Latest News 2017
21st December – 2nd January 2018
A return to our beloved Bandos in the Maldives. Though suffering with the “fringes of colds”, we still managed to get plenty of dives done, with the highlight being a Guitar Shark on a “dusk dive” at the Stingray City site.
12th December
A visit to the Bristol Underwater Photography Group in Bristol.
8th December
Jeremy’s Blue Sharks feature appears in Scuba Diver Magazine. Amanda’s Blenny image from Grenada also makes another appearance. Also, our 2018 Diving Dreams Calendar is given coverage.
6th December
The British Society Of Underwater Photographers (BSOUP) publish details of our 2018 Diving Dreams Calendar.
6th December
Compiling & sending images to the Nautilus Project, based in Gibraltar.
3rd – 4th December
Completing the Bali feature for Scuba Diver magazine.
24th – 26th November
A motorcycle ride to north Devon for a friend’s birthday. The route took in Bruton, Castle Cary, Somerton, Langport, Taunton, Milverton, Wiveliscombe, Bampton, Brendon Hills/Wheddon Cross, Dunster, Minehead, Porlock, Lynton/Lynmouth, Combe Martin, Ilfracombe, Combe Martin, Lynton/Lynmouth, Exford, Wheddon Cross, Taunton, Othery, Street, Somerton, Castle Cary, Bruton, Zeals and Mere.
24th November
new Diving Dreams 2018 Calendars arrive from the printers.
17th – 18th November
An overnighter in London.
14th November
Scuba Diver Magazine features our Diving Dreams 2018 Calendar on their website.
14th November
A visit to the Bristol Underwater Photography Group in Bristol.
13th – 19th November
Sporadic bouts of feature writing.
13th November
Jeremy’s Turks & Caicos feature appears in Scuba Diver Magazine. Amanda’s Blenny image from Grenada also appears.
11th – 12th November
Feature writing for Scuba Diver – Studland Bay & Bali.
10th – 11th November
An overnight stay in London.
4th – 5th November
A whistlestop trip to stay a night in Birmingham.
1st – 2nd November
Feature writing and collating – Studland Bay & Bali.
29th October
A mixed day of organising, writing, sorting and shopping. The writing included web content, calendar captions and features. The shopping included purchasing a new long lens, predominantly to get into some wildlife photography.
17th – 24th October
A visit to the American Formula 1 Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
Flying into Houston and transferring to Austin by road, we had a couple of days to see a bit of Austin including the lively 6th Street, the “So Co” area, the Capitol Building, the Blanton Museum of Art, the Bullock Texas State History Museum and chance to see the remarkable bat population (more than a million of them) that resides beneath a bridge over the river in downtown.
We then enjoyed two good days at the Circuit of the Americas to watch the American Formula One Grand Prix.
Over the few days, there was a chance to wield the camera a bit.
16th October
One of Amanda’s images is used in a Scuba Diver Magazine Grenada advertisement.
15th October
A visit to Langford Lakes, a nature reserve operated by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.
13th – 14th October
A flying visit to London, staying in the Covent Garden area, with an evening visit to Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club.
10th October
A visit to the Bristol Underwater Photography Group in Bristol.
7th – 8th October
Some magazine writing, mainly completing the Blue Sharks feature for Scuba Diver Magazine.
29th September – 1st October
A weekend in London, staying in the North Greenwich area (with views towards Canary Wharf), including visits to Greenwich “village” and central London. A chance for a few “grab shots”.
25th September
Working on a Turks & Caicos Islands dive feature for Scuba Diver UK magazine.
24th September
Collating & typing up notes on the Blue Shark trip, and motorcycling in the North East and Pennines.
22nd – 23rd September
quick overnighter to London, staying in the Covent Garden area.
21st September
Jeremy’s Bouley Bay image makes the cover of Jersey’s Trinity Tattler magazine. Other pictures were also published inside.
14th – 30th September
Writing three features for Scuba Diver Magazine – Studland in the UK, Blue Sharks in Cornwall and Bali.
13th September
Scuba Diver Magazine arrives, featuring two of Jeremy’s articles – Hawaii’s Kona Coast and Babbacombe in the UK. Also, Amanda’s Blenny image illustrates a Grenada feature.
