nderwater photography is always a game of chance. This photo happened at the end of a shore dive with bad visibility, some surge, and
a bit of current. I planned to do super macro, thus why I was using a 105 mm lens (and a flip adaptor for a wet diopter). As the conditions got worse, I was ready to quit.
Then, this lionfish came out from a hole in the artificial reef and started hovering above the structure. As it was mainly white, I thought it would create a nice contrast with the water. I prepared the shot: I needed to keep my distance in order to get most of it in frame, but also needed the strobe light near the fish to preserve colors and details. I raised the strobe potency to its max (all 270 watts of it!) and pulled the long arms forward in a v shape, slightly pointing inwards, to get as close as possible without scaring it. (A 60mm lens would have been a lot better, but who could have guessed?)
Settings on the camera were kept unchanged - these are the ones I usually leave it on for macro. They are "in the middle of the range"; good for most circumstances, and easy to adjust for some specific situations.
With the focusing light off, I swam near the fish and circled it, trying to capture it from the front. It didn’t seem too bothered with my presence, which is very uncommon; they almost always turn their back on the diver in a defensive position. Only at that point did I notice the cleaner wrasse swimming around, and that must have been the reason for the lionfish’s steadiness. I took one or two shots to check and waited for some action, which happened as the tiny fish went near its mouth.
At that point I got this shot, a few more, and my dive was saved!
Photography Specifications: Nikon D810, Nikon 105 Micro VR 2.8
Sea and Sea MDX 810, 2 X Subtronic Nova, manual mode. 1/250, f.16, ISO 100
Alexandre is a Portuguese photographer now based in Bali, Indonesia. For more of Alexandre’s photography visit www.alexcoolpics.com
Photo Caption: Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans) having its mouth cleaned by a Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) at Amed Beach, Bali, Indonesia.
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20 - SEVENSEAS