the baby was having. I liked when he/she spied me as I was taking photos. It was almost as if he/she wanted to make sure I was still there and still photographing the show she was putting on.

#2

Baby Humpback
ˆˆˆˆˆ CLICK HERE TO VOTE ˆˆˆˆˆ

This one I especially like, because it shows a pure expression of joy and fun that this baby seemed to be having. Consistently and gleefully leaping out of the water, he/she was have a blast and I bet it just felt good too. WooHoo!

#3

Hitchin' A Ride
ˆˆˆˆˆ CLICK HERE TO VOTE ˆˆˆˆˆ

From undersea I chose this one because it has special meaning for me. As a child, I always had a saltwater aquarium and dove extensively throughout the waters of Oahu. One of my favorite sea creatures as I was growing up was the hermit crab and I was always excited when it attached a sea anemone on it's back. A pure symbiotic relationship and always looked cool. Styling', Baby!

Ya gotta keep the crib looking' good, brah! Oh, and the colors of this hermit...WOW!

Here's the link you can select to go to the Aquarium's page and vote:

CLICK TO "VOTE FOR CAPTAIN BOBBY"

Facebook Fans, please remember that you have to "like" the Waikiki Aquarium's homepage first in order to be able to vote. You can always 'unlike' it later after the contest ends, if you're so inclined.  But, seriously, why would you be?

Voting this year is only form 11 July to 17 July, just one week, so please vote often and help me get the word out too. Share the link with your friends post it on your Facebook Page so the word gets out there.

Please remember to vote again and again and again and every day. They allow you to vote once every 24 hour period.

Mahalo for your support and let's get together to help Captain Bobby, me, make it a twofer and get in the aquarium's calendar again for 2016! 

Ohana, brah! ღ ☮ ツ

Mahalo for voting for Captain Bobby Mitchel

Local Boy Makes Good!

Well, the results are in and the winners have been announced.

My photo, "Kona Manta" has been selected to be part of Waikiki Aquarium's 2015 calendar. Thank you to everyone who supported and voted for me. And a special thanks to the one(s) who convinced me on the last day of the contest to enter my photo.

Also, a special thanks to Kona Honu Divers for the wonderful service and the spectacular Night Manta Dive. You all are awesome!

I'm honored to have been selected and look forward to 2015 to see the calendars out and about. Here's to continued diving the reefs of our beautiful Hawaiian waters and more photos of the spectacular life below.

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever."

~ Jacques Yves Cousteau

See the photo here: Kona Manta

Mahalo for Supporting Captain Bobby Mitchel



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Vote for Captain Bobby!

Well, it's been a year now and with that comes a new calendar for the Waikiki Aquarium. Despite my reluctance to enter based on what happened last year, I was finally convinced by friends and family to enter on the last day of submissions, which was yesterday, 31 May 2014.

So, this year I decided to enter just one photo and concentrate on that one photo to hopefully be chosen for the 2015 calendar.

And here it is!

Here is the link that you can select to go the Aquarium's Facebook page to vote:

Click to "Vote for Captain Bobby"

Please remember to vote again as much as possible. They allow you to vote once every 24 hour period. 

Here is a list of their rules:

Public Voting will determine 20 finalists:

• Aquarium Facebook Fans can vote daily from May 26 - June 13, 2014.
• Top 20 photos (1 per individual) with the most votes become finalists.
• Three (3) judges will select the following winners: 11 winners from the public voting finalists and 1 Judge’s Choice winner.

Mahalo for your support and hopefully, this year we'll make it into the 2015 calendar. And don't forget to share the link with your friends or post it on your Facebook page so the word gets out there!

For all you manta ray lovers, he is another amazing photo from my recent dive with Kona Honu Divers.

Mahalo for voting for Captain Bobby Mitchel

Hey Monk Seal

In between dives in Kona, we had the privilege of being semi-entertained by a VERY green Hawaiian Monk Seal. He/She was just hanging out on the lava.

Being so green tells me that he/she doesn't really get in the water too much, nor gets around. What a life...

 

And tell me grey seal....

How does it feel

To be so wise

To see through eyes

That only see what's real

Tell me grey seal

...or should I say "green seal?"

Mahalo for diving with Captain Bobby Mitchel

Maui ~ Above and Below

Well, I just returned from a fabulous trip back home to the islands and am hard at work downloading hundreds of photos and hours of video from both above and below the surface. 

Patience is a virtue, so please check back for updates and some great photos of Humpback Whales, Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles (Honu), fish, sunsets, etc. 

Mahalo for Diving and Whale Watching with Captain Bobby Mitchel

Final Days to VOTE for your Captain!

Yes, the final week is here and this coming TGI 'Aloha' F Baby will mark the end of the voting to the Waikiki Aquarium's contest for the 2014 Calendar.

So where do we stand now? Well, as you know, I entered 23 photos in the contest and with some fantastic support and great marketing from friends, all the photos are doing quite well. What I have below are the rankings, photos, and links to the voting pages for the top photos that are either IN the top 20 or close TO the top 20.

Remember, only the TOP 20 move on to the judging stage.  Every vote counts and getting votes to the ones just outside the top 20 really helps so they can move up and into the finalists category and be considered by the judges.

So, let's keep voting, keep spreading the word, keep posting reminders, keep sending e-mails, and keep voting every 24 hours. Yes, you can vote again every 24 hours.

