the Great Humpback Whale.

Good Morning Maui. :) 

Front row view of the new day and volcano, Mt. Haleakala. 

It was such a cool morning with my babe, Tatum. We took a trip out on the Ocean Intrigue this morning to watch some whales. I wasn't expecting such an active morning! We came across a few different groupings including one group with challenging males fighting for mating rights. The whales were close, huge, powerful and playful! It was tight. 

I've been seeing them a lot from the shore recently but its nothing like seeing them up close and personal. I'd put this on the bucket list if you haven't had the chance to see it yet, it is a must see. 

thanks for checkin in.. 

-nh

At Work...

Self Portrait. 

Hahah. Oh man... how would you feel about being chased around all day long by a guy who looks like me? I feel like I'm somewhere between Irish and Surfer, just got lost in that transition somewhere. 

So! My New JOB!!! Kinda a big deal.. :) 

For the past few days I have been taking photos of folks going out on snorkel trips with the pacific whale foundation. My goal is to capture those priceless moments and send them home with images they would never be able to capture themselves, portraits underwater. It's been such a challenge for me to begin figuring this one out... I have the privilege of creating the program for the foundation so it's kinda up to me on how these things go. Crazy huh? I'm poor at business.. I just think everyone should go home with a million photos for facebook. Anyways, It has been one of the biggest challenges of my life but I am loving every minute of it. 

Here are a few images that I shot today while in the water with the passengers. 

I sometimes wonder how many people will ever get this view. 40ft under the surface really isn't that deep considering that people can dive 300ft + under the surface. But, its still quite a challenge and I don't see many people getting these views, so i thought i'd share. 

Taco Blast! 

This Octopus didn't want his photos taken so he blasted me a good one and dipped out of there. His techniques worked too! this was the last any of us saw of him. 

I'm pretty sure this is the same eal I've been shooting photos of for the past few days. He's not to scared to go swimming around in the day. 

And lastly.. I didn't see a honu today but I did get to see this spotted eagle ray. 

He was just swimming out of there... going to some place I couldn't follow. One shot was good enough for me. 

I love my new job!! such a blessing. 

I look forward to the next day I work. 

thanks for checkin in!! 

-nh

Some shots from work... :)

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty neat little gallery from today and yesterday.

I've been working on a new project with the Pacific Whale Foundation to start making on deck and underwater photography available to the passengers. Its been a lot of work and totally confusing but I think we will all get the hang of it, and of course, it'll be the sweetest job ever. Shooting photos on Maui!! Ok!

 

Amped.

 

thanks for checkin in!!

 

-nh

Spotted Eagle Rays at Molokini.

A couple days ago I had my first privilege of swimming with some spotted eagle rays out at Molokini Crater. This was a special treat for us and the PWF crew that day cause they aren't seen very often in the shallow water. 

One of the naturalists at Pacific Whale Foundation, Heidi Miller! Check out the size comparison! They were pretty large rays. 

Spotted Eagle Rays from Nathaniel Harrington on Vimeo.

The ocean is so great! Lovin this stuff. 

thanks for checkin in, 

-nh

More Turtles.

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle aka Honu. 

I love the Ocean!! Can't help myself.. 

Tatum and I went out on another snorkel trip with the Pacific Whale Foundation on friday where we again went to Molokini Crater and then Turtle Arches. This trip we took one of the big boats, the Ocean Voyager. It's a pretty fun trip, however, I do prefer the smaller boats that are able to tie up in slightly cooler spots. But, again, they all go to pretty much the same places that all have the same amazing wild life to swim around with. 

Come visit!! 

-nh

Hawksbill Turtle Hatching.

A crowd gathers to watch a nest of endangered Hawksbill Turtles hatch. 

The other day at work I was told that there was a nest of turtle eggs predicted to hatch that evening. It was at my favorite beach and something new to me, so I checked it out. 

These beaches are pretty busy so its important that nature gets a chance to survive the crowds. Here a naturalist helps dig up the nest in a fenced off area making sure they get a chance to make it into the ocean. Before the crowds the turtles had enough of a challenge just making it past the birds and sharky's, unchecked tourists would deplete the population completely. Stoked to say that these 75+ Hawksbill Turtles all made it into the ocean. 

This first little guy was a good sign that many more could be ok. 

they just started poppin out left and right. 

Turtle Race. 

What a cool thing to witness. 

Endangered Species making a comeback! 

Thanks turtle guys. 

-nh

A lil snorkel trip at Molokini Crater.

Yesterday Tatum and I took our day off and used some of our comp tickets to enjoy a little piece of what our jobs offer, snorkel cruises to Molokini Crater. We were on the Ocean Explorer's Wild Side adventure tour with the Pacific Whale Foundation. 

Shark Week! 

There was a white tip reef shark hanging out in his cave about 32ft under the surface. Wow! It was so fun diving down there and chilling right next to this beautiful shark. Also under that rock was the biggest spiny lobster I have ever seen! It was just about the same size as the shark. I was so taken back at the size of the lobster that I almost forgot that there was a shark a foot in front of me, my mind was on that lobster. 

sharkweek _nathanielharrington from Nathaniel Harrington on Vimeo.

44 seconds with the white tip. Not a bad breathe hold. 

Tatum at the drop off. 

We saw a couple Octopus down there. I got really close to one and it inked me! 

I wasn't quite fast enough to get video or photo.. next time. 

And at the second destination we saw many green sea turtles. 

This guy was taking a nap on the bottom. 

Just to show the size if these turtles! This was about the same size as Tatum but probably out weighed her by a hundred pounds. We did see another that was closer to the 450 pounds max that turtles get too. 

this guy had a crazy tumor growing on the side of his nogin. 

Under water world. So amazing. 

Sorry for not updating as much these days. It's been a long time since I worked a full time job... Life gets busy. Soon some of that will change again as I get more and more settled in here on Maui. There has been a major lack of swell on the islands and we are definitely due for some surf. Hopefully that will happen soon and I'll be on it to post some epic surf. 

thanks for checkin in. 

-nathaniel.