1.

1.

With the water worthy Sea & Sea MX5 point and shoot, I looked

up from snorkeling and saw a flock of pelicans flying above the water. 

I simply pointed the camera skyward and captured the photo at left.

The image could be critiqued to pieces but its main redeeming characteristic is the  sense

of space  between the single pelican in  the lower left corner of the from and the massive

 feel of the sky and sun rays above.  

The image was captured at "site 3" as indicated on the map.

2.

Not a bad view from the room.  The Nikon N90 with Nikkor 24-120 

did a fairly decent job of capturing the intense color of the west facing, Mexican sunset. 

No color correction was made.

The image was captured at "site 2" as indicated on the map.

3.

Basically a moon lit photograph of two cinder cones across the lagoon.  The image was captured

at "site 1" as indicated on the map.  

4.

It's really a lot of fun chasing fish through the grass covered,

underwater seascape.  You basically just point and shoot with the

MX5, there's no focusing and framing.  With only a point and shoot, there's no way to

capture the exhilaration of the underwater environment but it's fun giving it a try.

The image was captured at "sites 3 and 4" as indicated on the map.

5.

After two days of scuba safety training in a pool, we were initiated

to the deep sea with a tour of a sunken ferry boat at about 60 feet.  Jumping off the back of a boat

seems kind of easy but when you add about 80 pounds of gear including a tank, air regulator, back

 up regulator, claustrophobic BC vest, and weight belt with extra weights in the vest pockets,  I began to think I was nuts.

Storms in the Gulf caused visibility to be less than 30 feet so moving down towards the

 sunken ferry seemed like a journey  into the abyss.  For a while we followed rope guides and then

 a professional guide.  About the only directions I could distinguish was up or down.  It was dark

down and light up. 

Although I got no acceptable images of the sunken ferry, at one point I looked up and was

surrounded by fish, a lot of fish.  I merely raised the MX5 and shot off a few shots. 

The next second, they were gone.

6.

The image at left was taken with a simple Stylus 35mm point and shoot.   

There was a small forest of cactus in front of the hotel that seemed kind of interesting

but most of the cactus flowers had already bloomed.  With a little more time and

the appropriate equipment,  there was opportunity to take photos of birds nesting in the

cactus but they were too fast and too far away to capture with the Stylus.

The image was captured at "site 7" as indicated on the map.

7.

Another advantage of an underwater camera is the ability to take photographs in a hazardous environment above water.  While the MX5 is relatively inexpensive, I'm beginning to

understand the advantages of a top of the line SLR

 in a protective housing. Nikon introduced an underwater SLR a number of years ago which

has subsequently been discontinued, probably because of its

 extremely high price. 

A number of images above water were soft due to the presence of

water on the outside glass protecting the lens.  With a point and

shoot, this is difficult to see.  

The image was captured at "site 4" as indicated on the map.  

8.

While captured with a  point and shoot, this type of shot's purpose

is to be a future reminder of the trip.  The shot also provides a sense

of place. Carrying a high quality point & shoot can be perfect for capturing images when you

are not quite inspired enough to drag out the heavy duty SLR. 

The image was captured at "site 5" as indicated on the map. 

    Panorama