Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Culebrita, SVI 2010



Cayo Norte, SVI 2010







Malecon (Promenade), Esperanza, Isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico 2010


Malecon (Promenade)
5 sec at f/11

A balmy sunset and Christmas lights frame Esperanza’s Malecon. Esperanza (meaning Hope) is the smaller of two settlements on the island of Vieques, located approximately 8 miles east of the Puerto Rican mainland. Esperanza was once an important part of the island’s sugar industry which declined during the early decades of the twentieth century, and finally collapsed in the 1940s when the US Navy took over much of the island’s land to develop a bombing range. For more info visit: http://bit.ly/dnQHMR

Bahia Salina del Sur, Isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2010


Bahia Salina del Sur
1/250 sec at f/8

Taken from aboard M/V Wanderbird. Bahia Salina del Sur is a remote bay on the east end of Vieques. This beautiful area is beginning to recover from years of live bombing exercises by the US. Navy. The Bahia Salina del Sur is currently part of the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and is closed to the public for safety reasons. For more info visit: http://www.fws.gov/

Ensenada Sombe, Vieques 2010



Sunday, January 17, 2010

M/V Wanderbird off the Spanish Virgin Islands, 2010


M/V Wanderbird - Horizon
1/640 sec at f/8

Isla de Culebra (Snake Island) is located approximately 17 miles east of the Puerto Rican mainland. Culebra is an archipelago consisting of the main island and twenty-three smaller islands that lie off its coast. The largest of these cays are: Culebrita and Cayo Norte. Islands in the archipelago are arid, meaning they have no rivers or streams, resulting in very clear surrounding waters due to lack of run-off. Without a local source, all of the fresh water for residents has to travel over 17 miles from the Puerto Rican mainland. For more info visit: http://bit.ly/4EfeNX


M/V Wanderbird- Starboard Rigging
1/320 sec at f/4

M/V Wanderbird was built in 1963 and used as a beam fishing trawler in the harsh conditions of the North Sea for 27 years. She was refit in 2002 by Karen and Rick Miles to carry passengers for expedition cruises to Newfoundland, Labrador, Maine, and the Caribbean. Wanderbird proved to be an excellent platform for capturing the Caribbean photographs featured in this show. For more info visit: http://www.wanderbirdcruises.com/

Length (LOA) - 90 feet / Beam - 21 feet
Draft - 10 feet / Displacement – 112 tons
Built 1963, H. de Hass Shipyard, Maassluis, Holland



Friday, January 15, 2010

Back From The Caribbean!


Photo by Maaike Bernstrom

I just returned from an awesome 8 day photo trip to the Spanish Virgin Islands with internationally recognized nautical photographer Onne van der Wal. We visited Culebra, Culebrita, Cayo Norte, and Vieques on a 90 foot converted Dutch fishing vessel Wanderbird. The weather and scenery were excellent! I had a blast shooting with a great group of photographers while I was down there. Many thanks to Onne and Kristin for putting the trip together and to my new friends Clemens, Mary, Rick, Karen, and Maaike! Stay tuned for photos from the trip.