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This is "Gus", an eastern red-bellied turtle, Pseudemys rubriventris (Chrysemys rubriventris). Gus lives in the Brick Reservoir in Brick, New Jersey, USA. My wife and I are fortunate to have the reservoir as our back yard. It has developed over the years as one of the most popular places in our town for people to enjoy. They bring thier families and their dogs and enjoy walking and running around the reservoir in a peaceful, safe atmosphere. The reservoir is fed with water from the Metedeconk River and the aquatic life that exists in the reservoir is brought in through the water pipes. We first saw "Gus" a couple of years ago and he is our sure sign of spring. When Gus hauls himself up on the rocks to bask in the sun, we know that winter has said its goodbyes.

You can see more of my photos of Eastern Red-bellied Turtles, click here.

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An Atlantic Spiny Lumpsucker, Eumicrotremus spinosus, photographed near Eastport, Maine, USA. Atlantic spiny lumpsuckers are a benthic species that occur in cool northern seas, living on mud, gravelly or rocky bottoms. There is no information on their rate of growth but they are reported to attain lengths of about 11.5cm but usually smaller. Their bodies are short and stout with large heads, small mouths and thick lips. They don't have scales but are covered with conical tubercles (small wart like projections.) They are olive to brownish in color with some stripes or bands. This little fellow was no more than about 1/2" to 3/4" long. I tried to photograph him for an entire dive in about fifteen feet of water. It was one of the more difficult photo sessions that I have ever had because the subject was so small and it didn't stay in one place very long. I took this photograph a number of years ago but it is still one of my favorites.

You can see more of my photos of Atlantic Spiny Lumpsucker here.

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This month brings another photo from the northern Bahamas with Nekton Diving Cruises. I was diving a reef site named Tuna Alley. My wife, Veronica, wanted me to use something green because March is the month for St. Patrick's Day and my lovely wife is as Irish as they come. My choice was the green moray eel, Gymnothorax funebris. My friend, Chris Bain from Somerset, NJ, found this wonderful eel and was nice enough to point it out to me and to other fellow photographers. We had a great time with this handsome devil. Moray eels are neat animals. To really capture them looking mean, you have to time your photo so that you take it when their mouths are open. They really aren't mean but they look that way when you are viewing those sharp teeth.

You can see more of my photos of Green Moral Eeels here.

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This month brings us back to the waters of New Jersey. This photo reminded me of a self project that I undertook many years ago. I decided that I would dive in the Shark River in Avon, New Jersey at least one time every month throughout the year and try and document the changes to the marine ecosystem. One of those dives occured on a beautiful February day when the air temperature was a little over 20° F. I was wearing a dry suit but had wet gloves and a wet hood. I spent a little over an hour underwater and the only marine animals that I saw were hermit crabs. I really think that they were laughing at me. They were probably thinging, "what is this stupid human doing in this freezing water in the middle of February?" Well, it took about five hours for my hands to thaw out enough that they stopped hurting when I opened and closed them.

The crab shown here is the flat-clawed hermit crab, Paguris pollicaris. I photographed this specimen near the wooden schooner barge, Helen, also known as the Riggy in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Mantoloking, New Jersey, USA.

You can see more of my photos of flat-clawed hermit crab here.

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This month brings another photo from the northern Bahamas with Nekton Diving Cruises. I was diving a reef site named Tuna Alley. The beautiful coloration of this damselfish caught my eye and then it was a real challenge to capture the fish's image. They move around pretty fast and I love that kind of challenge. Since we are ringing in a New Year, I thought that it would be appropriate to use a juvenile fish. What I found very interesting is the change that happens in the longfin damselfish from juvenile to adult. The adult is dusky looking and has none of the beautiful colors of the juvenile. The longfin damselfish is common in South Florida, the Bahamas, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. They are very aggressive and will attempt to chase away divers that come to close. HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! My wife and I hope to be swimming with manatees on Christmas morning.

You can see more of my photos of Longfin Damselfish here.

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This month brings another photo from the northern Bahamas with Nekton Diving Cruises. I remember my first attempts at trying to photograph Christmas tree worms which are also known as spiral-gilled tube worms. I was in Bonaire in the Netherland Antilles with my wife Veronica. I was using a Nikonos camera with extension tubes and I was trying to sneak up on the worm. On one dive, I tried to sneak up on about 100 of them and they all disappeared into the coral head before I could get the photo. After the dive, I told the dive guide about my dilemma and he started laughing so hard that he fell off the boat into the water. He let me in on the secret. If I would have just been patient and waited, the Christmas tree worm would pop out again and I could get the shot. I know have plenty of photos. It is much easier with an SLR camera than it was with the Nikonos with the extension tubes but you still have to approach slowly. Veronica thought that this subject would be perfect for December and I definitely agree. Happy Holidays to you all!

You can see more of my photos of Christmas Tree Worms here.

