Free Desktop Wallpaper
Each month, I will be including a new desktop wallpaper. It is offered in five sizes: 1920 x 1200, 1600 x 1200; 1680 x 1050; 1280 x 1024 and 1024 x 768. If you are not sure which size to choose, right click on your desktop, choose "Properties" from the list and then choose the "Settings" tab. The size of your desktop will be under screen resolution. If you are using Windows Vista, right click on the desktop and choose "Personalize" and then choose "Display Settings." The resolution of your screen will be under the "Resolution" slider. After you click on the size that you want under the photo, a new window will pop up with your wallpaper in it. Right click on the screen and choose either "Save Picture As" or "Set as Background." If you choose "Save Picture As", save it to a file where you can find it, right click on your desktop, choose "Properties" and then the "Desktop" tab. Use the browse button to find your photo and click on apply. Enjoy!
December 2009 Wallpaper - Porcupinefish
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December is Christmas month in the United States and I was thinking of something to post as wallpaper. Something just popped into my head. Why not use a portrait that looks like the Grinch. This porcupinefish that I photographed in the Bahamas certainly fits the bill. I can just hear him going "Bah, Humbug". Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and the best of holidays to all of you. Veronica and I wish you all good health and hopes for a wonderful new year.
To see more porcupinefish photos, click here.
November 2009 Wallpaper - Spiny Dogfish
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I was reading a piece in the paper the other day about Massachusetts fishermen saying that the once-threatened spiny dogfish are threatening their livelihoods. They say that the species has rebounded in such great numbers that they are destroying their nets, eating catch off their hooks and reaking havoc on more valuable species like codfish. I thought that it would be a good time to post a photo of a spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias, which I photographed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Rhode Island, USA as November 2008 wallpaper. Please note that starting this month, I have included an additional size - 1920 x 1200..
To see more spiny dogfish photos, click here.
October 2009 Wallpaper - Humpback Whale
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After our blue shark diving trip, Veronica and I headed a little farther north to Plymouth, Massachusetts to do some whale watching. We made the same trip years ago and had a few great days on the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. We went on one trip on the first day we arrived and then two trips the next day. We had planned on doing a third day but the weather turned sour. We sailed with Capt. John Boats and we were not disappointed. You can read about our trip in my blog here. We saw plenty of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeanglia, and saw lots of different behaviors. My favorite is breeching. To see a huge animal throw its body completely out of the water is amazing. So you could appreciate it, I did something I have not done before with my desktop wallpaper. I cropped a vertical image into a horizontal one. I had a few images to choose from and Veronica said that hands down - this was the one. So enjoy and if you can, take the time to see these magnificent animals.
To see more Humpback Whale photos, click here.
September 2009 Wallpaper - Blue Shark
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Veronica and I recently were in Rhode Island for a day of blue shark diving with Capt. Charlie Donilon and his 46' boat, SNAPPA. You can read about the trip on my blog here. Blue sharks, Prionace glauca, are beautiful animals. Their blue color is almost iridescent looking. They move through the water with incredible grace. This was our third blue shark trip and from a photography stand point, our best. There were three of us taking photos and we all had some great shots.
To see more Blue Shark photos, click here.
August 2009 Wallpaper - Rainbow Parrotfish
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When I do the northern Bahamas trip with Nekton Diving Cruises, I love to dive a reef called Thumbnail. I really love the fish life there but one of my favorite fish are there, the saragassum triggerfish. I have also seen yellow coneys and green moray eels there. It was at thumbnail that I saw this month's wallpaper - the Rainbow Parrotfish, Scarus guacamaia, in its terminal phase. Parrotfish in their terminal phase are usually sexually mature adults. Rainbow parrotfish are the largest herbivorous fish in the Atlantic Ocean and this specimen was really big. They are not easy to approach and I got really lucky getting off a few shots. This was the one that I liked the most.
To see more Rainbow Parrotfish photos, click here.
July 2009 Wallpaper - Caribbean Reef Shark
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I suppose that if there is an animal that causes hearts to beat faster and for breathing to accelerate, it is a shark. On a trip aboard the Nekton Pilot in the Bahamas, a few members of the crew did a shark feeding at a large blue hole on the Cay Sal Banks. The dive site is called Big Hole. The plan was to have all the guests at the bottom with a coral head to their backs and for the dive master to bring down a 5-gallon plastic bucket with fish heads in it. The bucket had a square hole cut in the top. The dive master was not half way down the length of the boat when the sharks appeared and took the bucket away from him. He came to the bottom and told us that the shark feed was off. A little later in the dive, I saw the same dive master and another one swimming towards the shark feeding site with the bucket. It was retrieved and all the contents were in the bucket. The sharks could not get the top off. A number of the guests were still in the area and were in for the thrill of their lives. There never was an actual shark feeding because as soon the top came off the bucket, the sharks were everywhere. I had one swim through my legs while I was standing on the bottom. I also got bumped a number of times and the sharks bumped my camera and strobes. At the beginning, I couldn't get any pictures as the sharks were too close and moving too fast. All the sharks were Caribbean Reef Sharks, Carcharhinus perezi, and are also called black-tipped reef sharks. I can tell you that I will never forget that dive.
To see more Caribbean Reef Shark photos, click here.
June 2009 Wallpaper - Porcupinefish
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June is the start of summer here in New Jersey. This year, Veronica and I are starting the summer in the Bahamas aboard the Nekton Pilot. I love the Nekton operation and really enjoy being on their boats. I found this porcupinefish, Diodon hystrix, on a late afternoon dive on the Sugar Wreck in the northern Bahamas. Normally, they are very difficult to approach. This one didn't seem to mind me being there. Maybe it sensed that I was long past the time that I would try and grab it and make it blow up. As soon as I found out how bad this is for porcupinefish (or any pufferfish for that matter), I made sure that I never thought about it again. This little guy was great. We swam together for about fifteen minutes. I think that he finally wore me out. I love encounters like that. Veronica and I won't be visiting the Sugar Wreck on our next trip but hopefully I will find a porcupinefish that is as mellow as this one was.