6th – 11th September
– A motorcycle odyssey to the North East, southern Scotland and the Pennines on the new R1200 GS Adventure.
Overnight stays at Oakham (next to Rutland Water), Staithes, Eyemouth, Hawes and Matlock.
A huge number of places passed through, seen & visited – including Alton, Newbury, Basingstoke, Wantage, Witney, Chipping Norton, Banbury, Daventry, Lutterworth, Market Harborough, Uppingham, Oakham, Rutland Water, Stamford, Bourne, Spalding, Boston, Skegness, Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve, Mablethorpe, Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Immingham, Humber Bridge, Hull, Spurn Head National Nature Reserve, Withernsea, Hornsea, Bridlington, Flamborough Head, Filey, Scarborough, Robin Hood’s Bay, Whitby, Staithes, Saltburn, Skelton, Marske By The Sea, Redcar, Middlesborough, Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, Easington, Seaham, Sunderland, Roker, South Shields, Tyne Tunnel, Tynemouth, Whitley Bay, Blyth, Newbiggin On Sea, Lynemouth, Amble, Alnmouth, Lesbury, Boulmer, Craster, Seahouses, Bamburgh, Lindisfarne, Berwick On Tweed, St. Abbs, Eyemouth, Duns, Coldstream, Kelso, Galashiels, Innerlethun, Hawick, Kielder Forest Trail, Bellingham, Hamshaugh, Hadrian’s Wall, Greenhead, Brampton, Alston, Middleton in Teesdale, Brough, Tan Hill, Hawes, Garsdale Head, Settle, Long Preston, Trough of Bowland, Clitheroe, Burnley, Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Ripponden, Saddleworth, Denshaw, Delph, Holmfirth, Glossop, Castleton, Edale, Winnats Pass, Sparrowpit, Bakewell, Matlock, Wirksworth, Ashbourne, Utoxeter, Burton On Trent, Towcester, Silverstone, Brackley, Aynho, Deddington, Chipping Norton, Stow On The Wold, Burford, Lechlade On Thames, Highworth, Shrivenham, Lambourn, Hungerford, Burbage, Pewsey, Upavon, Amesbury & Tilshead.
Lots of other places seen, roads travelled and loops looped!
An epic ride! 1510 miles covered.
6th September
First service for the new BMW GS1200 Adventure Te at Bahnstormer in Alton & ready for a few days of motorcycling.
4th September
An afternoon ride on the new machine – a rough loop to get some mileage ahead of the first service. The journey took me via Frome, Shepton Mallet, Somerton, Langport, Taunton, Exeter, Honiton, Axminster, Chard, Crewkerne and back up the “303”.
1st – 3rd September
A visit Penzance in Cornwall for another Blue Shark trip with Charles Hood.
This time there was no seasickness & we enjoyed a good day.
The “vibe” was different this time – less sharks (we think) than the previous year, but a very good encounter with a larger specimen later in the day. Everyone was buzzed. Some good images captured.
1st September
Collecting my new BMW GS1200 Adventure Te from Bahnstormer in Alton.
I then went on a “bonding” ride to get familiar with the new steed, taking in Alton, Hindhead, Haslemere, Godalming, Petworth and Chichester. Then onto the south coast road heading east across the top of Portsmouth and Southampton and into the New Forest across to Fordingbridge. Then to Blandford, Shaftesbury, Gillingham, Mere, Wylye and home.
28th August
A visit to the Blashford Lakes nature reserve between Fordingbridge and Ringwood. A place to return to, we decided.
26th – 27th August
Getting straight from the Bali trip and packing for the “Blue Sharks” trip to Penzance in Cornwall.
18th – 21st August
Assisting Scuba Diver Magazine with some images, including a Grenada supplement.
30th July – 18th August
An excellent summer trip to Bali and Singapore.
After journeying straight out to Bali, the serenity of the Scuba Seraya Dive Resort at Tulamben was just what we needed.
We had a great stay here, with plenty of great diving and enjoyable photography with our guide Paing, who was excellent. The highlight was a Mimic Octopus encounter, but we also enjoyed plenty of other “critter encounters” as well as the Liberty Wreck.
