Galapagos Diaries

Galapagos Diaries Marine Life Underwater Life Underwater Photography

Sea Turtle, Galapagos, Black and White

I have made a lot of dives in the Galapagos Islands, and one of my favorite creatures to see underwater is the sea turtle. The ungainly-looking animals are actually quite hydrodynamic and can navigate the surge, currents and waves to graze on algae along the reef. These two turtles were…

adminJanuary 25, 2014

Abstract Galapagos Diaries

Sunset Booby, Abstract Photo

Our days at Darwin Island in the Galapagos islands have been fantastic. On each of our trips we spent several days, sometimes almost a week, at this usually spectacular, remote and wild place. The diving can be, of course, unsurpassed which is one reason that virtually all visitors to Darwin…

adminJune 15, 2009

Abstract Galapagos Diaries

Underwater Bubbles Rise to the Surface, Abstract Photo

Today's abstract photo, this time from the distant island of Darwin (aka, Culpepper) in the Galapagos. A safety stop after a good dive in Galapagos is sort of like the aftermath of good sex: one drifts along lazily, quite relaxed, tuned out and somewhat befuddled, thinking "whoa, that was pretty…

adminApril 29, 2009

Galapagos Diaries Marine Life

Marine Iguana, Galapagos

Skip found a marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) foraging on algae while we were freediving along the edge of Bartolome Island, and I got a shot of it, the only one I've ever seen in the Galapagos Islands underwater: Marine iguana, underwater, forages for green algae that grows on the lava…

adminMarch 5, 2009

Galapagos Diaries Marine Life

Bigeye Jacks, Galapagos

On our 2006 trip to the Galapagos Islands, we had some very good diving at Darwin Island: hammerheads, silky sharks and spotted eagle rays galore on the shoulder of the reef, with more than a few Galapagos fur seals, turtles and various schools of fish closer to shore. At the…

adminMarch 4, 2009

Galapagos Diaries

Juvenile Frigate Bird, Galapagos

On the final day of our 1996 trip (my first) to the Galapagos Islands, we made a morning visit to North Seymour island. (Many Galapagos visitors walk ashore on North Seymour, it is one of the popular land visits due to its proximity to the airport on Baltra.) Uncertain that…

adminMarch 3, 2009

Galapagos Diaries Marine Life

Schooling Fish, Galapagos

On our 1998 trip, Tracy and I bumped into these schooling snappers while diving at Albany, one of the better dive sites in the central Galapagos Islands. Schooling fish, Albany.Image ID: 02032Location: James Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador See more schooling fish photos and Galapagos Islands photos.

adminMarch 2, 2009

Galapagos Diaries

Photo of Orange Cup Coral, Galapagos

On my first full day in the Galapagos Islands, in 1996, we made three great dives at Champion, Enderby and Devil's Crown. I was on overload all day, surrounded by schools of fish and groups of Galapagos sea lions. After all that diving, plus a visit to Floreana to see…

adminMarch 1, 2009

Galapagos Diaries

Galapagos Sea Lion and Puffer Fish, Cousins Rock

One of the best dives I ever had in the Galapagos Islands occurred while freediving during our 1998 trip there, at Cousins Rock. It was a beautiful sunny day, we were eating lunch al fresco on the deck of the Lammer Law after a late morning dive. I convinced our…

adminFebruary 26, 2009

Galapagos Diaries

Galapagos Sea Lion, Cousins Rock

The last time I dove Cousins Rock, one of the finer dive sites in the Galapagos Islands, I was set up to photograph sea horses. I rarely shoot macro, but on this trip I was burned out from two weeks of diving and swimming long distances (the currents are strong…

adminFebruary 25, 2009

Galapagos Diaries

Galapagos Sea Lion Pup

Of all marine animals -- I have seen many different kinds, large and small -- the most appealing to me are pinnipeds (sea lions, fur seals, seals). Here is one, a cute little Galapagos sea lion (Zalophus californianus wollebacki) pup photographed on North Seymour Island just a few yards away…

