Delicate Depths
Baja California del Sur, Mexico
This photo is from my first trip to Baja California, Mexico. Witnessing this fever of mobulas was one of the most jaw-dropping, unforgettable moments I’ve ever experienced. Our guide launched his drone and discovered the school stretched about 450 feet wide—hundreds of thousands of monk mobulas swimming gracefully all around us.
There’s a funny video he took of me during the encounter. At first glance, it looks like a still photo because I’m completely motionless—but then you realize it’s a video, and the only thing moving is the massive swirl of mobulas beneath me. I was just floating there, absolutely frozen in shock, trying to take in the magnitude of what I was seeing.
This photo was taken during a dive in Cabo Pulmo National Park, Mexico. We descended right into the middle of a massive school of jackfish—it felt like being inside a living, swirling tornado.
Near the bottom, we spent time with several schools of pufferfish, watching them cruise by and interact with each other. After about 30 minutes underwater, just as we were nearing the end of the dive, two curious puffers drifted into frame—perfectly timed to photobomb my shot of the “Jackfish Tornado.”
This photo was taken in the crystal-clear, turquoise waters surrounding Isla Espíritu Santo in Mexico. We had moved in closer to the island, admiring the vibrant water and striking rock formations, when we suddenly spotted a small fever of cownose rays gliding through the shallows.
We slipped into the water and swam alongside them for a while. I love this shot because it captures everything in one frame—the surface of the water, the rays, and the sea floor below.