Whilst at Scuba Seraya, we found a copy of Action Diver with Zac featuring on the cover (taken a few years back on the Cayman Aggressor) – a nice surprise!
We were sad to leave Scuba Seraya, but enjoyed our stay at the Bloo Lagoon Resort set above Padangbai from where we would dive with Aquamarine in the Nusa Penida area looking for Mola Mola and Mantas. We got a Mola Mola encounter, which was our aim (we were all ecstatic) and enjoyed the Mantas at Manta Point. The sea snakes were pretty impressive here as well.
Our last night in Bali was in Kuta, staying at the Hard Rock Hotel, which is something Zac wanted to do (though it didn’t seem like Bali).
After Bali, we enjoyed three nights in Singapore, visiting the Marina Bay Sands “Boat”, the ArtScience Museum and the spectacular Gardens by the Bay.
29th July
After 11 years of riding my BMW R1200 GS Adventure, it’s time to replace it with a newer version of the same bike, which I’ve ordered from Bahnstormer in Alton.
22nd July
Our 2nd Subal D7200 housing arrives. Our upgrade from the D200 is now complete!
14th July
3rd Nikon D7200 arrives.
18th – 29th July
Sporadically working on two features (Babbacombe in Devon and the Kona Coast of Hawaii!) for the Scuba Diver UK magazine, set up by former Sport Diver editor Mark Evans.
14th – 16th July
Our annual pilgrimage to the British Formula One Grand Prix at Silverstone.
8th – 9th July
An overnight in Twickenham, London.
7th July
A visit to Cameras Underwater in Ottery St Mary (Devon), to sort out our second Subal D7200 housing.
5th July
A visit to Stonar School, for a pool session with the D7200.
28th June
The first of what I hope will be a regular pool session routine at Stonar School – I took along some plastic flowers and an eel!
27th June
Our Subal 40mm port arrives from Cameras Underwater.
23rd – 25th June
A weekend in London staying at the bustling Camden Lock.
16th – 18th June
A weekend in Dorset, staying at a campsite near Corfe.
The purpose of the weekend was to try some dives in Studland Bay. They were the shallowest dives ever!
It also coincided with a heatwave, so it was crazily busy, and also quite weird to be kitting up and entering/exiting the water amongst throngs of families and bathers.
The dives were interesting & I took some images. Not stunning, but worthwhile.
It was a good call to rent a beach hut for the weekend from the National Trust.
9th – 11th June
A visit to Alton Towers (staying in nearby Alton) and the Wedgewood Factory where Amanda had a go at some pottery. A bit of contrast this weekend! I took the camera but didn’t use it much.
2nd – 4th June
Exploring some little known (to me) areas of the South Downs & Kent by motorcycle.
Heading out over Salisbury Plain, the outward ride took in Stockbridge, Winchester, Petersfield, Haslemere, Petworth, Wisborough Green (a tea stop!), Billingshurst, Cowfold, Haywards Heath, Uckfield, Crowborough, Wadhurst, Ticehurst, Tenterden, Ashford and Canterbury (my base for the weekend).
On the Saturday, I dedicated the morning to a visit to Blean Woods (two areas) in search of the incredibly rare Heath Fritillary butterfly which I’d never seen – East Blean Woods came up trumps. In the afternoon, the two wheeled explorations included Faversham, Sittingbourne and the “Medway towns” of Gillingham, Chatham and Rochester followed by a visit to the “end of the road” at Grain (on the Isle of Grain). The return leg to Canterbury included at detour onto the Isle of Sheppey visiting Sheerness and Leysdown on Sea.
The return leg from Canterbury was “coastal” taking in Seasalter, Whitstable, Herne Bay, Reculver, Westgate on Sea, Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate, Sandwich, Deal (for a cockles and a cupcake lunch), St. Margarets Cliffe, Dover, Folkestone, Sandgate, Hythe, Dymchurch and the Romney Marsh to Rye. Then, it was heading inland to Battle, Hailsham, Lewes, Ditchling, Albourne, Storrington, Pulborough and Petworth ready for the final push towards home through Midhurst, Petersfield and Winchester. At Stockbridge, the biking came to a premature end; I’d been nursing a slow puncture all day which then turned into a full on deflation. Thus the weekend ended in the Three Cups Inn where I decamped whilst I waited for Amanda to recover me. The following evening, I recovered the bike.
