Macro in the Pacific Northwest

Jens Tröger · Issue 68, Sep/Oct 2012 · pp. 57–62

Products mentioned: Canon 7D, Canon EF 100mm/2.8 macro lens, Nauticam housing, Sea&Sea YS-120 strobes, SubSee 10x diopter, Canon 40D, Canon EF 17-85/4-5.6 lens

The Pacific Northwest is a fantastic place to dive. The Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands north of Seattle are a playground for macro photography (weather permitting), and this only gets better as we head further west out onto the Olympic Peninsula, or north to Vancouver Island, its inlets and islands that are scattered along the Canadian coast. The topside weather varies a lot throughout the year, from the most beautiful sunny summer days, drizzly winter weeks completely drained of any color, to the crisp, clear and freezing snow days under blue skies. Diving here is challenging at times, but also great fun. The Alaska Current brings in waters from the polar regions, thus ensuring a supply of cold water at around 10C to 15C throughout the year. Except for students during their checkout dives and the occasional courageous diver in a wetsuit, these are drysuit conditions, and drysuit m…