There and back again

With some trepidation, I'd made it to paradise and back again. This time there was no drama to the level I had in the previous trip as described here. A little respect goes a long way after all. The trip to Kapalai was a blast and was fairly rewarding in terms of photography. The company was great, the diving fantastic and the photo opportunities I had was awesome. The ocean and marine life was simply amazing; so beautiful, graceful and varied. I am well and truly spellbound. At the end of the trip, I'd managed to photograph what ranks as some of my all time favourite shots so far. Enjoy these and know that I am thrilled to no end with them.
This shot was captured at a site aptly named Mandarin Valley at a depth of 15m. Having camped at a single spot over coral rubble for over 15minutes trying to spot the very shy mandarin fish, this pair finally came out and mated right in front of my camera. In it's mating ritual, the mandarin fish briefly rise in the water column at sunset, mating for a precious few seconds suspended in mid-water before hiding back among the coral rubble.

The mandarin fish (Synchiropus Splendidus) is small (up to 6cm), extremely shy, locally very common but extremely difficult to find due to it's choice of habitat. Known for it's complex, fluorescent orange, green and blue livery it is also know as the psychedelic fish.



In my previous trips, I'd gotten the opportunity to photograph the tiny Pygmy but never managed to get a nice shot of it. This time, I guess with more experience and no camera difficulties, I've managed to take a shot that I'm very happy with. Taken at the Seaventures site, this seahorse lives exclusively on Muricella soft coral colonies in deep, current swept water. This shot was at 22m depth.


This Pygmy Seahorse (Hippocampus Bargibanti) is small (up to 2cm) and extremely hard to spot. The cryptic body shape, coloration and skin texture matches its soft coral habitat providing it an almost perfect camouflage. Spot it in the following photo, circled in yellow.

More photos here.