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This month brings another photo from the northern Bahamas with Nekton Diving Cruises. I have only seen them on one dive site called Thumbnail Reef. November in the United States means Thanksgiving and I am always thankful when I have the opportunity to photograph something that I don't see often. The Saragassum triggerfish is one of those treats. I am also thankful for so many good things that have happened to me in my lifetime. I am thankful for my wonderful wife, my terrific son, Tom and his incredible fiancee, Lynda.

Sargassum triggerfish inhabit low profile sections of outer reefs and offshore banks deeper than 80 feet. The young drift near the surface in Sargassum weeds.

You can see more of my photos of sargassum triggerfish here.

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This month brings another photo from the northern Bahamas with Nekton Diving Cruises. The photo was taken on one of my favorite photography spots - the Sugar Wreck. My wife, Veronica suggested that the October wall paper have orange in it as October is Halloween month and the month of orange pumpkins. It seems odd that a fish named a whitespotted filefish does not have any white spots. There are two phases of this fish, one has a solid coloring and one has spots. If you roll your mouse over the image above, you will see the other phase.

The whitespotted filefish is somewhat curious and you can often get close to them as long as you take your time moving in. They are often found in pairs with each displaying a different color phase.

You can see more of my photos of whitespotted filefsih here.

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One of my favorite dive trips is to the northern Bahamas with Nekton Diving Cruises. I have seen and photographed many social feather dusters on my trips. My wife, Veronica suggested that the September wall paper have fall colors and she chose this shot to illustrate that. Social Feather Dusters are worms belonging to the Sabellidae family. They grow in clusters with crowns of radioles arranged in a circular fashion. They inhabit reefs and prefer areas with some water movement. Their color varies but seems to be consistent within a geographical area. I find them to be one of the prettiest marine animals in the Caribbean.

You can see more of my photos of Social Feather Dusters here.

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One of my favorite dive trips is to the northern Bahamas with Nekton Diving Cruises. I visited the Bahamas in July of 2007 on the Nekton Pilot and took this month's wallpaper photo at the Sugar Wreck located north of Grand Bahama Island. It was the same site that I photographed last month's wallpaper photo two years ago. On my dive, I was shooting wide angle using a Magic Filter. It was my first opportunity to try it and I found it very interesting. I will talk about it more in my digital photography section. I saw four divers looking at something next to a piece of wreckage and saw that they were looking at two red lionfish, Pterois volitans. I have never been to the Pacific or Indian Oceans where lionfish are found so I was very excited. The dive site is shallow so I swam back to the boat, changed my lens and added two strobes to come back and photograph this great find. I spent the next hour shooting and probably shot about 150 images. We found lionfish on two more sites during our trip. We found them on the wreck of the Hesperus off Bimini and on Rocky Mountain High reef.

Lionfish are not native to the Caribbean. They are found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. I have heard about them off North Carolina for the last few years but they were usually on deep wreck sites that gave little bottom time for photography. NOAA has reported lionfish from Florida to Cape Hattersas, North Carolina. Recently, I have heard of them in Long Island Sound.

According to the New England Aquarium, lionfish have no natural predators in the Atlantic and they are reaching sexual maturity at a younger age. The aquarium collected a 4" long specimen on a trip to the Bahamas. This lends them to believe that the lionfish are reproducing. A spokesman for the aquarium said "Although the lionfish does not aggressively threaten humans, if a person came in contact with one, the venom it secretes from spinal glands is painful and can be fatal on rare occasions."

You can see more of my photos of Red Lionfish here.

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One of my favorite dive trips is to the northern Bahamas with Nekton Diving Cruises. One of their stops is at the Sugar Wreck located north of Grand Bahamas Island. It is a terrific dive site in shallow water. On my last trip there, I had to great fortune to see this Atlantic Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) swimming along. I was on my way back to the boat at the end of my dive and had plenty of space on my digital memory card. If I was still using my film camera, I am sure that I would have been out of film (I almost never came back with out using the entire roll of film). I managed to shoot about two dozen shots before I decided that I had gotten too far from the boat. I had a big smile on my face all the way back to the boat. I was really happy on the night dive when I found the same turtle sleeping on the wreck. It was one terrific day.

Green turtles are the largest of all the hard-shelled sea turtles, but have a comparatively small head. While hatchlings are just 2 inches (50 mm) long, adults can grow to more than 3 feet (0.91 m) long and weigh 300-350 pounds (136-159 kg).

Adult green turtles are unique among sea turtles in that they are herbivorous, feeding primarily on seagrasses and algae. This diet is thought to give them greenish colored fat, from which they take their name. A green turtle's carapace (top shell) is smooth and can be shades of black, gray, green, brown, and yellow. Their plastron (bottom shell) is yellowish white.

Scientists estimate green turtles reach sexual maturity anywhere between 20 and 50 years, at which time females begin returning to their natal beaches (i.e., the same beaches where they were born) every 2-4 years to lay eggs.

