Underwater Photography

[monte]

some recent underwater vid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJpe...o&spfreload=10

[Paul54]

Not pictures of fish or anchors, but this is the underwater photography that I do.

[Reach]

Originally Posted by monte

some recent underwater vid

That's wonderful ~ I have to admit I'm usually not into video footage but this caught my interest!

The doggie paddle was a comical interlude that must've made those dolphins curious. The mom/juvenile dolphin pair are sweet.

Thanks for sharing.

[Steadman Uhlich]

To Paul54:

Nice photo. Good model and costume for it.

Is the background natural or is it a drape or cloth or what? In a pool outdoors or indoors or some spring?

[monte]

Originally Posted by Paul54

Not pictures of fish or anchors, but this is the underwater photography that I do.

That cool Paul. Jen wanted me to take some pics of her like that a while ago. Looks great!

[monte]

Originally Posted by Reach

That's wonderful ~ I have to admit I'm usually not into video footage but this caught my interest!



The doggie paddle was a comical interlude that must've made those dolphins curious. The mom/juvenile dolphin pair are sweet.



Thanks for sharing.

Indeed Balrog loves dolphins and the feeling seems to be mutual. He likes to dive at the beach but hasn't mastered diving underwater from a swim yet...doggy duck dive?

[Paul54]

Thanks for the kind comments. I use a black back drop about 20 by 30 feet. I do the shots in my outdoor pool. I use three strobe lights mounted up above the water but triggered from my camera.

[Prairie Chicken]

Monte, what a magical video! I'm not a big video person either that that was great. I guess I'd never thought of what a dolphin would think of a dog in the water, or vice versa. Thanks for sharing!

And Paul, lovely as well!

[Paul54]

Love the dog and dolphins. Very nice.

[Seaworthy Lass]

This little guy was spotted today galloping along en pointe. Only the movement attracted my attention, as he was so well disguised.

He was a challenge to photograph. He kicked up grains of sand forming a blur around him when he was on the move. As I swam closer he simply flopped to the ground. After about a dozen dives down he finally relented for the briefest moment and let me snap a shot of him on tiptoe .

Can anyone ID him? I would love to learn more about the creatures and plants I am seeing. He was about 10cm in length and heavily covered all over in growth. Shell shape can be seen from the shadow.

Edited to add ID:
Reach identified this as one of the decorator crabs. This description fits well. These crabs plaster themselves in "sedentary animals and plants to their bodies as camouflage or, if the attached organisms are noxious, to ward off predators through aposematism" (Wikipedia).

This was a Small spider crab (Maja crispata) that covers itself in algae.

Taken freediving @ 4m (13'), Sporades, NW Aegean, Greece, August 2015:

[Reach]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Can anyone ID him?

Cute. Looks like a decorator crab.

Keep the photos coming! Jealous of your clear water... for now I'll have to dig up some old ones to share.

[Reach]

Originally Posted by Paul54

I use three strobe lights mounted up above the water but triggered from my camera.

Nice lighting effect!

[Reach]

Enjoyed seeing the pufferfish ~ here's his cousin the bridled burrfish.

... & seeing the other fish close-ups.

It's funny when they are curious & coming 'running' over to you like these spadefish & gray angelfish

or creep up behind you when you're taking photos like this cubera snapper (it's usually a barracuda back there)

(Panama, Colombia & Honduras)

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Reach

Cute. Looks like a decorator crab.

Thanks . An invaluable tip to get me started.
It was definitely a decorator crab from the descriptions I can find.

Wikipedia (seems my best resource online) states two decorator crabs are found in the Med: the Long-legged spider crab and the Small spider crab. I will add this info to the photo.

Originally Posted by Reach

Keep the photos coming! Jealous of your clear water... for now I'll have to dig up some old ones to share.

Bring them on .
The Gray angelfish was my favourite in the last batch.

SWL

[Seaworthy Lass]

This is the type of underwater flora typically found here. Snorkelling on the surface a brownish field is all that is apparent, but up close and personal the beauty is revealed.

Another request for IDs . I have hunted high and low with no success.

Edited to add:
Reach to the rescue again. Many thanks.
The white flora is White scroll algae (Padina jamaicensis).

Shallow water of around 1.5m, Sporades, Aegean, Greece, August 2015:




The white whorls are fringed with a delicate filamentous edge: