Some cool pictures on National Geograhic

mamagoose45

Member
I found some pretty amazing pictures on National Geo's website. The pictures are all from Kingman Reef in the pacific. There is a photo in there of a GIGANTIC coral that the scientist think to be a new species. Very cool...

Kingman Reef Pictures
 
thanks Moriah, I really enjoyed those pics, and I already have that Lemon Peel, Looks just like him :) except for the background as mine is in my frag tank:)

Norman
 
I'm always amazed when I see tv shows on the reefs and you see divers swimming past these huge corals. It's really cool when you can look at what's on the tv screen and then look in your tank and really see similarities between the corals and the fish we keep. When I saw the picture of the diver cruising around that huge unidentified green coral, my mouth just dropped. I don't know that I would ever have the guts to actually go diving, but I can imagine it's probably one of the coolest experiences out there...
 
I'm finishing up my open water certification at the end of this month. I can't wait to go diving in the ocean! Brian is certified isn't he? You should get your cert, too, Moriah. :)

If all goes well and I get this job I've applied for, I'm hoping to take a trip with MTSU down to the keys and dive some reefs! :D We'll see, though.

Brandon
 
Thats awesome Brandon! My dream is to post up a sail boat on a reef in the middle of the ocean and skindive. My heart beating under all that water, living those moments in another world.

Supposedly we know more about the moon than we the life in our ocean on this planet. Seeing those pictures makes me want to provide the most natural environment I can for this tank. Those pictures also take me somewhere else; far away from the monotony and stress. I guess that is why I have a piece of our ocean here in the house.
 
Yeah, I am certified, but I'm also smart enough to know that I haven't been diving in far too long. Would definitely need a refresher course. Never got to do anything this cool though. Mostly quarry and lake dives (had my dry suit cert too... I think it would be awesome to do an ice dive... just to say you did it).

Moriah... tell them why you don't think you can SCUBA dive... :)
 
Okay, okay, nobody laugh at me....

I'm pretty much afraid of heights - not so much scared if I'm in something like an airplane or an amusement park ride, but if I'm not strapped to something, it scares the crap out of me. So ladders, Empire State Bldg balcony ledge, fire towers, etc. freaks me the heck out. And I know it seems silly that this fear should translate to swimming, but for some reason it does.

I went snorkeling in the Florida Keys after high school graduation and it freaked me out - amazed me at the same time, but freaked me out. My depth perception pretty much sucks most of the time, but really sucks in the water. Something about looking straight down through the water and thinking you're pretty close to the bottom and then seeing a big fish swim between you and the bottom and getting that dose of perspective freaks me out. I can only imagine what that would mean in really deep water where I couldn't see the bottom. I'm pretty sure I would have a major panic attack and become fish bait.

Also, salt water makes me nauseous. As in I'm a total wuss if I get water in my mouth at the beach while I'm swimming or if I'm siphoning water out of the tank. It makes me gag and I feel like I'm going to die. Hence being under water and having that happen could be problematic I would think.

I'm a little bit of a freak and I'm super weird - I know... I guess I just look at it and think that if I were meant to be a water beast, I would have been born with fins. Clearly I am a land mammal and that is where I shall stay.
 
Hey don't feel bad, I have a similar problem, I start hyperventilating as soon as my mouth gets below water, especially if I'm wearing a snorkel. My dad dove the entire 5 years we lived in Panama, several times a month, I've been around divers on and off my whole life, but I can't even snorkel in a pool. I'd LOVE to get dive certified, but it's going to take some work.

No laughing here.
 
Yeah, maybe it would be best if you stayed on shore, Moriah. :D

I hear you, though... I have to keep myself calm for fear of not being able to breathe. I feel as though I've faced this fear pretty well, though. :) We did some buddy-breathing (take two breaths and pass) that I did great on during class. During our final, however, when they said "GO!" my mask came off and threw me off, and I was hyperventilating the entire time! I eventually had to come up and lost points, but it completely threw me off and I couldn't catch my breath! It sucked. But I still passed. :)

So no laughing from me either. But maybe a snicker was let out. ;)

Matt: If you want to get certified, DEFINITELY come to MTSU if you can. The class is a bit grueling, but they know their stuff. We have two of 8 (in the WORLD, not just TN or USA ;) ) YMCA platinum certified instructors at MTSU. We also have the 2nd largest SCUBA university program in the nation. :) Great stuff!

Brandon
 
Thanks for the recommendation Brandon, I'll keep it in mind... biggest problem for me -> Murfreesboro = almost and hour and a half drive!
 
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