Whenever we dive Duck Island at the Isle of Shoals, the seal interactions are always a surprise. Some days they keep a respectful distance and vanish the moment you turn around, while other days you get treated to an up-close show.

Our September 12 dive definitely fell into the second category.

I’ve mentioned in some of my posts that I love scuba diving, but I haven’t shared all that much of my underwater photos or videos (although you should check out my seal video). Truth be told, underwater photography is truly hard and my results are a little hit and miss. I’m not even sure I actually like doing underwater photos, although I love it when I get good results. I plan to write more about my scuba photos in the future, but today let’s take a took at these banded shrimp (stenopus hispidus) living inside a sponge on Belize’s magnificent Turneffe Atoll.

When I’m not taking photos, I love to scuba dive. It’s a great sport that takes us to amazing places where we often encounter some incredible things underwater. Recently, we took a trip to the Isle of Shoals, which is a small group of islands that span the border of Maine and New Hampshire in the Gulf of Maine. These islands are a summer haven for seals who haul out onto the rocky shores and rest – especially on Duck Island on the northern part of the chain.