adminFebruary 24, 2009

Galapagos Diaries

Photo of a Magnificent Frigatebird, Galapagos

One of the great surprises I had the first time I visited the Galapagos Islands was how much I enjoyed the bird life there. Seabirds seabirds everywhere! The most enjoyable to watch are the frigatebirds (Fregata sp.). Pirates of the air and sea, frigatebirds don't catch their own food, rather…

adminFebruary 23, 2009

Galapagos Diaries GeoBlog

Galapagos Islands Photos on Google Earth

Selected images from our collection of Galapagos Island photos can now be browsed in Google Earth. If you have Google Earth installed on your computer, you should be able to click on the link below and have our layer of images open up within Google Earth, showing where in the…

adminMay 17, 2008

Galapagos Diaries

Wolf Island, Galapagos

Wolf Island is one of the two northernmost islands in the Galapagos archipelago. Along with Darwin Island, Isla Wolf is famous for its rich undersea and seabird life. There are no land visits on the island, so the few visitors to the island are almost entirely divers or research scientists.…

adminMarch 18, 2007

Galapagos Diaries

Photo of Darwin’s Arch, Galapagos

Darwin's Arch is a spectacular natural rock arch that rises above the ocean offshore of Darwin Island in the Galapagos Archipelago. (Typical of most islands in the Galapagos, Darwin Island has a second name that often appears on nautical charts: Culpepper Island.) Darwins Arch, a dramatic 50-foot tall natural lava…

adminOctober 12, 2006

Galapagos Diaries Sharks Underwater Life

Hammerhead Shark Silhouette

This lone hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) was photographed at Darwin's Arch, Darwin Island, Galapagos Archipelago, Ecuador: Scalloped hammerhead shark, black and white / grainy.Image ID: 16265Species: Scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewiniLocation: Darwin Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

adminSeptember 22, 2006

Galapagos Diaries Sharks Underwater Life

Galapagos Photos

I have posted 575 new images shot on my latest Galapagos Islands diving trip, a 15-day run on the liveaboard M/V Sky Dancer. We had phenomenal encounters with schools of hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini), literally by the hundreds and thousands on nearly all dives at Wolf and Darwin, not to…

adminAugust 7, 2006

Galapagos Diaries

Photo of a Galapagos Tortoise

The Galapagos tortoise, Geochelone spp., an endemic species of the Galapagos islands, is thought to have arrived in the Galapagos archipelago on rafts of debris. As it became distributed throughout the islands, it evolved into 14 distinct species of which 11 are still in existence and are endangered. In some…

adminAugust 3, 2006

Galapagos Diaries Icons Underwater Life

Whale Shark Photo, Darwin Island, Galapagos

The Galapagos Islands, an Ecuadorian archipelago straddling the equator in the Eastern Pacific, is a remarkable underwater paradise. The central and southern islands hold a wealth of temperate as well as tropical marine creatures due to the mixing of currents there. However, it is the northern islands of Darwin and…

adminJune 22, 2005

Birds Galapagos Diaries Seabird

Boobie Photos

For some reason many visitors to this web site have been searching for boobie photos. We simply do not understand the intense interest in photos of boobies, or in boobies in general. Boobies are just a bunch of seabirds and not even particularly rare. The blue boobies seem to elicit…

adminMarch 2, 2005

Sea Turtle, Galapagos, Black and White

Sunset Booby, Abstract Photo

Underwater Bubbles Rise to the Surface, Abstract Photo

Marine Iguana, Galapagos

Bigeye Jacks, Galapagos

Juvenile Frigate Bird, Galapagos

Schooling Fish, Galapagos

Photo of Orange Cup Coral, Galapagos

Galapagos Sea Lion and Puffer Fish, Cousins Rock

Galapagos Sea Lion, Cousins Rock

Galapagos Sea Lion Pup

Photo of a Magnificent Frigatebird, Galapagos

Galapagos Islands Photos on Google Earth

Wolf Island, Galapagos

Photo of Darwin’s Arch, Galapagos

Hammerhead Shark Silhouette

Galapagos Photos

Photo of a Galapagos Tortoise

Whale Shark Photo, Darwin Island, Galapagos

Boobie Photos

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