Going Wide Angle

I got up early, geared up and headed for the beach at 7:30 am. The wind was from the NW with gusts to 30 knots. It was low tide and the seas were confused, with rollers clashing with the wind on the sand bar. The air temperature was cold: no more than 60 degrees and much less with the wind chill. The water was warmer: at least 70

degrees with pockets that were quite pleasant. I

got in easily enough, but had to swim against a moderate South current to get out to the reef. I

wanted to explore the Mk I with a wide angle lens and the dome port.

I found the fish Camp Rocks, something that has been difficult recently, and got some pictures,

then swam over to the Furry Rock. The wide

angle lens was set at 50 mm and I needed to be quite a bit away from my subject to get the

shutter to trip. Of course, that means more water between the lens and the subject and more floatsum and jetsum floating in that water. The

images were not crisp and clear. I was a little unnerved at being unable to photograph fish portraits. Everywhere I looked, I found a shot I could not take.

I swam for the Lost Knoll, but gave up and

headed North to the Big Coral Knoll, where I

found a little Green Turtle. Then I headed back to the beach, where I struggled to get out of the water. The sand was soft and it was difficult to

walk out. I would lift one foot to step forward and the foot I was standing on would sink another six inches in the sand putting me off balance and unable to step up.

Once I got back to the truck, the fun really began. I was so cold and the wind was blowing so hard! I hid behind the stars behind the Lifeguard's Tower and got out of my suit. I dried off as quickly as I

could and got into dry clothes, but it was an effort.

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