Baptisms at Smith Cove

Another big event today was the baptisms at Smith Cove for First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman's Neil Brown and Alma Connor. This joyful celebration follows directly in the wake of the passing of our dear sister in Christ, Debbi Kelly yesterday... both being occasion to thank God for His Grace. Our prayers go out to Deb's husband and family still in the States. You'd have to have better control of yourself than me to have gotten through today's sermon with dry eyes! It was a wonderful day filled with thanks for His mercy and love.

Agouti

Staying up too late once again to process a few selects from this juvenile Grand Cayman Agouti portrait shoot arranged with its caretaker and surrogate mother, Denise Bodden. This may be my favorite frame shot right in the corner of my tiled living room, where I created a natural looking setting from materials found just outside. This little guy seems quite happy to be mothered by Denise! Agouti's, AKA Cayman Rabbit, are extremely shy in nature as they are still sometimes hunted as food.

Click to see large as always.

Another fabulous Reef Resort Wedding

When you live in Paradise... local residents, Kat and Jay, took their "destination wedding" at home in Grand Cayman at the fabulous The Reef Resort, East End. They all had so much fun that I shot nearly 1,000 pictures! Can you say "photogenic"?






Linda Locke: Coordinator

Mike Flowers: Food and Beverage team manager

Andrew Bacon: DJ and MC/Humor

Courtney Platt: Photographer

Performance Freedive Team/clinic

Kirk Krack and Mandy Cruickshank are in Grand Cayman again for their annual shot at new records and freediving clinic. It is always awesome to watch the world record holders in this insanely gutsy, physically and mentally challenging sport stretch the envelope yet again. The depths and times they are achieving these days boggles the mind, but these are the best of the best.

Today was a gloriously glassy day out on the water. Because they dive deeper than the deepest coral reefs grow, the guide line apparatus drifts in open pelagic waters about 6 miles offshore in water over 6,000 feet deep. Hmmm, no sharks today... that's odd.

This was just a little play, blowing air rings at the end of the day. Kirk blew a ring through another ring while Carol actually swam through one of her rings as it rose.

Pixel the cat seaside

I live near the water on North Sound and have been taking my cat, Pixel out for walks lately. He's very smart, quick to learn and willing to follow me... very dog-like when we go outside. Otherwise, he is a house cat, but he can do "stand", "sit" and "roll-over", following me from room to room like a puppycat. My sweeeeeeet.

North Side Wedding May 9th, 2009

An intimate little wedding on the North Coast of Grand Cayman, this rental home venue is so photogenic that I literally never used flash even once, even after sunset! Of course, the Nikon D3 is the only way I could have done it, with it's ultra low noise, high ISO capability. Everything after sundown is ISO 3200... awesome!

Right at home with the Southern Stingrays at Grand Cayman's "Stingray City"- Sandbar, my sister had a great day with our flying rubber disc puppy dogs of the sea. Not bad for someone afraid of mosquito bites! These rays are so inured to human contact, even being stepped on all day, that the only way to get stung by one is to carelessly sweep your own hand into a passing ray's barb.

The Sandbar site is so shallow you can stand up and never even get your head wet.

I just shot the most wonderful, intimate destination wedding at a large, private rental home on Grand Cayman's north coast. This gorgeous house overlooks a small sandy cove on the azure/tourqoise/cobalt of the clearest water the Caribbean has to offer. Heather and Vinnie Burke certainly enjoyed their big day and stay here.

Kirk Krack and his Performance Freediving Team are here from May 6th thru June 7th for training, competition dives and an attempt at a new women's record for Mandy Cruickshank. Here is a shot from a previous year.

I always look forward to watching their amazing feats of breatholding to unimaginable depths, taking unbeleavable times to go the distance. These are truly world class athletes.

My lovely sister Stacy is visiting and diving with me to celebrate our birthdays (May babies, 2 years apart). We dove on Orange Canyon and the wreck of The Doc Polson, just off Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman today. This image is Stacy at the stern of the Doc Polson, showing why she is my most published underwater model.