I realized that I haven't shared underwater photos from one of my infrequent diving trips with you for a long time. Well, it's my pleasure to show you some portraits of fish! All photos were taken during one dive at Umm Gamar dive site that lies off the Umm Qamar Island, not far from Hurghada, Egypt.
At that time, I did not dive with a wide-angle lens, as I usually do, but with an Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm F2.8 (35 mm equivalent: 120 mm) macro lens. I was hoping to photograph very small nudibranchs — their macro photos can be stunning, but alas, I did not meet them. So I limited myself to close-up portraits of fish :) I hope I have correctly identified their species, but if you can, feel free to correct me.
The photos above and below show the Freckled hawkfish (Paracirrhites forsteri), a predatory fish sitting motionless in ambush on coral, waiting for smaller ones to swim by. