Jewels of the Ocean

No two turtle shells are the same. I’ve spent the last 20 years diving with the Hawaiian green sea turtle. Their shell patterns vary from a mottled green with yellow dots to brilliant orange and brown shells with sunflower designs. This juvenile turtle, not fully grown, had the most amazing shell pattern and color I’ve come across. It was a gorgeous day in the water on the island of Maui. I was practicing my freediving in area offshore from Olowalu. The area is known for its incredible visibility and white sand bottoms. I was freediving near a turtle cleaning station that was around 40-50ft in depth with a water clarity of over a 100ft. I saw this beautiful juvenile turtle approach the white sand patch between two reefs where the turtle station was located. I dove down with only a breath to meet the turtle 40 feet down. It wasn’t intimidated by my presence and continued on its path. I wanted to shoot it with the ambient light, so I had to get close. Using my 15mm fisheye lens, I was able to get my shot from only a foot away with just take. It wasn’t till I got hot and looked through my pictures that I realized I got this shot! I’ve tried to reproduce this photo over the years, but I’ve never found this situation or turtle to best this shot. It was truly a magical moment for the island photographer.