12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #1 Posted January 24, 2018 Some of you know that Snargfargle used to be a soldier, And a paramedic, But did you know he was a diver too? 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #2 Posted January 24, 2018 Here are some of the "denizens of the deep" I captured with my old 35mm dive camera. Wolf Eel. This rascal was over six feet long and was none too pleased that I was taking his picture. You have to be careful around these, they can bite a finger clean off. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #3 Posted January 24, 2018 I saw quite a few octopus but never had a camera with me at the time. You can see this female octopus' eggs and just barely make out one of her arms. She will protect the eggs until she dies. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #4 Posted January 24, 2018 (edited) Just as saguaro cactus indicate that you are in the Sonoran Desert, so does the plumose anemone indicate that you are off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Edited January 24, 2018 by Snargfargle 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #5 Posted January 24, 2018 (edited) Lingcod are a popular gamefish, I took this picture at night during the winter when the water was exceptionally clear due to the lack of plankton. Not the plumose anemone closed up for the night. Edited January 24, 2018 by Snargfargle 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #6 Posted January 24, 2018 There are many types and colors of sea stars to be found. I always liked to collect a few to show the kids on shore. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #7 Posted January 24, 2018 (edited) Lion's mane jellies are the largest jellyfish in the world. The one that has a light green background was almost seven feet across. If you don't believe that they get that big look them up. Edited January 24, 2018 by Snargfargle 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #8 Posted January 24, 2018 (edited) Anemones come in many shapes and types. I have no idea how many different species there are in Puget Sound. Edited January 24, 2018 by Snargfargle 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #9 Posted January 24, 2018 Rockfish used to be extensively commercially harvested. However, their numbers are now declining. Even sportfishing is closed to many species. The brownish one is a copper rockfish and the red one is a vermillion rockfish. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #10 Posted January 24, 2018 Gunnels are everywhere, you can hand feed them bits of oyster. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #11 Posted January 24, 2018 Nudibranchs (shell-less snails) come in all shapes, sizes and colors. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
251 WolfofWarship -Members- 1,542 posts 26 battles Report post #12 Posted January 28, 2018 Brilliant photos @Snargfargle! Thanks for sharing! You must have had loads of awesome adventures, no wonder you write so well! You have a lot of experience to pull from! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #13 Posted January 28, 2018 36 minutes ago, WolfofWarship said: Brilliant photos @Snargfargle! Thanks for sharing! You must have had loads of awesome adventures, no wonder you write so well! You have a lot of experience to pull from! Thanks. Someday I'll buy me a digital camera and get back to a place where I can do some more diving. I tried to dive here in the Midwest but the water is so muddy that there's not much point because the visibility is so low that you can't even see your gauges unless you put them right up against your mask. Of course, it's good training in being a search and recovery diver where you get roped off and work grids by touch; I've done a bit of that. However, it's more work than fun unless there's something specifically that you are searching for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2,080 1Sherman Alpha Tester 6,683 posts 3,338 battles Report post #14 Posted January 29, 2018 Very nice. Ever any sharks around when you dive? Those shallow, cold, oxygen and life-rich waters are heaven for a lot of species (the vast majority of which I know don't care about people at all). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #15 Posted January 29, 2018 (edited) On 1/28/2018 at 10:20 PM, 1Sherman said: Very nice. Ever any sharks around when you dive? Those shallow, cold, oxygen and life-rich waters are heaven for a lot of species (the vast majority of which I know don't care about people at all). There were reports of sixgill sharks and cat sharks in Puget Sound but I never saw any. Sharks are actually rather timid and easily scared by the bubbles from your regulator. The owner of the dive shop I bought my air from and his assistant dove with rebreathers and said that they saw sharks all the time. The only sharks I saw were dogfish. I saw a shark relative, a chimera, once though. That was a rare sight as they are deepwater fish and only come up to recreational dive depths to breed. I saw it at over 100 feet deep on a night dive. Chimera (not my photo -- Wiki) Edited May 23, 2020 by Snargfargle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
792 Yoshiblue Members 4,477 posts 4,779 battles Report post #16 Posted January 29, 2018 I ran out of upvotes to give. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #17 Posted January 29, 2018 5 minutes ago, Yoshiblue said: I ran out of upvotes to give. Here, have one of mine . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #18 Posted January 29, 2018 Her are some more of my pictures: Painted Greenling Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #19 Posted January 29, 2018 Snake Prickleback Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #20 Posted January 29, 2018 Needlefish Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #21 Posted January 29, 2018 Coonstripe Shrimp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #22 Posted January 29, 2018 Sea Cucumber A quarter million pounds of these are harvested a year (both legally and illegally) and mostly sold to Asian markets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 [AVG] bever1 [AVG] Members 2 posts 9,408 battles Report post #23 Posted January 29, 2018 I havent seen shots like these since i left the USS Edenton ATS 1... We had at times 18 to 20 salvage divers aboard... they all carried cameras... and love to share with others... photos as well as the "stories" that went with them... thank you for yours Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
12,713 [PSP] Snargfargle [PSP] Members 19,325 posts Report post #24 Posted January 29, 2018 (edited) On 1/28/2018 at 11:14 PM, bever1 said: I havent seen shots like these since i left the USS Edenton ATS 1... We had at times 18 to 20 salvage divers aboard... they all carried cameras... and love to share with others... photos as well as the "stories" that went with them... thank you for yours I was a fisheries biologist and college instructor but mainly just dove for fun, though I also am trained as a search and rescue diver. I wish I'd have been able to afford better photo gear. I had an Ikelite-cased 35mm Instamatic. It cost me a month's salary but it was worth it. Of course now everything's digital. It got so hard finding places to get 35mm film developed that I finally gave my camera gear to Goodwill. I had plans of buying digital underwater gear but then moved away from the Coast so I never needed it. I've seen some big animals diving. The largest was a humpback whale. I'd surfaced one night and heard something behind me. I turned and saw what at first I thought was a fairly good-sized ship, which scared me because I thought that it was going to suck me into its props. Then, the "ship" let off a cloud of spray from its blowhole and dove. I wasn't 20 feet from it. Edited May 23, 2020 by Snargfargle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 [AVG] bever1 [AVG] Members 2 posts 9,408 battles Report post #25 Posted January 29, 2018 I wish i could have gotten a hold of that shutter box... I have collected a few "mature" light collection devices over the years from G/W... I had a photo I took in Diego Garcia, BIOT.(circa 1980) of Hector, The big cheese of the harbor he was swimming under the Capts. Gig... a 18 ft. motor whale boat... three foot extended passed both fore and aft., with his eyes one foot either side of the six ft beam... he made it a habit of makeing swim call interesting... we snorkeled the rocks pulling up lobsters by hand with claws that weighed 2 to 4 lbs... a small tail 8 to 9 lbs... red snappers with hand lines and bread for bait... off the rails... 14 to 16 lbs... 3 to 5 per hour... oh the tropics such a feast Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