To see more porcupinefish photos, click here.
May 2009 Wallpaper - Yellow Coney
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May is a time of beautiful color in New Jersey as the flowers begin their blooming cycles. One of the more beautiful ones is the tulip. Veronica reminded me of that when I was trying to decide on a subject for May's wallpaper. I was thinking about using a coney, Cephalopholis fulva, a small member of the grouper family. Veronica said that the yellow color of the coney reminds here of the color of tulips. I really like coneys because you can find them a number of different color patterns. I think that I like the ones that are yellow the best. Coneys are reasonably easy to approach and photograph which is also a plus for me. This particular coney was photographed on Thumbnail Reef in the northwestern Bahamas.
To see more coney photos, click here.
April 2009 Wallpaper - American Bald Eagle
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My house borders the Brick Reservoir in Brick, New Jersey. One Saturday morning, we had a coating of snow on the ground and the reservoir was late opening. I was in my back yard filling bird feeders when I looked towards the reservoir and saw a bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalu, fly by. I ran into the house for my camera and waited in the cold morning air for a photo opportunity. It was kind of weird because all of the seagulls took off at the same time and started screeching. I watched them and saw why they were screeching. It was the eagle. They started chasing it and chased it past my back yard. I had one chance to take my photos and managed to squeeze off seven shots before the eagle was gone. This is one of my favorite ones.
To read more about my bald eagle encounters, visit my blog here. To see more bald eagle photos, click here.
March 2009 Wallpaper - Juvenile Yellowtail Damselfish
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I photographed this juvenile yellowtail damselfish, Microspathodon chrysurus, on the Sugar Wreck which lies north of Grand Bahama Island in the northern Bahamas. Looking at the juvenile, you would not understand how it gets its name. Take your mouse and place it over the image of the juvenile and you will see what the adult yellowtail damselfish looks like.
To see more of my photos of Yellowtail Damselfish, click here.
February 2009 Wallpaper - Brown Pelican
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In December of 2008, Veronica and I went to Crystal River, Florida to swim with West Indian Manatees. There is a great abundance of wildlife in the Crystal River area and one of the birds that I really like to watch is the Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis. We saw a number of them around Three Sister's Springs and I did my best to get some good photos. There are times when the light is just perfect and this photo was taken during one of those times. I really like to watch pelicans when they land in the water. They are certainly not the most graceful bird. I am also amazed when I watch them fly and see how close they get to the surface of the water with their wing tips yet they never seem to hit it.
To see more of my photos of Brown Pelicans, click here.
January 2009 Wallpaper - West Indian Manatee
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January is a great month to swim with West Indian Manatees, Trichechus manatus. Veronica and I are planning to do so in December at our favorite place for manatee encounters - Crystal River, Florida. When it get cold during the winter months in Crystal River, the West Indian manatees seek the warmth of natural springs. The two most popular places to see manatees in Crystal River are Kings Springs on the Crystal River and Three Sister's Springs which is in a lagoon off the main river. If you have never had the opportunity to swim with and interact with a West Indian manatee, you should definitely add the experience to your plans. Manatees are incredibly gentle and love to interact with people. Remember that if you do go that you have to let the manatee start the experience. When one is near, extend your hand and they will probably come over. They love to have their backs rubbed and if they like what you are doing, they turn over on their backs and let you rub their stomachs. It is an experience that you will never forget.
To see more of my photos of West Indian Manatees, click here.
December 2008 Wallpaper - Northern Red Anemone
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It has been many years since I have had the pleasure of diving in Eastport, Maine and the Bay of Fundy. It is a magical place with 26' tidal changes. Tidal swings of this magnitude mean that when you are shore diving, you time slack tide correctly because once the tide starts to run, you really, really want to be out of the water. I spent a week diving around Eastport, Maine and I loved every moment of it. This month's photo is of the northern red anemone, Urticina felina. This anemone is also known as Telia crassicornis (formerly known as Tealia felina). Their range is from the Arctic to Cape Cod and their habitat is attached to rocks in protected places from the low tide line to over 100' (30 meters) deep. I remember being in Eastport in August and that the water temperature was a constant 50°F. Thankfully, I had a drysuit or it would have been a chilling experience. December in New Jersey is Christmas time and my wife, Veronica loved the colors in the northern red anemone and felt that they would be appropriate for the holidays. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all from all of us (Herb, Veronica, Tom and Lynda).
To see more of my photos of northern red anemones, click here.
November 2008 Wallpaper - Nassau Grouper
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There are times when I am diving that I enjoy a particular experience so much that it stays with me for a long time. The day that I took this photo was one of those days. It was the last day of a dive trip to the Florida Keys in 2008. I went with fellow members of the Metuchen Underwater Divers dive club and my wonderful wife, Veronica. It was our last day of diving and my friend, Warren Reed, who lives in Florida, found a large school of silversides congregating on a very small wall on a shallow reef. He waved me over and I thought that the silversides were beautiful. I was even happier when I stuck my head into the school and saw this Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus. He was just hanging out and didn't mind me taking multiple photos. It was just plain wonderful. I thought this would be a great shot to look at as the cold winds of November bring winter to the northeast. If you would like to learn more about my Florida keys trip, you can read about it on my blog. Click here.
To see more of my photos of Nassau groupers, click here.