I have a lot of photographs and memories from Platform Hilda. This picture of Erica Holding Giant Sea Stars taken beneath Platform Hilda earned me a Skin Diver Magazine Cover. We’ll be adding more images to the gallery so check back often to see what is new.
Platform Hilda was easy access. Close to shore and Chevron USA gave us carte blanche to visit and dive beneath her. She was decommissioned in 1996, along with her sisters Platforms Hazel, Heidi and Hope. Decommissioning means removal. Along with the rig, all this beautiful, productive marine life was taken to a land fill.
The of images from Platform Hilda are historical. From beneath her I was able to create photographic studies in:
- Camouflage
- Life cycles from egg through maturity
- Nightlife
- Develop and test underwater camera systems
- Found The Mussel Company and California mussel harvesting industry
- Participate in many studies along with American Petroleum Institute, Scripps Institute of Oceanography
And more that we’ll be sharing here and discussing in my blog.
Photo by Andrew J. McMullen