The nesting season varies depending on location. In the southeastern U.S., females generally nest between June and September, while peak nesting occurs in June and July. During the nesting season, females nest at approximately two week intervals, laying an average of five clutches. In Florida, green turtle nests contain an average of 135 eggs, which will incubate for approximately 2 months before hatching.

You can see more of my photos of Atlantic Green Turtles here.

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The SCUBA diving club that I belong to, Metuchen Underwater Divers (MUD), traveled to North or South Carolina to dive each year at the beginning of June. I have been with them on many of their dive trips and I really enjoy the opportunity to dive in the Carolinas. One of our trips took us off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. We were cruising out to the site when someone spotted a turtle in the water. The turtle was a large female leatherback that was attached to a long liner's float. All of the diver's got into the water with the turtle and two members of our group worked to cut her loose from the float. To read more about this adventure, please click here.

The leatherback is the largest turtle and the largest living reptile in the world. Mature males and females can be as long as six and a half feet (2 m) and weigh almost 2000 lbs. (900 kg). The leatherback is the only sea turtle that lacks a hard, bony shell. A leatherback's carapace is approximately 1.5 inches (4 cm) thick and consists of leathery, oil saturated connective tissue overlaying loosely interlocking dermal bones. The carapace has seven longitudinal ridges and tapers to a blunt point. Adult leatherback's are primarily black with a pinkish white mottled ventral surface and pale white and pink spotting on the top of the head. The front flippers lack claws and scales and are proportionally longer than in other sea turtles; back flippers are paddle-shaped. The ridged carapace and large flippers are characteristics that make the leatherback uniquely equipped for long distance foraging migrations. You can see more of my photos of leatherback turtles here.

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I was talking to Veronica about this month's wallpaper. She reminded me that "April showers bring May flowers." She felt that a New Jersey frilled anemone would be appropriate. For those of you who have never seen a frilled anemone, they are found underwater. Sea anemones are found from the intertidal zone to extreme depths. Some live attached to solid objects, others burrow in sand or construct tubes. They feed primarily on plankton.

Sea anemones feed through a mouth located in the center of its tentacles. Waste is regurgitated through the same opening. The tentacles sting zooplankton or fish that pass too close, and the anemone swallows its prey whole. Most anemones cannot sting humans with any noticeable effect.

Small anemones may hitch a ride on a hermit crab, an arrangement that is beneficial to both. The crab is protected by the anemone's stingers, and the anemone gains a degree of mobility otherwise impossible. You can see more of my photos of frilled anemones here.

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My wife, Veronica, has a birthday in April so I let her pick this month's photo. She picked this photo of the New Jersey Artificial Reef site, Veronica M, which is on the Axel Carlson Artificial Reef off Bayhead, New Jersey. When Veronica turned 50, I asked her to pick something special for her birthday. She told me that she wanted a tugboat sunk on the New Jersey Artificial Reef and named after her. I couldn't get this done by her birthday, but it happened on November 10, 2004. This photo was taken about 8 months later. You can see the amazing amount of growth on it in a short period of time. I did give her a painting of what a tugboat would look like underwater in New Jersey on her 50th birthday. What amazed us was how similar the painting was to the tug that was finally sunk. The artist and I had no idea what the tugboat looked like at the time. You can read more about the Veronica M here. Don't forget to follow the link to page 2 and to the page about the first dive on the tug. You can see more of my photos of the Veronica M here.

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My son, Tom, is an avid golfer. He was at his favorite course, Spring Meadow, in Farmingdale, NJ. He was part of a foursome and during the game, he saw this red-tailed hawk (one of two that landed on the course) that had caught a meal and was oblivious to the golfers that were watching. Tom took the golf cart and drove back to his car, grabbed his Canon G2 digital camera and came back. He crawled on his stomach to get close to the hawks. One flew away but one stayed and enjoyed its meal. It amazes me that Tom was able to get close enough for this picture. I didn't crop the photo at all. I am really proud of my son. He did an amazing job getting the shot. I wish that it were mine. March is Tom's birth month so I thought that it would be appropriate to use his shot for the wallpaper. You can see the other hawk shot that Tom took here. You can see more of my photos here.

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One of our favorite live aboard dive trips is with Nekton Diving Cruises to the northern Bahamas. On each trip, they visit the White Sand Grounds and look for Atlantic Spotted Dolphins. They are not always successful and it is frustrating. But when that day comes and they are there, it can be spectacular. We were there for one of those days and the thrill of being next to one of these animals in the water is incredible.

To see more of my work, visit my Stock Photo Gallery or click here for more Atlantic Spotted Dolphins by my wife, Veronica and myself.

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Crystal River, Florida is the best place to see West Indian manatees and January is one of my favorite months for visiting. When conditions are right, Three Sisters Springs can't be beat for good visibility and prime photo opportunities. My wife, Veronica, and I got very lucky on one of our visits and found these two manatees in the main springs. We were the only people there and it was like magic. A perfect caption for this photo sprang to mind: "Springtime for Manatees."

To see more of my work, visit my Stock Photo Gallery or click here for more manatees.