One of the fascinating parts of diving the Channel Island of southern California, is just how 'tropical' they feel. The clear water, the sea fans waving in the current, and the schools of fish dancing about.

And the water can be about 20-25 degrees warmer than my backyard in the Monterey Bay. Given, that still means the temps are in the high 60s and low 70s, but that is downright balmy compared to high 40s to low 50s.

So, this is the tropics to me...of California. And this is from a dive site called Window Pane. It was the first dive of the trip, and quite a good one at that. I am about 65' down and the sun was just so bright. I know it's a bit blown out in spots, but it seemed like the strobes just couldn't quite handle f14-f16 which would have controlled the sun, but made the foreground a bit too dark.

Nikon D300
Tokina 10-17mm fisheye @ 10mm
1/250sec @ f13, ISO 200
Aquatica Housing and Megadome Port
2 Ikelite DS160s strobes, 1 on full and 1 at -1