The last month or so have been some of the most exciting of my diving career.

In early July I dove with Olympus Dive Center from Captain Mike Gerken’s boat the Midnight Express to the wrecks off of Morehead City, North Carolina. The dives were a success and I was able to capture a few good images not to mention spend quality time with the resident Sand Tiger sharks that inhabit a variety of wrecks there. Being in the water with sharks is a religious experience for me and this trip didn’t disappoint.

Thanks to the generosity of my wife in Mid-July I was able to finally house my first DSLR and this has had an immediate impact on my underwater photography. Shooting a point and shoot was fun but the sky’s the limit with my Canon DSLR.

In late July I returned to dive in the Sea of Cortes and dove with Sunshine Dive Charter and had some real success capturing quality images on my first real dive trip with my new camera system.

August 5^th saw me re-enter the water for a Jersey night dive and while the photographic opportunities were few and far between a little “spear” fishing was in order. For the first time in my dive career I returned home with something amounting to dinner and I must admit it was both exciting and gratifying.

Part I -Diving North Carolina

Arriving in Morehead City to dive over the July 4^th weekend left me both excited and concerned. While the weather forecast for beach going seemed good the marine forecast left something to be desired with the possibility of being blown out 2 out of 3 days.

Our first day diving from the Midnight Express saw flat calm seas and about 40-50 of visibility on the bottom. Water was blue and warm and we dove my favorite wreck, the Caribsea, on the second dive.

The number of Sand Tiger sharks present on both the Atlas and the Caribsea was amazing but I had limited success capturing any quality images of the resident sharks. Shutter lag and the lack of a powerful camera hurt me from realizing the visions I had for the photographs, something I am pretty sure will not be a problem on my next trip to N.C. There was also a large number of photogenic jellyfish in the water around the wrecks and a pleasant image or two was taken but I am chomping at the bit to get back into water with my new gear to get the images I envisioned.

U352 by Joe Eiche

The second day of diving took us to U352 and the Papoose (aka W.E. Hutton) with the seas rocking and rolling considerably more than day one. Dive buddies Rich Steuernagel, Mark Miraglia, Karen Peist and I sat up on the sun deck, which was awash with a fine sea spray mist generated from the Midnight plowing through rough seas. By the time we arrived at our dive site everyone was soaked through and tired from laughing. The highlight of the ride was Mark standing up defiantly to the sea gods, profuse amounts of seawater dripping from his face and singing some corny and dramatic ode to the sea.

Hiding in the Shadows by Joe Eiche

U352 was right where I left her and offered up a few decent images to my Olympus u8000. Some type of fish hiding in one of the periscopes was found by Rob Mandell and offered up a decent image. The wreck itself is highly photogenic if you can catch it on the right day. For me it turned out green and looking haunted but still a nice image.

We finished the day at the Papoose which was a good dive and better than my memory of it in August of 2009. Still I prefer the Caribsea to the Papoose but as shop owner Jim Masters explained, “Everyone is entitled to be wrong.”

The third day saw blowing winds and more from the angry sea gods (Mark’s fault probably) that resulted in canceled dives. At least a nice early departure allowed for us to get home at a decent hour and for me to begin work on the images captured during the trip.

In all diving with Olympus from Capt Mike’s Midnight Express is always a great experience regardless of the conditions and I look forward to diving with Olympus again in August.