Nemo, my underwater drone

HiloHawaiian · Mar 11, 2018

It's taped to the end of a bamboo pole!

Cori · Mar 11, 2018

Hilo, What camera are you shooting with?
Are you using a red filter?
Your video looks great!
Good job

Squirrel! · Mar 11, 2018

So cool! CRUSH!

KentA · Mar 12, 2018

Please do show us how you did that!

rkyleh · Mar 12, 2018

Wow that was great. Yah more details please.

Jagerbomb52 · Mar 12, 2018

I can't hold my breath that long

Great video. What camera and settings. I have a Git2 action cam, knock off of a GoPro and it takes decent underwater video in a clear lake.

HiloHawaiian · Mar 12, 2018

Agustine said:
I can't hold my breath that long
Great video. What camera and settings. I have a Git2 action cam, knock off of a GoPro and it takes decent underwater video in a clear lake.

LOL, I use this Sony Action camera, comes with great underwater case -- got it half-price on Craigslist. Great camera. Default settings (4k, hi-code), color corrected in Apple iMove. I used it on a selfie-stick pole for awhile, but the water is so rough, w/rip currents & such it was too hard to keep steady. So, most of this is hand-held, strap around neck, at arm's length with steady-cam on. I use a full-face snorkel mask so I can see clearly, they never fog, no mouthpiece!

Some turtles get very used to me, (2-3' close) especially the big ones. They're 50-60 lbs, can appear out of nowhere, and scare the ever-lovin' crap out of you. You can distinguish them by the marks on the shells. One guy, Big Mac, always finds me and gets REALLY close. He's the one who swam right in front of me at the 3 min. mark. They have the brain the size of a turkey's, but seem oddly comfortable swimming VERY close to me.... I have no explanation for it --

Jagerbomb52 · Mar 12, 2018

Very cool. The only turtles we have around here that are of any size are these snapping turtles. You don't want to stick your fingers close to them lol
This guys was heading for my swimming pool on a hot summer day

HiloHawaiian · Mar 12, 2018

Agustine said:
Very cool. The only turtles we have around here that are of any size are these snapping turtles. You don't want to stick your fingers close to them lol
This guys was heading for my swimming pool on a hot summer day

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Yea, I’ve heard those guys can snap a finger! Powerful jaws. Sea Turtles eat algae off rocks. You can hear the grinding sound. I think if I tried to stick a finger in Big Mac’s mouth, he’d just back away. Big Island is too young for big beaches or coral reefs to block the Pacific.
Nobody will go with me out where the big turtles are. I don’t use flippers. I use fly-fishing boots, thick gloves, full wetsuit, to bounce around the rocks with them. I’m bloodied often, so I watch for sharks — they love turtles too. In and around big rocks close to the rough shoreline, sharks stay away, they’re too fragile. Big Mac hit me once chest-to-chest pretty hard. It was ridiculously rough, a high surf advisory was in affect. He circled back, as if to see if I was OK, almost like a pet! I edited that out, for fear some idiot would think I was abusing them. For the record, Mac hit me, LOL

Squirrel! · Mar 12, 2018

You are truly blessed to be able to have this in your backyard.

KentA · Mar 12, 2018

There are snapping turtles here too, but I'm confident they're easier to escape than sharks.

HiloHawaiian · Mar 12, 2018

Squirrel! said:
You are truly blessed to be able to have this in your backyard.

Thanks, yes and no. Hawaii is my home state, and always will occupy a warm place in my heart. But, it’s changed a lot, and not for the better........It is a great place to visit, living there is a different story altogether. It’s a very poor state, addicted to tourism. It’s a one party state which leads to high levels of corruption at every level. High taxes, high cost of living, low wages, electricity 3X higher, terrible infrastructure, terrible business environment, high construction costs, abysmally awful schools graduating kids that can only speak pidgin.

Yes it’s pretty. Yes it’s great for outdoor activities. Great, sometimes wild weather. If you live in a nice area, it’s truly wonderful. Those good spots are vanishing, b/c of helicopter overflights, 365 days a year, getting worse each year.

It’s so bad, you can easily hear helicopters while underwater! I turned off the mic so my ocean videos wouldn’t sound like an airport! We are seriously considering moving to Arizona, but not near the Grand Canyon, they’re #2 on the helicopter invasion list, but a distant 2nd to the Big Island.