Underwater Photography

[Seaworthy Lass]

Anchors have been hogging all the limelight in underwater shots here on CF, so I thought it was about time general photos were given some "exposure" . As more people start to use underwater cameras we should hopefully see some great images such as Hoppy's recent ones of a wreck.

It is not often I come across much of interest in this part of the Mediterranean, but I will kickstart this thread with a shot of a sea creature.

Anyone have any idea what it is? Length was about 15 cm.

SWL



Edited to add:
Reach identified this as a tun shell (family Tonnidae). These are the homes of medium to very large sea snails. The frilly bit are egg casings.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonnidae

[beneteau-500]

I think but may be wrong it's a tryrain purple sea snail

[hoppy]

I was thinking that I should start an UWP thread. Thanks for beating me to it😃


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[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by hoppy

I was thinking that I should start an UWP thread. Thanks for beating me to it��

No grass growing under my feet .

Hoppy, add your gorgeous wreck shots. They are spectacular photos and a bit of duplication doesn't do any harm.

SWL

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by beneteau-500

I think but may be wrong it's a tryrain purple sea snail

I can't find 'tryrain', but the 'purple sea snail' bit doesn't match (too small and pointy at the end).
The shell above is about hand sized and pretty common here. Lots of tavernas display them. This is the first time I have seen an animal inhabiting one though, and the frilly end was intriguing. I wonder if it was something it had picked up?

I didn't want to prod

[beneteau-500]

The one you showed if I remember are found a lot around septes I think I will have to ask my daughter she is a marine biologist

[hoppy]

Here we go...

Photos from the wreck located here https://www.google.com/maps/@37.0442.../data=!3m1!1e3

Clear water really makes a difference when shooting UW











Little fishies

[Seaworthy Lass]

Spectacular shots!

SWL

[Steadman Uhlich]

Ahoy SWL (and others)!

I think this is an excellent idea for a thread!

Just yesterday I enjoyed seeing the Wreck photos Hoppy posted (Good ones Hoppy!) and I am sure you (SWL) and others here must have some very interesting UWP.

The sea snail you posted is also interesting (I find sea life interesting).

While I don't have any UWP to share here, I look forward to seeing more.

[Steadman Uhlich]

I am no expert on Sea Snails or mollusks. But, I do like them and learned a bit about them over the years.

I could be wrong, but the snail in the photo does not look like the "Tyrian Dye" snails I have seen in illustrations before (as the ones I have seen are either "spiny" or have numerous bumps on the shell and are generally small in size).

A quick wiki search found a few photos in articles (which have some fascinating facts) in case someone wants to learn a bit more about the famous "Tyrian Purple" dye, which was prized by royalty (due to its expense).

Here is a short excerpt I found interesting:
Tyrian purple was expensive: the 4th-century-BC historian Theopompus reported, "Purple for dyes fetched its weight in silver at Colophon" in Asia Minor.[5] The expense meant that purple-dyed textiles became status symbols, and early sumptuary laws restricted their uses. The production of Tyrian purple was tightly controlled in Byzantium and was subsidized by the imperial court, which restricted its use for the colouring of imperial silks,[6] Later (9th century)[7] a child born to a reigning emperor was said to be porphyrogenitos, "born in the purple".

A few links for info about the two most common "Blue and Blue/Purple dye snails" in the Med.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrian_purple

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolinus_brandaris
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexaplex_trunculus

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

I can't find 'tryrain', but the 'purple sea snail' bit doesn't match (too small and pointy at the end).
The shell above is about hand sized and pretty common here. Lots of tavernas display them. This is the first time I have seen an animal inhabiting one though, and the frilly end was intriguing. I wonder if it was something it had picked up?

I didn't want to prod

The "frilly ending" I suspect is an egg sac. Many mollusks excrete something similar. Some very interesting ones. For example, Whelk egg sacs are common in Carib waters. They look a lot like a spinal column.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

I am no expert on Sea Snails or mollusks. But, I do like them and learned a bit about them over the years.

I could be wrong, but the snail in the photo does not look like the "Tyrian Dye" snails I have seen in illustrations before (as the ones I have seen are either "spiny" or have numerous bumps on the shell and are generally small in size).

....

The molluscs from which the dye was extracted are a variety of Murex. Which don't look like the one posted. Murex varieties are quite common and some are rather ornate like the Venus Comb Murex. I've got one in my collection found in the N Gulf of Mexico.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_comb_murex

[belizesailor]

I used to do a lot of UWP many years ago when I was heavy into SCUBA and camers used film. Now that I mostly snorkel, I've discovered photography is harder when snorkeling since there is more motion from waves and its harder to control your buoyancy/position for very long.

But UW camera gear sure has come a long way. My old rig was big and bulky, but I just got an ION camera as a gift...wow what a difference. Have yet to try it UW, but certainly plan to next sailing season.

A few shots from Belize taken with an Olympus point-and-shoot camera (not great, but convenient).

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

I used to do a lot of UWP many years ago when I was heavy into SCUBA and camers used film. Now that I mostly snorkel, I've discovered photography is harder when snorkeling since there is more motion from waves and its harder to control your buoyancy/position for very long.

But UW camera gear sure has come a long way. My old rig was big and bulky, but I just got an ION camera as a gift...wow what a difference. Have yet to try it UW, but certainly plan to next sailing season.

A few shots from Belize taken with an Olympus point-and-shoot camera (not great, but convenient).

I see little to photograph underwater here other than anchors, rocks, sand and weed , but it is great to see what other cruisers are viewing.

SWL

[Reach]

Looks like a tun shell and those are egg casings.

Very cool photo!

-Michele


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