Ron in Depth

Ron in Depth Sharing images and video clips of Vancouver Island & British Columbia the best way I know how.

Join my underwater adventures — and the creatures you never knew existed.

Red Irish Lord .. Hemilepidotus hemilepidotusA carnivore in the truest sense.Its body is exactly as you see it .. broad,...
09/07/2026

Red Irish Lord .. Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus

A carnivore in the truest sense.

Its body is exactly as you see it .. broad, powerful and perfectly suited to life on the bottom. Those huge eyes take in everything around them, while those enormous pectoral fins can take this fish from zero to triumph in milliseconds. And that remarkably large mouth is ready to engulf an unsuspecting passerby .. dinner, as far as the fish is concerned .. in an instant.

I have actually been on the receiving end of one of these fish .. I moved in a little too close to a guarded egg mass, and one particularly unimpressed Red Irish Lord delivered a very well-placed thud directly into my midsection.

Message received. 😂

Their coloration is just as remarkable.

A I have mentioned previously, The red light spectrum disappears quickly as one descends, so at depth these fish can become dark, muted and surprisingly easy to overlook.

Look past the colour for a moment and you can see just how perfectly that body disappears into the reef around it.

Then our lights come on.

Suddenly that nearly invisible fish becomes something regal .. deep reds, brilliant pinks, oranges and intricate patterns exploding into view.

Sometimes the most spectacular creatures are sitting right in front of you..

waiting for a little light.

Seriously glad these fish aren’t a few feet longer .. otherwise the menu might include the odd diver. Turn around to locate your buddy and all you’d see is a smile and a few air bubbles passing through its gill slits. 😂

Ron in Depth
Ocean fresh images from last night at Ten Mile Point with Dive buddy Sonya, thanks for yet another wonderful dive in a magical place :)

08/02/2026

It never ceases to amaze me just how much biodiversity exists beneath the surface. Most people think of whales, sea lions and giant octopus when they picture the ocean. Me? I can spend twenty minutes chasing a jelly that's barely bigger than my thumb.

Most divers swim right past these tiny worlds, but when you slow down and really look, an entirely different ocean reveals itself. When the light catches these little jellies, they almost seem to shine back at you, revealing incredible colours, delicate patterns and a world that is so easily overlooked.

These little jellies are some of my favourite subjects. They're rarely travelling alone. Tiny isopods, juvenile shrimp and other hitchhikers use these drifting jellies as a place to ride, feed and hide—nature's own miniature transit system. Whether the jelly benefits from the arrangement or simply tolerates its passengers, it's a fascinating glimpse into the relationships that exist in the plankton.

Every dive reminds me that the ocean isn't just big... it's incredibly detailed. Some of the most incredible wildlife I encounter is measured in millimetres, not metres. The more I look, the more I realize I've only scratched the surface.

It never ceases to amaze me just how much biodiversity exists beneath the surface. Most people think of whales, sea lion...
08/02/2026

It never ceases to amaze me just how much biodiversity exists beneath the surface. Most people think of whales, sea lions and giant octopus when they picture the ocean. Me? I can spend twenty minutes chasing a jelly that's barely bigger than my thumb.

Most divers swim right past these tiny worlds, but when you slow down and really look, an entirely different ocean reveals itself. When the light catches these little jellies, they almost seem to shine back at you, revealing incredible colours, delicate patterns and a world that is so easily overlooked.

These little jellies are some of my favourite subjects. They're rarely travelling alone. Tiny isopods, juvenile shrimp and other hitchhikers use these drifting jellies as a place to ride, feed and hide—nature's own miniature transit system. Whether the jelly benefits from the arrangement or simply tolerates its passengers, it's a fascinating glimpse into the relationships that exist in the plankton.

Every dive reminds me that the ocean isn't just big... it's incredibly detailed. Some of the most incredible wildlife I encounter is measured in millimetres, not metres. The more I look, the more I realize I've only scratched the surface.

I am smiling :) The business end of a Ling Cod. Look at those chompers.
07/22/2026

I am smiling :) The business end of a Ling Cod. Look at those chompers.

07/20/2026

MB Ripples

Sometimes all it takes is a change in perspective.

As I hovered the drone over McKenzie Bight before our dive, I found myself watching the surface instead of what lay beneath it.

The ocean was steadily pushing from right to left. Then came the first expanding ripples as the divers entered the water. Moments later, a second pattern emerged as they swam toward deeper water. Overhead, the clouds reflected across the sea, adding texture and movement of their own.

Three different stories were unfolding at once, each leaving its own signature on the water.

Watch this one a couple of times. The first viewing catches the beauty. The second begins to reveal the layers. There's a lot more happening here than first meets the eye.

Simple... yet endlessly fascinating.

— Ron in Depth

We went down on a one very very small nudibranch quest this morning at Henderson... and came back with an entirely diffe...
07/14/2026

We went down on a one very very small nudibranch quest this morning at Henderson... and came back with an entirely different story.

That's one of the things I love most about diving. You can have a plan, but the reef often has one of its own.

We were diving Henderson Point in Saanich Inlet today. I was very focused on photographing Branched Dendronotids in one ...
07/13/2026

We were diving Henderson Point in Saanich Inlet today. I was very focused on photographing Branched Dendronotids in one small area with great success (the orange nudibranch in the foreground).

When I got home and started reviewing the images, I noticed this tiny nudibranch in the background that I completely overlooked underwater. Not uncommon to not see something cool and go damn, Wish I saw that then darnnit

It's approximately 1 cm long and this is about as far as I can crop the image before the quality starts to fall apart.

My first thought was that it might be an aeolid, but after looking at it more closely I'm no longer sure.

Does anyone recognize what species this might be? I'd appreciate any thoughts or ideas.

Just a little splash of color before night took over.
07/12/2026

Just a little splash of color before night took over.

06/23/2026

Willis Point today. Giant California Sea Cucumber was in rough shape. Looks like its upper skin is no longer part of the body. Any insights ? Was told there were a few others like it in the area yesterday. Reminiscent of the wasting disease the Sun Stars went through a few years back

06/17/2026

Juvenile Fried Egg Jelly making its way through the early stages of life before growing into a much larger predator in our local waters. Hitchhikers have already found a free ride, with tiny isopods riding atop its bell as the ocean's buffet drifts by with every pulse of the jelly.

The yellow blobs drifting past are what us divers lovingly refer to as "whale snot" – dead and dying phytoplankton, along with other organic material, sinking through the water column as marine snow. Eventually, it will reach the seafloor where countless scavengers, including squat lobsters, help recycle these nutrients back into the ecosystem.

It's a cycle of life that divers have a love-hate relationship with. On one hand, it can turn our underwater visibility into a backscatter-filled mess. On the other, it's often a sign of a productive ocean and a reminder that clearer waters are usually just around the corner.

Nature has a way of making sure nothing goes to waste.

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