Bill Passmore - Underwater Photography
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Sosua Faces Above The Water

3/10/2019

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Good morning and welcome to March!  Well, it's actually almost 1/2 over already!

The diving has been really great, especially for this time of year.  Getting used to the new camera set-up and enjoying the time underwater with all my diving friends.  Soon, too soon, it will be "low season" and although we will not have as many people here, the waters get clearer in summer.  You have to love that!

Added a new page to my website - Above The Water -

This will feature some of the sights that we have here, that you can enjoy during those surface intervals and "apres dive".  To start it off, I added photos of some of the faces of the wonderful people here on the island.  Later it will also have photos of the countryside, the ocean, and all the other activities you can enjoy here in our little part of paradise.

Have a look, "share", leave a comment if you wish!

Have a great week, and please, Save Our Oceans

Bill
PADI 200462
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Friends

3/1/2019

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One of the greatest things about diving is the people you meet - the friends you make.  We all have a common ground; a love of the ocean and an appreciation for the amazing undersea world.  

From the earliest of your experiences, the people who taught you how to dive (Lou, Mad Dog), your first dive buddies (Ron, Rick), your students who have gone on to greater things (Linda), friends from around the globe that you dive with (Reinhold, Robert, Tracy, Micki, Johnny B., Mickey, Jay and Susan., Alex), people you work with (Jeffrey, Christian, Kai, David, Steve, Gil, Jose, Adrian), friends who have never met (Ron, Ron, Daryl), the people who you share your photos with and have helped you along the way (Andres, Adolfo, Leo, Carol) - all of you have had a lasting impression on me, and all of you are amazing people.  I know I missed hundreds of people on here but hey, you get the idea.

The great thing is, it's not only about the diving.  It's the dinners, the drinks, the fun, the conversation!  

It's really cool to have the same people come back year after year to dive and it's like they never went away.  We just pick up where we left off.  On that note, social media is great!  Being able to stay in touch with people over the ages who live miles away is truly incredible.  

I recently had the opportunity to meet Jean-Michel Cousteau - INCREDIBLE.  Super nice and down to earth gut.  Thanks Pablo for the intro!

Thanks for reading this, and thanks for viewing my photos.  I hope in some small way, it makes your world a better place.

Save our reefs, dive safely, smile!

Bill
PADI 200462




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Winter! …………….. sort of :)

2/18/2019

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Picture
You have to love living in the DR in winter.  Beautiful cool morning, +21C or so, and sunny hot afternoons!  Yeah, I don't miss scraping the windshield.

Our winter here has been incredible.  The ocean has been unusually calm and we have had some excellent visibility!  Today was easy 40 meters!  Simply stunning.  Wide angle lens tomorrow!

Spent the last couple weeks trying to figure out a new camera.  LONG - SLOW learning process, but making some progress.  The "macro" lens looks like it will be to "go to" lens.  Thanks Ron DeVries for the tip!  Trying to add a 5x diopter to it and we will see where that goes!

A big shout out to Brian (Maddog) Thomas - THE grand poobah of scuba and the person who really got me hooked on this beautiful world!  Happy Birthday Buddy.

Most of our diving here is at about the 60 foot level or slightly deeper.  Not a huge amount of light penetration so it is a bit challenging!  Lol, need to work on getting some of those 30 foot dives in to get the light in the background!  The little Christmas Tree Worm above (about a 1/2 inch tall) was shot at 35 feet!  

A huge thanks to everyone who follows my page and my photos and hey, lets all work to reduce plastic, to save our oceans and our environment, and to enjoy life on the third rock!

Stay safe, stay healthy, save our reefs.

Bill
PADI 200462


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February 2019

2/11/2019

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Welcome to 2019 - albeit a bit late!

Finally got around to updating the website; been a while.

It's been a great winter here so far with pretty calm seas and great vis.  Excellent opportunity to get out and enjoy the tranquility of Mother Ocean. Every moment in the ocean is special, and so very peaceful.

Check out the new website design and please add a comment!  It's always great to hear from you.  

Had a great exhibition at "Silently 6" in Belgrade, Serbia.  You can view my portfolio on the home page here.  Very honored to be invited to participate and a huge Thank-you to all of the organizers.

Just a quick note:  Any of the photos here are available in high quality photo paper or printed on canvas. Drop me a note for prices if you are interested!  Thank-you to everyone who is currently displaying my work!

Testing out and learning how to use some new camera equipment and it is proving to be a bit of a challenge, but a real fun one.  Looking forward to some good results.

Have a great February everyone and please save our oceans!   They are the life blood of our planet.

Bill
​PADI 200462

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January Update from Sosua

2/1/2018

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Well, January has come and gone and despite a bit of rainy and stormy weather, we had some GREAT dives here on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic.  Enjoy the slideshow and see what you can experience here in our warm waters.  Loving the dual strobe set-up :)

​Was a busy month - be sure and check out the new items available in the store!  2018 calendars, tote bags and coffee mugs including the "magic mug" where the photo appears when you fill it with a warm beverage.

​Also, we have 13 x 19 photos professionally printed and mounted on foam board suitable for framing or display.  Any photo you see here can be processed!  Available only here in the DR and priced at $1200 RD or $25 US

Hope you had a fantastic start to the year and have a GREAT February

Save our Reefs


​Bill 


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Welcome to 2018

1/5/2018

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Well, finally an update not only to my blog but also to my website.  Added some new photos to the photo page!

