Point Lobos State Reserve, Carmel Bay An Exceptional Day (11/29/04)

This particular day was so spectacular in terms of visibility, I just had to give it special attention. Visibility in the Monterey/Carmel area averages in the 10-20 feet in the summer, and soars to 30-40 during the winter. Point Lobos is locally famous for its viz because it is adjacent to the deep water of the Carmel canyon. In fact we do a lot of deep technical dives just 500-600 yards from the mouth of Whaler's cove. Cold, clear water from the depths frequently flushes into the reserve and creates a pocket of clear water.

On this November day, the visibility was nothing short of tropical with estimates at 80+ feet. These are the conditions where the kelp forest really shines. On a day like this, I can say without hesitation that I'd rather be here than in the Caribbean. All shots were taken on Cannery Point Wall.

This page might also be called A Study in Blues. There were so many large schools of blue rockfish that we lost count of the schools, much less the fish. I couldn't resist shooting them over and over. The remarkable thing was that my strobe was on the blink and not working except for the shot of the kelpfish and striped surfperch. So these shots are all in ambient light.

See More Landscape (Topside) Pictures of Point Lobos

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Kate	Hanging in the Kelp	On the Wall	Through The Kelp	Juvenile Giant Kelpfish
Blues Up Close	Striped Surfperch	The Boat Channel	Kelp Canopy	Blues in the Canopy
Wandering Blues	On the Way Back Home	Polarized Blues	Sunbeams Through the Kelp