Okay, why the big deal, you may ask?  Why the aggressive marketing campaign for votes?  These aren't my best shots to date, but there were time constraints on the entries, so these are the best from this past year.  To be honest, this isn't about winning something or the prizes, I'm not even sure what the prizes are.  Here is my drive behind this particular contest.

Wait….pictures and links first. Please vote first, so you'll have less time for your 24-hour clock to re-vote and read below for more and if you aren't motivated to vote, hopefully my motivation for entering will motivate you to vote.

#2

Maui Humpback

#6

Sunset Humpback Breach

#9

Manta Flier

#10

Maui Humpback Breach

#13

Frogfish

#14

Shaka Diver

#15

Night Manta

#16

BACK OFF, BRAH!

#17

Sunset Spockin' Honu

#23

First Day Of Raccoon Squirrel School

#24

Just Pokin' Around

Remember, it's the last two which need that little extra shove to get them into the top 20 before Aloha Friday. Let's get them that extra push into the top 20!

So, okay, what's my motivation? Well, here's the story. Ever since I was a child, I have always loved the ocean and dreamed of being a Marine Biologist or Oceanographer. Jacques Cousteau was a hero of mine and I watched his show, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, every Sunday evening in the 70's. Also, every Sunday, my mother used to take us to Fort DeRussy in Waikiki to hang out and go swimming. It was our early 70's past time, to keep me out of trouble, or at least try to.  I'd always either end up at or beg to go to the Aquarium where I would spend countless hours looking at the fish and dreaming of being underwater.  I loved diving and learned to Scuba dive at an early age. Maybe it was my escape from reality, like Dustin Hoffman taking the plunge in The Graduate.  Okay, I know…shades of 'The Incredible Mr. Limpet' just went through your head. No, it's not like that though. This contest for me, then, is getting one, if not more, or my photos in the Waikiki Aquarium's Calendar. Yes, the place I hung out at as a kid and the place where I created and dreamed many of the realities that I am so privileged to be able to still experience today.  It would be a tribute to the little boy in me that dreamed of the under sea world and grew up trying to capture images that reflect all the beauty in the ocean.  It would be such an honor to be a part of the Waikiki Aquarium Calendar, a place that had such a significant impact on my love of sea life growing up. 

And while my Mother and Dad are gone now, I know that they would be proud that their little tumultuous rapscallion of a little boy found some peace in that Aquarium he so loved.

So there you have it, now please go vote! …and vote again every 24 hours :)

Mahalo for Voting with Captain Bobby Mitchel

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Time to Vote for Captain Bobby!

Okay friends, your Captain has entered a contest back in the Island homeland to possible get a photo published in the Waikiki Aquarium 2014 Calendar!

So, here's where you come in. Below are my 23 entries with a link directly to each photo's Facebook voting page. Find a favorite or vote for them all :) Yes, you can vote for them all and you can vote every 24 hours until 16 August, so come back here daily and get the easy link to help me get in the calendar for 2014!

Now check out these beautiful photos from my home and vote for one or vote for them all! And come back tomorrow to vote again. BTW, the contest rules stated that the photos had to be taken just from this year, 2013, so it was very limiting. Bummer, brah! I didn't have a lot of time to get back to the islands as much as I had wanted but I think I did get some pretty cool photos.

Maui Humpback

Sunset Humpback Breach

Maui Humpback Breach

Sunset Spockin' Honu

Frogfish

Night Manta

Octopus's Garden

Shaka Diver

BACK OFF, BRAH!

Honu Tailgating

You Say Humu…

Ulua

Sunset Breach

Manta Flier

Just Hangin' Out

Nudibranch

Just Pokin' Around

Raccoon Frenzy

Just Cruzin'

First Day of Raccoon Squirrel School

Thatsa Moray!

Solo

Hidden Crab

Mahalo for Diving with Captain Bobby Mitchel


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California Poppy Hoppin'

...with a little wingman. Did you happen to notice his/her little wingman in the upper left hand part of the photo?

Yes, the California Poppy, the State Flower, also known as Eschscholzia California. Wow, and who came up with that and what were they smoking', brah? A lot of people consider it to be a nuisance and a weed as it seems to pop up just about anywhere and everywhere. 

I never really paid much attention to them until recently. When we moved into our new home up in the hills, I saw quite a few along the roadside and thought they looked rather beautiful with their pretty yellow flower which, as you can see attracts bees. It was then that I was 'schooled' in the fact that it is "illegal' to pick them, cut them, or remove them! It was also then that I learned that they were the state flower of California. Crap! And I wanted to plant some in our new backyard that we were designing. 

So, what's the next step? Easy, because I was to find out that they sell them at the local nursery and we could easily pick them up there and put them in the yard. Score! On out next trip to the our local nursery, picked up a few of the one gallon California Poppy plants and spread them out on our hill. Just enough so have a smattering of pretty yellow flowers in the back amongst the many others flowers and bulbs that we have throughout the back. Yeah, not so fast, Batman. This Spring, we had a huge amount of plants come up from the dirt that was brought in for the planting that we did and, at first it all looked like carrots when it started to sprout, but later on, when they all began to bloom, we found out that we had a huge amount of, yes, California Poppies, that were brought in with the soil. Yeah, good purchase on those three one gallon plants, huh?

Oh, we have Poppies now.

Mahalo for Pollinating with Captain Bobby Mitchel

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