Macro & Close-ups
Shooting macro can be very difficult – you get within a couple inches of fish who are darting about, the sea surge moves you against your will, the shooting scene is reduced to just a couple square inches, depth of field (focus) is generally about 1/4 inch deep. It can also be the most rewarding – imagine seeing the beautiful blue eyes of a 3-inch red hermit crab, or a 1-inch transparent shrimp with purple feet (and laden with hundreds of eggs). Without macro, these things would be impossible to see, and impossible to photograph. Here are some of my favorites from the lilliputian world of underwater macro… (click to launch larger images)
This appears as tiny delicate hands evoking various emotions. Actually, this is how it grabs food particles passing by – Cayman Brac
A new addition to the Clown Family sits atop his anemone home. See his Mom (right photo) for scale – Palawan, South China Sea
A Mom Clown keeps a watchful on her baby Clown (left) – Shot at the same anemone – Palawan, South China Sea
A beautiful glowing jellyfish with delicate tentacles – photo credit this shot: John Mawk
These semi-transparent jellyfish are Sea Nettles. Their caps or bells usually grow to about 6 to 8 inches in diameter. They have four oral arms attached to the underside of the mouth, and many long tentacles which can extend several feet. Looking like underwater aliens, jellyfish have been drifting along ocean currents for around 500 million years, long before dinosaurs. There are over 2000 species of this oldest, multi-organ animal.
Clear Harlequin Shrimp – It’s possible to see through her to the coral behind her.
Philippines, South China Sea
Close-up glimpse into a Tridachna clam. The bright and convoluted pattern is almost hypnotic –
Palau, Micronesia
Not to be mistaken for eggs of any sea critter, bubble corals are stony corals with skeletons just below their fleshy surface – Philippines,
South China Sea