May
15
2011
Various reef creatures – Hammerheads, turtle, octopus, sea horse, whitetip reef sharks, trumpet fish, crown of thorns starfish, ruby-lipped bat fish, trumpet fish, puffer fish, angel fish, trigger fish, giant nudibranch, Galapagos shark and more. Filmed during a week of diving on Cocos Island, Costa Rica.
Dec
28
2010
This video includes more lobster than I could count hiding in a cut near Dirty Rock, Cocos Island, Costa Rica and a sequence of two lobsters that are either fighting or beginning a courtship dance. It is hard to tell sometimes (see the Mating Whitetip Reef shark video).
My hypothesis is mating activity. I base this hypothis on two facts: (1) lobster only mate when the female is molting – look at the condition of the shell of the smaller lobster, and (2) I was inches away from these two for several minutes (the video was shot with a wide angle lens) and they completely ignored everything around them – they even scared away a resting shark just off camera. If you have an opinion, or better yet, if you know something about crustacea amor please comment.
- Jon Barcellona
Dec
28
2010
Ouch, glad I am not a female whitetip reef shark. Notice the bite marks on the female in the closeups at the end of the video.
Who would have thought that being eaten by a shark is the second worst thing a shark can do to you.
This video was shot at three different dive sites at Cocos Island, Costa Rica. The last scene with the resting Whitetip Reefs Sharks was shot at Bajo Alcyone which was named for Jacques Cousteau’s less famous research vessel. Cousteau and his crew filmed much of their special on Hammerheads at this site.
- Jon Barcellona
Dec
28
2010
In the “Making of” segment for the iMax movie “Island of the Sharks”, the videographers described great difficulty in catching this scene at just the right moment. Our experience was much easier. The group mating seemed to occur right at sunset, but went on for several minutes.
The video starts with a closeup of two Moorish Idol. Also, see if you notice the shark in the background of one scene.
Notice the occasional yellow tinted coloration of certain Convict Tangs in the ritual. I am not a marine biologist, but these fish appear to be the females leading the upward action. I have seen several variations of this kind of mating behavior at several reefs in the Caribbean, Florida Keys, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific. Comments are encouraged if you are have some expertise in this topic.
- Jon Barcellona
Dec
11
2010
Shark week is boring now. That is what diving Cocos Island, Costa Rica does to you. An actual conversation from the trip … Diver 1: “Did you see many sharks on that dive?” Diver 2: “No, only 15 or 20.”
This video shows birds, dolphins, tunas, Galapagos sharks, blacktip sharks, dusky sharks, silky sharks, and a lone silvertip shark, feeding on a combination “bait ball” near Punta Maria, Cocos Island, Costa Rica October 2010.
This video was shot by Edwar Herreno (our guide) and me, so you actually get to see me in a few sequences. One sequence in particular captures one of my coolest diving moments when a large Galapagos Shark surrounded by a pod of dolphins makes a close pass.
- Jon Barcellona
The quality of this video was not good enough to include in the “official” Dolphins & Sharks video, but it is perhaps some of the more interesting video of the trip.
This video shows the sharks coming in fast and aggressive. They were challenging the individual divers to see if any were “weak” and in need of ‘culling”. In several sequences you see sharks coming in until they had my attention, starting away, and then back again fast. The camera was moving way to fast to make good video, but I think it is interesting to see what was going one – at least if you were there! Those were my first two bait balls – both in the same day, so now I hope to have a steadier hand as a veteran.
I left the sound track on, so if you listen carefully you can hear the Dolphins. The arriving dolphins settled the sharks down considerably.
BTW – in the final sequence you can see that Edwar Herreno (our guide) found the shark action a little more exciting than normal as well.
- Jon Barcellona
Dec
5
2010
Schools of Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks rise from the depths during the day to be cleaned of parasites by reef fish. Watch closely and you can see them shutter at times being tickled by the cleaners. At night they return to the depths to hunt squid.
Shy and timid, these beautiful fish are scared away by our bubbles. Several scenes from this video show us hiding behind rocks hoping to get a close-up look. If you listen carefully on some close encounters you will hear my breathing minimize.
Cocos Island is a Costa Rican national park, uninhabited except for rangers, located approximately 350 miles west southwest of Costa Rica. It is about an equal distance from Equador and the Galapagos Islands. Michael Crichton used this island as his setting for Jurassic Park.
- Jon Barcellona
Cocos Island, Costa Rica – October 2010
Music “Coming of Cortez” by Scott Fitzgerald
Mar
2
2010
This video was shot while freediving in the blue water near Catalina Island, CA.
Feb
23
2010
In late summer of 2008 a group of us from Dallas travelled to the Turks and Caicos for a long week of diving. We went out on the Explorer II with Captain JF and had a great time diving and good camaraderie with crew and guests. This is one of many videos I shot.
These are the sand flats off the coast of West Caicos Island. Watch for the eels swaying in the background. Not sure what the rays are eating. I originally thought they were digging up eels, but on watching the video more closely it seems like they are crunching – some kind of shellfish? What do you think? Also, do you think the rays made the big piles of sand next to the holes?
I always enjoy meeting squid. They are so inquisitive – sometimes allowing you to approach quite closely. I enjoy their constant color changes to match the surroundings. Notice how they try to look like a mooring line. Also, notice how they blend into the open water as they depart the safety of the line. On one night dive, a squid allowed me to approach within a few feet when a large Black Jack rocketed in for the kill – bam – in a flash of black ink the squid made its escape leaving a swirling cloud of black suspended a foot or two in front of my face!
- Jon Barcellona
Feb
4
2010
Ginnie Springs is one of the best known North Florida Cave systems for scuba diving. The caves are easy to find and access. Visibility in the Springs is close to the clarity of air; you have the sensation of flight rather than diving. I spent one weekend at the springs doing my rebreather training and getting my introduction to cavern diving. On the last dive, I brought my video camera along to capture the scene. The video includes the Devil’s Slot, Devil’s Eye and Devil’s Ear.
Three separate cave entrances along a short creek birthed by these Springs. Inside Devil’s Eye we filmed the infamous “Grim Reaper” sign – warning you to go no further since 300+ people have died in these caves. You get a brief shot of me in my Draeger rebreather, which is not so interesting. The very next scene is a shot of my dive buddy and technical instructor Don Winter filmed only by the single beam of his canister light. When you see TV videos of cave dives they are professionally lit with tons of lumens. This scene with Don gives you a much better sense of the exploration that attracts cave divers. Another point of interest near the end of the video is the water column above the Devil’s Ear entrance – half crystal clear spring water – half silt laden river water.
Don is a retired Michigan State Trooper and public safety diver, and owner of the South Florida based Scuba Dragons technical dive shop. The music is from Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell album and provides the name for this post. It perfectly matches this sensation I experienced during the dive.
- Jon Barcellona
Feb
4
2010
Early Spring and late Fall are the best times for Tigers, Hammerheads and Bulls in the Texas Flower Gardens. Sometimes Tigers are shy – they linger just at the edge of visibility, fading in and out of view like a primordial spirit. Other dives they can be a bit “in your face”. This photo was taken by my buddy Terry Lindemann on a safety stop on his way back to the MV Spree. I was just starting my assent from bottom when Terry snapped this great shot.
- Jon Barcellona