We arrived at Barracuda Point  near Pig Island  on Saturday morning in bright sunshine. The water was very turbid with a lot of particulates drifting around. Miserable shooting conditions! I did manage to salvage a few shots from the lot. Not much to look at, I’m afraid.

This Barrel Sponge (Xestospongia testudinaria)  looks like the entrance to hell: All it needs is some red-hot lava boiling down there in the bottom.

Hungry? Have some Pizza Anemone (Amplexidiscus fenestrafer):

As you may notice, I’m a little terse today. We’re still rolling out a new network at the office and, computers being what they are, it’s two steps forward and one back.

As I mentioned, the shooting conditions were awful. Here’s a mediocre image of a few listless Reticulated Dascyllus (Dascyllus reticulatus)  taken with flash: If the fish is in the right (or rather wrong)  position, the power of the flash blocks the side of the fish to full white, losing all detail. You get the same result if you take a picture into a mirror with the flash on.

Here’s another example of the much despised flash effect. Have a look at this imag of a Pixy Hawkfish [red variation] (Cirrhititichthys oxycephalus):The fish does not look anywhere near that red in natural light.

Here’s an absolutely terrible shot of an Eclipse Butterflyfish (Chaetodon bennetti):I’d have deleted it if it were not the only image that I have of this species. Oh, well. It gives me something to strive for.

Again I’m foiled, this time by a chunk of coral in the way. The Clown Triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillum)  likes to stay just far enough away from you to tease:Your brain is saying, “Swim a little faster and you’ll have him!” Your body is saying, “Whoah! Heart attack time!”

Of course, by the time we came up a storm was passing over, everybody was shivering, and the wind was howling like a banshee. We went home for Saturday afternoon naps instead of the usual fun and games. Every day isn’t perfect.

Even in Paradise.

Related posts:

1. I Find a New Fish Dive with author and photographer Jan Messersmith to see a Clown Triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillum), a White-Bonnet Anemonefish (Amphiprion leucokranos), and several other colourful underwater images. Seven photographs and text....
2. Rainy Day – Barracuda Point When I got up on Saturday morning and heard the rain on the metal roof of our house, I knew all was not well. We seem to be curiously blessed with an abundance of sunny Saturdays – even during the rainy season, of which we are in the middle. I...
3. Purple Lips and Elephant Ears On Friday afternoon, we went out to Pig Island  and dived at Barracuda Point. The water on top was very cloudy, so we headed deep to see what we could see. At about 40m we saw one lonely Whitetip Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus)  resting on the bottom. It was quite...
4. Hawkfishes – Little Jewels of the Sea It’s Saturday morning, so I’m off for a dive. I don’t have much time for composition, so I’ll just show you some pictures. (with apologies to those who have seen them a hundred times already) I like the Hawkfishes. Unlike some other families, there’s not an ugly one in the bunch. (Click...
5. Reef Panorama? I’ll Have to Try Harder! I tried to shoot some reef panoramas this Saturday. The Canon G10 does panoramas in the JPG mode, which is a bummer. I'll try the RAW mode next time....
6. Start With Fish! For the first post of a new year with what else can I begin? It has to be fish! However, let us begin with things NOT fish. How about a spider?...
7. A Feast for My Camera Yesterday, for our regular Saturday morning dive, we motored out to Pig Island  to check out the Eel Garden, one of our favourites. Along with some ordinary, but nevertheless spectacular critters, we enjoyed some rare treats. On the long wall that marks the outer side of the Eel Garden, I visited...

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