The photos in the two Jamiaca albums are rather raw, to say the
least. Not only are they my first actual photos taken while diving,
but they were taken on my first couple of dives! To make matters
worse, the camera I was using was a Sea Life ReefMaster 35MM (bah!).
In 2002 I had the luxury of a strobe (though it didn't seem to help
much), but in 2001 it was just the camera and no strobe. I post
them here not in an attempt to show-off my photos, but as a reminder
of how bad I use to be at underwater photography :) To give you
an idea, 16 below average photos are posted for 2001. I burned through
about 200 negatives to yield those 16 pictures. As a sign of improvement,
I used a similar number of negatives to yield the 35 photos of 2002.
So let's begin. Jamaica get s a bad rap as not being a quality
dive destination. I can agree with this only partially - there is
no large fish life present. The Jamaicans still spear and trap fish
for a large portion of their diet and therefore anything of substantial
size is harvested. If you are after large groupers or parrotfish,
frequent shark sightings, or something simi liar, stay away from
Jamaica. However, if you want to see prolific sponge growth and
macro life that most divers never take the time to look at, not
to mention water visibility well over 100 feet, Jamaica can be a
wonderful dive excursion.
Because these were our first dive trips, they still remain memorable
mostly due to the newness of everything. No matter what we saw down
there, it was always a first. Catching a glimpse of a Queen Angel,
or swimming through schools of Blue Surgeonfish, all of it remains
fresh in our memories. In addition to animal life, we got to see
a plane wreck. I remember how fabulously exciting that was, but
now it seems routine.
Anyone know their Caribbean naval history? Why would a cannon be
off the coast of Negril?
P. S. Yes, I know the 2001 photos have a 2002 copyright stamped
across the front. I think the correct term here is "brain fart."
The rest of the 2001 Photo
Album is viewable here.
To see the story and photographs from above water in Negril, have
a look at these links -
2001 ~ 2002
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