Was a great year diving here in Sosua with my friends at Divecenter Merlin.  Met lots of new dive buddies and reconnected with a number of old ones.  Was lucky enough to spend a LOT of time in the water this past year.

The Coral Restoration Project however, took a major hit from Hurricane Irma, followed closely by Hurricane Maria.  We have since started to rebuild and repopulate the nurseries and will keep forging ahead.  Thanks again to all of our sponsors.

Looking forward to the diving in 2018 complete with some new camera equipment.  Never stop learning or experimenting!  Going to set a reminder to update the website and blog monthly!  Working on producing prints on high quality photo paper and mounted suitable for framing, a calendar for next year, and a coffee table book!

Have a fantastic 2018, enjoy every moment of it and I hope to see you in the water.

Save Our Reefs


Bill Passmore






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Summer in Sosua

8/14/2017

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Sousa in the summer.   Low season and the tourists are gone, the town is quiet, and the ocean is calm and clear.  The best time of our year to be out diving and enjoying the many wonders of our Atlantic paradise.

Been experimenting with all kinds of camera settings and lighting set-ups; some work and some look pretty bad!  We are however, learning every day.  We have started a monthly get together with a number of the photographers here on the N. Coast to share ideas and techniques so we all can learn and get better at our craft!

I am lucky to have had many good friends come to dive through these summer months.  It's always a pleasure to see each of you again, dive, and enjoy some island hospitality afterwards.

The coral project is going well with some new nurseries established, and some of the domes repopulated.  Many of the structures are really starting to become great examples of what is possible with a bit of work and determination.  Thanks to all our sponsors, especially Divecenter Merlin, for your on-going support.

Managed to get in a short road trip to Manzanillo and dive on an amazing wall in Haitian waters.  The corals are spectacular but sadly, due to overfishing, lack of regulations and enforcement of same, the fish life is almost non-existent.  On an excellent note, Robinson and his crew at Galleon Divers in Monte Cristi have a super conservation program going on with co-operation of the local fishermen.  Great to see!

A special thanks to Frank Genao for sharing a number of my photos on his facebook page: "Everything Cabarete  & Coconut Telegraph"

Take care, dive safely, and Save Our Reefs,


Bill Passmore

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March Highlights from Sosua

4/1/2017

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Hello from Sousa on the North coast of the Dominican Republic.  Turned out to be a busy and interesting month of March and as usual we have a short video of our diving highlights for you to enjoy.

Did the yearly trip to Las Vegas for the Nascar race at the start of the month and were lucky enough to be able to take in the wedding of our good friends Bob and Lisa at the Elvis Presley Wedding Chapel.  Had a a blast and will not forget that wedding.  Congrats to the happy couple

Back home to Sosua and got a couple dives in but then came down with a wicked illness.  Ending up losing 12 pounds in a week and pretty much was confined to bed for a few days.  All good now and back into the water.

Conditions have been a bit challenging due to the amount of rain and some storms but the ocean is starting to calm down now and the visibility is getting better.  The coral growth over the past month has been nothing short of incredible.  Photos coming in the next week!

Once again thanks to Divecenter Merlin and all our friends and fellow divers here in Sosua and across the rock!

Enjoy  the video and please Help Save Our Oceans


Bill
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The Diving is GREAT

3/6/2017

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Hello from Sosua, the capitol of diving here on the North coast of the beautiful Dominican Republic. 

After some wild storms that shifted a LOT of sand, the diving and the conditions are once again super here in our warm waters.  We've been lucky enough to have great friends from Canada and Germany join us - and help with the coral restoration project - and looking forward to more good friends joining us in a few weeks from the USA!

Finally got the website updated so be sure and check out the new gallery in my store!  Some great new photos form 2017!  On that note, a huge shout out to Ikelite for the excellent customer service and warranty on my camera housing.  Much appreciated.

Have to also extend a huge Thank-You to Divecenter Merlin Sosua for their on-going support of the Sosua Bay Rejuvenation Project, as well as to all our sponsors for your help.  The corals are looking good and the nursery is thriving.

Off to Las Vegas in a couple days to take in the NASCAR race and then back to the diving. 

Please leave a comment, say Hi, and THANKS, for helping to save our reefs


Bill


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Curacao 2016

10/23/2016

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Well, it's off on vacation! 

Enough of this diving diving in the morning, relaxing in the afternoon, and visiting my favorite watering hole in the evening!  Time to get on vacation for a week, dive in the morning, relax in the afternoon, and visit a watering hole in the evening!  

It's off to Curacao :)

After the bus ride, and the taxi, we had a great flight on PAWA Dominicana.  What other airline will the stewardesses give you a breast massage demonstration and they serve complimentary Rum and Cokes!  Gotta love it!

Day 1 in Curacao at Sunscape Resort was pretty laid back.  A sleep in and then did my check in at the dive shop.  All good.  Walked on down the beach quite a ways and did a little shopping, back to the resort for beverages and an excellent Italian dinner.

Day 2 started bright and early at Ocean Encounters dive shop!  Great people, great facility and a super dive boat!  2 excellent dives here today and then some relaxing on the beach!  Maybe some photos to follow! Off to shower and have dinner soon!

Going to be an excellent vacation!

Dive safe and save our reefs!


Bill
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