A Great Time in the Keys...

I just got back from spending several days down in Key Largo. I was able to finish up my PADI Advanced Open Water certification along with my certification to be a National Geographic diver. The Advanced class included several dives which took me through Molasses Reef as well as the U.S.S. Spiegel Grove. The wreck dives were incredible!

To become a National Geographic specialty diver, one learns about conservation, behavioral biology of life below the surface as well as how to maneuver and photograph the underwater environment in a way that relays the need for preservation. A photo project focused on the biodiversity of the underwater world wrapped up the learning sessions. Definitely an epic trip in my book...

Here are a few images I took along the way:

Looking through the ring of an old Spanish anchor in Molasses Reef...


Looking up at the underwater world from the bottom of the ocean...



100 feet below the surface on the U.S.S. Spiegel Grove...




My dive instructor inside the Spiegel...





Under the sea with my National Geographic Dive Instructor...


A scorpion fish - look closely as he blends in with the rocks...


A massive Goliath Grouper that probably would have a hard time fitting inside my mom’s minivan...approx. 700lbs...





A school of blue striped grunts...