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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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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Hanging With The Honu While The Humpbacks Serenade

Oh, the love of diving...slowly sinking beneath the surface to another world below.

I began as a young boy in 1972 at the young age of 11 and was immediately addicted to SCUBA diving, although I missed out on many years of it, traversing the world on other adventures and finding myself.

From a kid, lying on the bottom of our swimming pool in Hawaii Kai as did Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate, escaping the world above, to 'being with' the beautiful creatures of our undersea world as I watched Jacques Cousteau do so every Sunday evening on the color TV (with the round knob channel changer that only went to 13) while I was growing up, diving has for so long been a love of mine.

So, back on point now...Here's a sampling of what I mean. Here in the beautiful Hawaiian waters off Maui, I came upon this beautiful Hawaiian Sea Turtle (Honu), just grazing in the grasses on the bottom while the Humpback Whales sang off in the distance. It was whale season in Maui and the humpbacks, large and small, were everywhere. The Honu let me slowly come up right to her and just hang out. It was absolutely amazing!

Enjoy...

I suspect there are two types of people that watch this video. The one that goes, "Oh, cool, look at the turtle," and moves on. And then there's the other that 'gets it' and watches the video while concentrating and listening to the beautiful sounds of the Humpbacks in the distance and/or looks into the soulful eyes of the Honu as she feeds. Which are you? If you were number one, did you go back?


Either way, thank you for taking the time to hang out here.


“From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free.”  ~~ Jacques Cousteau


~~ Life is good

Mahalo for diving with Captain Bobby Mitchel