After yesterday’s marathon post concerning the dumbing-down of science I seem to be at a temporary loss for words. Those who tire of my bombast but enjoy the pretty pictures will sigh in relief. I’m also running three days behind, so I’m using my Time Machine to fake it, as usual. My aparent sloth is not as it seems. I wanted to do a post on Saturday. Unfortunatley, TELIKOM’s so-called “repairs” of my telephone line lasted less than a week, so I never made it online and did not have time to go to the office. Then, on Sunday, my intent was once again to catch up. Unfortunately, our car wouldn’t start . . . yet another headache. Are you tired of my whining. Okay, I don’t blame you. I’ll proceed briefly.

As regular readers will know, I like showing you what I see as nearly as possible the way that I see it. Sometimes “BLUE” is the only way to describe it:The above is a view of the bottom of Magic Passage from about half-way down the slope at about 15 metres on a good visibility day.

Down at the bottom, we were suddenly surrounded by a school of curious Bigeye Trevally (Caranx sexfasciatus):
These characters actually seem to enjoy swimming around divers. I’ve seen it hundreds of times. They commonly swim within a metre of us, their big eyes rolling around like Al Jolson singing Mammy.

These are not particularly good pictures, but that’s okay for today. Not every shot I get swells my head. Some are simply reflections of my experiences that recall moments of pleasure. Here Anita plays with a little mob of Clark’s Anemonefish (Amphiprion clarkii):The cheeky little devils like to nip fingers. I prefer to get my nips bare-handed, but gloves are safer for the diver and for the fish. Who knows what nasty germs lurk on our skin which we may never notice, but would be deadly so some innocent creature just looking for a good time.

You’ve seen many Hawkfish here. However, we don’t always see them in profile, posing as if for a presidential protrait. Here a little Dwarf Hawkfish (Cirrhitchthys falco)  is caught from above:He is not unaware. You can clearly see that he has one eye cranked up to keep me in view.

You’ve also seen the Bluestreak Goby (Valenciennea strigata)  here before.I like this shot because it’s realistic – warts and all. You can see sticks, leaves and other detrius strewn about. Reefs are not neat places, especially close to a river outlet.

This shot also has a nice, natural feel. I assure you , this is exactly what I saw:At The Eel Garden, near Pig Island,  there is a huge anmemone patch full of these Red and Black Anemonefish (Amphiprion malanopus).  The depth is only about four or five metres there, so snorkelers can see this scene with ease.

Back tomorrow with more fish while I catch up with myself. I hope my car is fixed today. Otherwise, I may swim to work tomorrow.

Related posts:

1. More Fun at Magic Passage Today we went to Magic Passage for our Saturday morning dive. There was a fairly strong incoming current and the water was very warm. Here is Tracey, Albert, and Anna heading out to the mouth of the passage: At about twenty metres, Albert was frantically pointing under a ledge. I...
2. Still More Fish – Nearly Caught Up Now I'm nearly caught up now with my posts. For a couple of more days you'll have to put up with fish. The Pixy Hawkfish and Netfin Grouper are the stars today....
3. Ah, Sweet Saturday Come for a dive at Magic Passage with Jan Messersmith - Madang, Papua New Guinea...
4. Scorpionfish – Fail! Failed underwater shots can be nearly as interesting as those which turn out perfect. However, the interest lies in learning what NOT to do....
5. The Aquarium in My Front Yard With my dive count now over two thousand, it’s amazing to me that all but possibly a hundred have been within a ten minute boat ride from our dock. This must surely make me one of the luckiest divers on the planet. Since I’m feeling so lucky today, let me...
6. Underwater Eye Candy – the Canon G10 Again What's better than buying a new toy and discovering it's everything you hoped for, and more? I'm suffering no buyer's remorse over my purchase of the Canon G10....
7. Underwater Photography – Abort, Retry, Fail Today we seldom experience the most common technological bummer of the past - Abort, Retry, Fail. If you miss the old days, try underwater photography....

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 at 08:24 and is filed under Under the Sea. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.