California Dreamin’

Images taken by Bob Evans, Kian Farin, Melissa Foo, Tianyi Lu & Marty Snyderman. Lead image: Billowing Channel Islands kelp forest by Melissa Foo.

🎶 Predive Clicklist: The Mamas & The Papas – California Dreamin’

“In my experience there is nothing like exploring kelp forest on a day when the weather and water conditions are favorable. Few sights in nature are as awe inspiring to me as watching simmering rays of sunlight dance through a golden forest and watching the whole forest move in perfect timing with the ebb and flow of waves, current, swell, and surge. It is magical.”—Marty Snyderman

“Think of diving in a kelp forest the same as hiking beneath California’s great redwood forests. The way in which the kelp sways in the swells is like boughs of trees in the wind. Look up, and take inspiration from John Muir, who said “In every walk with (kick through?) nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”—Bob Evans

“The biggest misconception about CA diving? That the oil platforms are bad for the environment. The platforms are like a kelp forest, a canopy that offers marine life shadows to hide from predators. Like a rocky reef, the structures are an anchor through which open ocean water flows by. Food is abundant. Life optimized for different depths, deep water through tidal zones, aggregates and propagates. It also seeds the channel. The platforms are more productive than any reef remaining in the world.”—Bob Evans 

“There’s so much amazing variety in marine life and underwater seascapes. Depending on the location, season and conditions you could see anything from the tiniest grain-of-rice-sized nudibranchs to towering 100ft stands of kelp forest.”—Melissa Foo 

“The biggest misconception, if any, about CA diving? That California and other temperate water area lacks color and variety,”—Marty Snyderman 

“When it comes to animals, it is behavior that gets my attention. I love the challenges involved in capturing behaviors. So, whether it is nudibranchs, whales, or anything in between, when I have a chance to photograph interesting behavior, I am as happy as I can be.”—Marty Snyderman

“I really feel like California is an amazing diving destination for those who are prepared for the conditions and colder water. CA has such a unique range of marine life – from teeny tiny creatures to occasional big pelagic life, majestic kelp forests, and of course, wrecks and all kinds of reef structure that are at recreational depths. Annual crazy squid runs and sea lions and harbor seals. I’m never leaving. LOL!”—Melissa Foo

DIVE DEEPER

Bob Evans, MS, is a visionary, artist, underwater photographer, and designer. He has been awarded more than 30 patents, the most recent for desalinating ocean water at depths, where hydrostatic pressure powers reverse osmosis. His inspiration was a 16 mm camera housing which flooded at 120 ft photographing marine life below Platform Hondo, where he installed an Ocean Observatory. Bob is most known as developer of Force Fin, in its many variations. His Tan Delta Force Fin is part of the permanent collections of the New York Museum of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Force Fin OPS was chosen as a “Time Magazine Innovation of the Year.” His work photo-documenting life on oil platforms, “Marine Megatropolis” is currently on exhibit at the Santa Barbara Airport. He is Former President and Director for the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences, for which he was awarded a NOGI. He is also a Beneath the Sea, “Diver of the Year” (Science).

Zen Dive Co. co-owner and training director, Kian Farin is a PADI and NAUI instructor with a passion for the underwater world. He is a volunteer at the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber, and a former wildland firefighter. He has 10 years of experience diving in Southern California and growing the dive community by training new divers and fostering the desire to explore the underwater world. He’s been working in diving since he was 15 years old. Kian is a technical and cave diver with over 2000+ dives, the majority of which are here in Southern California. He has worked as a diver and a consultant for Disney, HBO, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic, amongst others. He is most at home cruising the kelp forests of the Channel Islands with his trusty Nikonos V in hand. When the SCUBA gear comes off, you can find him freediving or surfing our local beaches. Find his photos at: Instagram.com/kianfarin 

Melissa Foo is a recreational diver based in San Diego, California who dabbles in underwater photography. A nudibranch nerd, she can be often found chasing underwater sunbeams and critter-spotting in the local kelp forests. She started diving in Taiwan many years ago. Since then she has been diving all around the world, and still believes California is one of the most rewarding places to dive when conditions are good! Her California dreaming list includes meditative sunlit moments under the golden kelp canopy, playful sea lion puppies in the autumn, and the magic of the Channel Islands on a sunny winter’s day. She posts her photos at: Instagram.com/melissa_foo_

Tianyi Lu is a technical/cave diver based in Orange County, California. Tianyi first discovered diving living in a landlocked state (Colorado) in 2019 and moved to California shortly thereafter. Tianyi is also a photography enthusiast, and regularly participates in Ghost Diving USA missions in the Los Angeles area, as both a cleanup diver as well as a photographer and videographer to document the missions and raise public awareness of the team’s efforts. Tianyi is a GUE CCR2 and Cave 2 diver. See his photos at: instagram.com/tianyi.lu