January
Three SPECKLED MORAYS are composited for the cover of the 2020 Underwater Calendar. All were shot in Bonaire.
A pair of FLAME DARTFISH dance above their sand nest on a Wakatobi reef.
February
The Wakatobi dive site “Roma” features a huge field of ROSE CORAL. After diving Roma, I envisioned taking this photograph. I used an ultrawide fisheye lens, a 10.5 mm, f/1.2 lens, positioned myself about 1 meter (3-4 feet) above the approximate centerline of this bommie and captured the image. The bommie is about 3-4 meters (10-14 feet) in diameter and rises about the same height from the sand bottom. The depth is about 10 meters (30 – 35 feet). Prints on aluminum of this image have been made which are 24 x 16 and 40 x 29 inches.
March
While LIONFISH have invaded the Caribbean, they are indigenous to the reefs of Indonesia. I have so many images of them worthy of placing on the Calendar, that I created this composite suggesting the interaction of two LIONFISH.
April
LOGGERHEAD TURTLES are often accompanied by DAMSELFISH offering a compelling underwater image. This was taken on a Wakatobi reef.
May
Coral grows in many shapes and colors. This ANCHOR CORAL caught my interest in textures. The intense green added to the image. During our 40 dives at Wakatobi, I saw other ANCHOR CORALS, but none with such vivid and intense color.
June
BLUE-STRIPE BLENNIES are common in western Pacific waters. They live in holes in the reefs and dart out to grad passing food. The length of the fish visible in this image is about 1 – 1.5 cm, which is consistent with its total length of 4-5 cm. Capturing the personality of the individual Blenny makes shooting them fun.
July
This composite offers three different GHOST PIPEFISH. The center image is a ROBUST GHOST PIPEFISH; the lower right is an ORNATE GHOST PIPEFISH and the upper left is a ROUGHSNOUT GHOST PIPEFISH.
August
Spotting a PIGMY SEAHORSE color blended to match the Gorgonian it lives on is a valued skill of our guide. These tiny critters are shy and light sensitive. After three flashes of the camera’s strobes, they are facing away from the light source and will not turn back into the current for some time. The seahorse is about 2-3 cm in length.
September
This BLUE STRIPED ANEMONEA SHRIMP was living on a reef anemone in Bonaire. The tiny shrimp dart about in the tentacles of the anemone hunting for food and sharing scraps with its host.
October
TOBIES, a genus of Pufferfish are plentiful on the Bonaire reefs. They are about the size of coconut and are quite shy. While usually observed grazing on algae, they rapidly swim away when they sense a camera pointed at them.
November
DRUMFISH dance on the reefs, darting about and often swimming in perfect circles. They are tiny, perhaps 5 cm from bottom to top and 6-7 cm front to back. Their odd shape and frantic behavior make them delightful as still and video subjects. This was shot at the Blue Heron Bridge near West Palm Beach, Florida.
December
A trip to Indonesia is not complete without images of nudibranchs. This Phyllidiopsis annea, grazing on algae on the Wakatobi reefs was about 25 – 30 mm.
First Runner Up
Second Runner Up