Kirkland resident Marek Skoczylas doesn’t just have fish stories from his time spent scuba diving in Puget Sound – he’s got the photos to prove it.

Among his encounters with sea creatures and other marine life was with a Stellar sea lion, whose only predators are killer whales and sharks, that harassed him 90 feet under the water off Possession Point Park on Whidbey Island, an encounter which Skoczylas also documented with his camera.

In recent years, his marine adventures were endangered not by hostile sea creatures or treacherous currents but by poor vision. However, after years of surgeries, self-testing and researching on his own, a doctor was finally able to correct his eyes to the point where even though he still wears contacts or glasses, he is able to function without them.

Originally from Poland, Skoczylas said he always had a passion for documenting underwater environments, going to nearby rivers as a child with whatever camera he could find. He eventually moved to Australia, then to the United States in 2000, and has citizenship in all three countries. He originally worked in the telecommunications industry for 20 years, which left little time for him to pursue his hobby. He would occasionally take photographs while snorkeling and diving with point-and-click cameras. Despite the simplicity of the cameras he used, he recalled he was still able to get good photos, though he eventually bought a digital camera in 2007. However, it would be years before he would actually use it following his decision to retire, roughly three years ago.

Skoczylas turned from snorkeling to scuba diving, which he compared to switching from riding a mountain bike to driving a Cadillac. No longer worried about holdinghis breath, or controlling his exhaling while trying to take a photo, he also didn’t have to be as concerned about people on the surface except when diving and resurfacing. Diving throughout Puget Sound, Skoczylas posts his photos and observations of his adventures on sites like the Northwest Dive Club. Among his photographs are various species of eels, starfish, crabs, even cormorants diving underwater. He also noted the vast kaleidoscope of colors found below the Skoczylas surface.

“This is one of the most diverse ecosystems and most beautiful,” he remarked. “There’s so many exciting things.”

Despite diving during the day, he said he’s also able to photograph nocturnal sea animals, like octopus, because sunlight is unable to reach the lower depths of the Sound, even though about 50-60 feet down Skoczylas said the water clears up.

Along the way he’s had a few close calls, chief amongst them the encounter with the Stellar sea lion, which he described as a humbling experience. Although it didn’t attack him physically, the sea lion bounced around him and stirred up silt, indicating a hostility that was unsettling coming from nine-foot long creature between 700-1,200 pounds that had not only better peripheral vision than he, but as a marine animal could easily out maneuver him in the water if it decided to attack – though it never did.

What made the encounter particularly problematic, he said, was that it occurred shortly after he began scuba diving and that he is not very knowledgable about sea lions. Rather than look away, he looked the sea lion in the face, kept his strobe lights on, and had a hard time controlling his breathing and air bubbles, all of which provoke such sea lions.

“The great thing is I’ve lived to tell the tale,” he said.

Fortunately, most of his encounters with animals, such as the spiny dogfish shark, have been far more amicable, particularly harbor seals whose behavior he scribed as akin to puppies.

Skoczylas also discovered the dangers of scuba diving at places like Deception Pass. Although the pass offers some of the most colorful scenery for scuba divers, the changing currents make it dangerous for divers.

As for his poor vision, Skoczylas said he had been struggling with that since youth when he first started wearing glasses, then contacts. In 1999, he said he underwent surgery for his eyes. Years later, even as the retina in his right eye repaired, he noticed his left eye was losing vision again, an issue that plagued him as he began scuba diving though he said the water’s magnification made it easier for him to see. With 20/200 vision in the left eye, which made him legally blind in that eye, his corrective lens only improved it to 20/80. Still, after repeated failed solutions, he said that Thomas Gillette, Seattle-based eye doctor, was able to fix his vision after removing a cataract in his eye. Now, he has 20/40 vision without glasses or contact lenses.

“The doctor gave me new life,” he said.

With his newly-improved vision, Skoczylas said he has used it as inspiration for others who have endured similar struggles or obstacles standing in the way of their pursuits or passions.

A sample of his photos can be found online at http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=22845.