26th – 29th May
A visit to the curious British “enclave” of Gibraltar.
On the flight out, some sea fog meant that we were diverted to Malaga in Spain, so we lost a few hours, but at least we got there – other flights that weekend were cancelled.
Once there, we had a nice stay, wandering through the town and getting a chance to go up onto “the Rock”.
The weekend allowed for some street snapping.
21st May
A short try out of the new 40mm macro lens at Cotley Hill SSSI, with images of Marsh Fritillary and Brown Argus.
Later, a quick rideout on the R1200 Adventure around the edges of Salisbury Plain.
20th – 21st May
A bit of sorting out of kit, cameras & notes – for the website, for features and for the next diving trip to Studland in June.
12th – 14th May
A weekend diving at the “cuttlefish hotspot” of Babbacombe Bay near Torquay in Devon.
Though we missed the “peak” of the cuttlefish season (possibly by 2-3 weeks – it’s not an exact science!), we enjoyed good conditions. A nice weekend to start the season.
5th – 7th May
A stay (in a Shepherds Hit) at the excellent Elmley National Nature Reserve on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. Though very cold for the time of year, we enjoyed a long walk to the Spit End Hide and over the course of the weekend, ticked off some great wildlife sightings – mostly birds. We also journeyed out for some pub grub at a nice little village at the end of a road called Conyer. Highly recommended!
1st – 2nd May
A “non motorway” motorcycle road to London, taking in the Salisbury Plain areas of Chitterne, Tilshead, Orcheston, Shrewton, Larkhill, Durrington, Bulford and Tidworth, then onto Ludgershall (a place I don’t remember ever visiting – done it now), Andover, Whitchurch, Overton, Basingstoke, Hook, Hartley Wintney (I remembered once getting very drunk with some friends in the pub next to the village green!), Camberley, Sunningdale, the Royal town of Windsor, Runnymede and routes along the Thames into London past Heathrow, Hammersmith, Kensington, Piccadilly Circus to arrive in my destination of Drury Lane.
I reason for being in London was to catch some jazz at Ronnie Scotts (Matthew Halsall), but I planned it to arrive in the early afternoon, so I could catch up on some website items and notes (including this!). On Tuesday morning, I would head the direct route home.
30th April
A visit to the Thruxton Kart Circuit to watch Zac compete in the schools karting event. He won a race, which was great, though it was a pity that his team missed the national finals by 1 place overall.
29th April
Various preparation, battery/strobe charging and some packing for upcoming “things” – namely London by motorcycle, Elmley Nature Reserve and diving at Babbacombe.
21st – 23rd April
A weekend in Brighton, staying at the music themed Pelirocco Hotel. The reason is a friend’s significant birthday! On the Saturday, a chance for some “street photography”.
7th – 21st April
– A visit to the volcanic Caribbean Island of Montserrat, via the nearby “hub” island of Antigua.
On Montserrat, we stayed at the magically peaceful Gingerbread Hill, with elevated views over the Caribbean towards Redonda (a volcanic remnant) and Nevis in the further distance.
Whilst on the island, we visited the volcanic “exclusion zone” and were able to get into the ruined and abandoned city of Plymouth (destroyed by pyroclastic flows and mudslides). We also got a sneak peek at the derelict Air Studios and called into the Montserrat Volcano Observatory on a couple of occasions. We also took a drive on the eastern side of the island (largely uninhabited) to Jack Boy Hill (with great views of the “new” land).
In terms of scuba diving, we enjoyed several days of dives with Andrew of Scuba Montserrat, who guided us on some enjoyable dives to some nice sites including Little Redonda (on the Atlantic side), Sea Studios, Sunshine Boulders and Bat Cave (where you can swim in, surface and look up to see hundreds (maybe thousands) of bats.
