As some of you know, I recently got back from Indonesia for a 3-week dive trip. I spent about 5 days at Kungkungan Bay Resort, in the Lembeh Straits, North Sulawesi, and the remaining time on a liveaboard in the Raja Ampat region. The Lembeh Straits are known for the 'muck diving', where you see all kinds of werid critters, but no coral.

I recently upgraded all my underwater camera gear, so was really looking forward to getting some new pictures.

You can also view all these as a slideshow here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ckhorne/sets/72157601613815795/show/).

So, without further ado:

More...

More still:

And the last batch from Lembeh Straits:

I then moved to the boat, where we did 3-5 dives/day in different spots. I got a chance to try out my wide angle 10-22mm, allowing me to get some of the big fish shots that you sometimes see in magazines. Enjoy!

More from the same area:

Wow!!! Very nice. How deep were the dives?

More still...

Again...

Almost done...

Last set...

Wow!!! Very nice. How deep were the dives?

Thanks! Dives were typical recreational dives - 30-100'. Most were shallower, as the majority of life lives in shallower waters.

Incredible! You sure you didn't rip these off from a magazine?

Absolutley incredible!

Chris, how long was the flight? Now that you been there. Where are some of the places (resorts/beaches) you recommend to visit for outdoor activities/diving and snorkling?

chris those pictures are stunning!!! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the props, everyone! I'm pretty happy with how the camera and gear worked out. I'm really thinking about having some large prints made (these are all 10MP images) and having them framed. I'd like to sell some, but I don't think I could find an audience willing to buy.... :)

reef1973: The flight was long... 4 hours to LAX, 19 hours to Singapore, 4 hours to Sorong, 3 hours to Manado, so 30 hours of actual fight time, another 12-15 of layover. Pretty rough.

Even though it was a pre-planned trip, I read up on things a good bit. Lembeh Straits is where all the critters are. All those pictures you see in the mexican food restaurants come from there, and most other unique things all come from there. Muck diving is very different - low visibility and pretty dirty water- sometimes we were diving next to a village and trash was all in the water. But, that's where the critters are. Kungkungan Bay Resort (http://www.divekbr.com/) is pretty well known, and seems to have their act together, aside from that small bout of food poisoning I had the last day....

I wasn't terribly impressed with Raja Ampat, compared to the Solomon Islands from last year. Part of this was admittedly diving in the wrong season, but the coral and fish life just wasn't all that spectacular, and we had a new dive master that didn't know the area all that well. Raja Ampat is supposed to be premier diving; I guess I just got unlucky (relatively speaking, of course).

Wow. I thought your last set of dive pictures were good but this group is a winner. Thank you for sharing.

Weird - it appears that some pictures that are in the slideshow didn't show up here... Oh well. View the slideshow (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ckhorne/sets/72157601613815795/show/) to see them all; it's easier and nicer, anyway.

Wow. I thought your last set of dive pictures were good but this group is a winner. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks! I spent way too much money and upgraded all my equipment from last year. This year, I was using a Canon XTi with a 60mm, 100mm, and 10-22mm lenses, all inside a Hugyfot aluminum housing and a Inon strobe.

Those pictures are incredible. It makes me want to get my dive certification somewhere down the road.

+1!! :lol2:

WOW...Im speechless...The squid is just too too cool...awesome job!

That must have been an unbelievable trip. I have dive trip envy. The pictures were incredable and if you framed some of them and did a upscale craft/arts show I am sure you could sell them.

Great pics, it must be cool seeing some of the same stuff that you paid for!

Amazing photos! I did 2 weeks of diving in outer islands of Tahiti last October. Have always wanted to dive in Indonesia.

Great detail. I loved the octopus ones.

:clap: Those are definatly professional quality!! I am sure you'd have a buyer for those if you sold them... I actually want some myself..
TOO BAD I"M GOING TO PRINT THEM MYSELF.. HAHAHA :jester:
j/k- If you do print and sell them, I want to know about it!

GREAT JOB!!-- I've got a few more years before I could take a trip like that.. They'd throw me and the boys out at 10,000ft on that long of a flight!

Thanks for the props, everyone! I'm pretty happy with how the camera and gear worked out. I'm really thinking about having some large prints made (these are all 10MP images) and having them framed. I'd like to sell some, but I don't think I could find an audience willing to buy.... :)

reef1973: The flight was long... 4 hours to LAX, 19 hours to Singapore, 4 hours to Sorong, 3 hours to Manado, so 30 hours of actual fight time, another 12-15 of layover. Pretty rough.

Even though it was a pre-planned trip, I read up on things a good bit. Lembeh Straits is where all the critters are. All those pictures you see in the mexican food restaurants come from there, and most other unique things all come from there. Muck diving is very different - low visibility and pretty dirty water- sometimes we were diving next to a village and trash was all in the water. But, that's where the critters are. Kungkungan Bay Resort (http://www.divekbr.com/) is pretty well known, and seems to have their act together, aside from that small bout of food poisoning I had the last day....

I wasn't terribly impressed with Raja Ampat, compared to the Solomon Islands from last year. Part of this was admittedly diving in the wrong season, but the coral and fish life just wasn't all that spectacular, and we had a new dive master that didn't know the area all that well. Raja Ampat is supposed to be premier diving; I guess I just got unlucky (relatively speaking, of course).

I feel for you. That's almost 2 days of travel one way. My longest flight so far is 22.5 hours non-stop. I did a connection and layovers one time a long time ago and swear to never to do it again. In your case, you probably don't have much of a choice.

Amazing photos! I did 2 weeks of diving in outer islands of Tahiti last October. Have always wanted to dive in Indonesia.

I always want to visit Indonesia. Have a few friends and business acquaintances that frequent there and talked highly of the places they visit. Maybe it's my turn one day soon.

Chris when did you sneak in my house and take pictures of my tank. Those pictures are amazing. Great work.

INFREAKINCREDIBLE. Those shots are KILLER!

Nice work!

WOW! I'm awestruck!

WOW
WOW
WOW
WOW
WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!
Nuff said.

Yeah those are some beautiful pictures...

WOW!!!! That is amazing. My wife and I are getting certified next month and the kids will get SASY trained. I am not one to give out big complements, but that pics are amazing. What is the camera gear you are using?

Awesome pics, especially of the nudi's and the seahorse.

This just makes me want to go diving so badly. I've been telling my wife I need some blue water, and I need it now for a few weeks. I haven't hit nice saltwater in a few months.

Those pictures are excellent quality. Your Camera rig upgrade was well worth it, those are top notch.

Matt

WOW! I love the angler and scorpionfish shots especially! The gorgonian shots are beautiful - they all are, really!

I don't know if I could handle that travel time without going berserk, but it was probably worth it for 3 weeks of vacation.

Did you bring back any silver?

Super nice Chris!

Thanks very much to everyone for the compliments - they're very much appreciated! Maybe I'll get around to making prints or a coffee table after all...

What is the camera gear you are using?

A Canon XTi with 60mm, 100mm, and 10-22mm lenses, all in a Hugyfot aluminum housing and an Inon strobe. I'll take a picture of the setup when I get a chance.

Well all of your gear paid off... you have some wonderful shots. I need to start thinking about a camera for my dives. I am going to Bonaire in the spring where I will dive and my kids will SASY... We hope this will be a lot of fun and create a new passion in our children other than Disney World.

Again, those pictures are wonderful. You should get some nice prints to put on your wall.

Great pics. Thanks Chris.