Peter Liu on the swimstep of the Vision after a dive. Photo by Kathy Becklin.

Before my wife and I moved to Maui from California’s Bay Area, I did a lot of scuba diving trips on the Truth Aquatics boats with my friends the Finstads in the majestic kelp forests of the Channel Islands. I thought it might be fun to share some photographs from those years, many of which were made with early, low resolution digital cameras.

I’ll never forget the feeling of awe I would get as I looked up through the tall stalks of kelp at the sunlight streaming through the canopies. No matter how many times I did the trip, each time was like the first.

On many occasions, I would simply hover with my camera in shallow water just under a thick kelp canopy and watch as the sun’s rays filtered through it. More often than not, if I stayed in one spot long enough, a group of sea lions would come by, or perhaps a reef shark. It’s a truly magical experience. I hope to get back there soon.