Other highlights were trekking with the islands premier naturalist “Scriber” where we were able to see the endemic and endangered Montserrat Oriole on the (you guessed it) Oriole Trail, visits to Hanks Beach Bar, Little Bay, Bunkum Bay and some of the local eateries such as the Hilltop Coffee House, Lava Java, Tina’s and the Olveston Estate (there’s a restaurant in Beatles producer and Air Studios founder George Martins old house)
3rd -7th April
Packing for Montserrat & working sporadically on the website.
31st March – 2nd April
A weekend visit to Bristol.
24th – 26th March
– Motorcycling and exploring in Devon, Dorset and Somerset (mostly in Devon!). I stayed for two nights at the excellent Hope Cove near Salcombe and on the Saturday took in Kingsbridge, Torcross, Slapton Sands, Dartmouth, Kingswear, Brixham, Paignton, Torquay, Babbacombe and the excellent RSPB reserve at Labrador Bay where I was able to see the endangered Cirl Bunting followed by a quick trip to Teignmouth before returning to Hope Cove.
On the Sunday, I largely retraced my ride to Teignmouth with the added detour of Prawle Point (a very remote spot) before heading on to Dawlish, Dawlish Warren, the fringes of Exeter, Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton, Sidmouth, Lyme Regis, West Bay, Burton Bradstock, Abbotsbury, Weymouth and Portland. The final leg home was via Dorchester and Cerne Abbas (home of the naked hillside giant). Whilst in Babbacombe on the Saturday, I was able to suss out an upcoming dive weekend in Babbacombe Bay and over the whole weekend it was “an experiment” in motorcycle photojournalism.
21st – 23rd March
A flying visit (in both senses) to the Hungarian capital of Budapest – in beautiful spring weather. A chance for a bit of “street photography”.
18th – 19th March
An overnight stay in Bristol, followed by a quick visit to Weymouth to check out the painting of Globe Cottage.
14th March
A visit to the monthly Bristol Underwater Photography Group meeting.
17th March
Agreement with Darren at Impact Digital Design in Frome to create the new JA Universe website.
13th – 14th March
An overnight stay in London, for some jazz at Ronnie Scotts
12th March
A visit to the excellent Ham Wall RSPB reserve on the Somerset Levels, near Glastonbury. Not much photography, but we were lucky to see two Bitterns!
11th March
Spring is in the air! A 75 mile circuit on the R1200 GS, around the edge of Salisbury Plain taking in Westbury White Horse, Erlestoke, Devizes, Avebury, Marlborough, Pewsey, Upavon, Larkhill and Tilshead.
3rd – 5th March
A “birthday” weekend in London taking in music, a meal at the Hutong restaurant at the Shard and general sightseeing.
24th – 26th February
A weekend at the coast staying in Bournemouth. A chance for some fresh air and photography, mainly concentrating on a few ideas concerned with depth of field.
18th February
A visit to the Garston Wood RSPB Reserve, and a quick check out of the Martin Down National Nature Reserve to look for the first emergence of adders (though it was warm enough, I didn’t see any – probably too late in the day). A chance for a bit of photography, but mostly I looked through binoculars.
12th February
A chilly visit to the Wareham Forest, especially in the Morden Bog National Nature Reserve area. A chance for a bit of photography.
10th – 11th February
An overnight stay in Bristol, close to the Park Street area. Interesting gig at the IMAX (Factory Floor & Not Waving) and a bit of time in the Park Street area.
7th February
A good conversation about possible contributions to former Sport Diver editor Mark Evan’s new magazine, Scuba Diver.
29th – 30th January
An overnight stay in the Greenwich area of London, close to the 02 Arena.
20th – 22nd January
A stay at Pinewood Lodge in Bournemouth combined with an underwater photography day with Martin Edge. More photography on the Sunday at Studland.
30th January
Completing a new supplement of underwater and dive lifestyle images called “Shots”.
16th January
One of Jeremy’s Cover Shots makes the “cover shot montage” of what (out of the blue) turns out to be the very last Sport Diver Magazine.
15th January
A flying visit to Weymouth to sort out a few more items at Globe Cottage.
6th – 8th January
A visit Weymouth to sort out a few things at Globe Cottage for the new season. A chance to visit the nearby Radipole RSPB reserve.