Gorda2012-1 -- Guavaberry/SpringBay Beach -- British Virgin Gorda sits East of Puerto Rico -- SE of Tortola in the BVI.
On the Western tip of this volcanic island sits a profusion of LARGE granite boulders. It is a bit of a geologic mystery how they were deposited here eons ago -- BUT they make this part of the island unique -- inside and outside of the water.
Note the "mickey mouse ear" clouds in this shot :)

Gorda2012-304 -- Chuck on deck -- me on boulder. People ask me where we stay ?? Here at Guavaberry our private and efficient vacation home is nestled in the large rocks. From this deck we can look West down the Drake Passage to the sunset over St. John.

Gorda2012-75 -- Surf rolling in. Purchasing a new P7000 Nikon camera and also the underwater housing designed for it, helped me create varied and more powerful images this year -- in, around and on the edges of the sand, water and surf.

Gorda2012-17 -- A Jack fish piggybacking on a ray -- looking to catch extra food the ray stirs from the sand -- shot in the 12 ft. of water off our beach.

Gorda2012-206 -- Spring Bay beach next door -- with lots of practice I was able take shots with the camera and housing that focused sharply on the scape UNDER as well as ABOVE the water. These are some of my favorite compositions.

Gorda2012-87 -- a party of Blue Tang fish -- they look like they have cute little smiles.

Gorda2012-107 -- "Pearl" a happy and sociable beach dog becomes everyone's pet -- she belongs to the owners of Guavaberry.
Many late afternoons when I would see the sharp contrast created by the setting sun -- I would put my camera in the BW mode to create these kinds of shots.

Gorda2012-186 -- Snorkel Portrait -- my underwater housing and camera helped me produce unique results utilizing the water's reflective surface in the late afternoon sun. Thanks, Dan and Dianne for working with me. :)

GordaSunsetRunner-1 -- Here a brother chases his sister -- just the kind of moment I like to catch.

Gorda2012-76 -- glowing Stop Light Parrot Fish. Happy to have captured this shot -- they don't sit still for their portraits.

Gorda2012-211 -- hiking along the coral and granite shoreline -- a unique Caribbean environment.

BrooksFamily-6editCU -- I enjoyed some spontanious portrait work on the island. Sisters and daughter tucked into some boulder shade with light from beach illuminating their faces.

NatachaFam-2CU -- Island Family -- again soft, natural light filling faces on a porch. After years of coming to Gorda, I have enjoyed watching the evolution of families here.

Gorda2012-380 -- Chuck swimming in a light-filled sandwich. With the late afternoon light streaming through on the boulders below, the water's surface takes on the same reflective glow.

Gorda2012-82 -- Surf shot on Guavaberry Beach. One of the joys of this camera in its tough underwater housing was the fact that I could put the camera in the rolling surf and SAND. This hazardous photography had "taken out" two other underwater cameras that I had owned over the years.

Gorda2012-122 -- I shot only while snorkeling -- not diving. I used mostly the natural sunlight to illuminate my underwater subjects -- the underwater granite boulders in this unique environment create meaningful and striking compositions IMO.

Gorda2012-170 -- "Going For It" -- a young Swiss can't resist the challenge -- the water's depth is VERY unpredictable. He survived. I am shooting from the surface while swimming.

Gorda2012-141 -- Hawk Bill Sea Turtle -- we were blessed with many days of CLEAR water. This made shooting a JOY -- especially when catching this large turtle on a trip snorkeling to Long Bay on the Eastern part of the island.

Gorda2012-320 -- Cave Dwellers at Monkey Point. Here the flash on the camera/housing illuminates a large school of fish hiding from predators. The sea was very stirred up with poor visibility the day we made our trip to Monkey Point opposite Tortola. But shooting in the cave proved fruitful.

Gorda2012-126 -- Personal Composition -- here I am warming myself and drying off after a swim -- perched on a boulder in the late afternoon sun. I happened to look down and snap this shot with bits of coral and my sandy feet.

Gorda2012-396 -- Octopus Portrait -- Here is my Nat Geo shot of the trip -- taken on last swim in clear, calm water. I was isolating this coral head for the composition, when I realized there was some frantic movement on my LCD screen. An octopus was very upset by my proximity to its home and had come out from below to challenge me. They move very quickly ...

Gorda2012-397 -- CLOSE UP of octopus. It had quickly changed from a dark brown color to the color of the coral. This was the first time in all my years swimming that I caught more than a fleeting glimpse of these critters -- It gave me a big thrill to take this shot.

Gorda2012-364 -- Sunset respite -- Thank you for looking at my shots. I hope they may have warmed you up or "chilled you out."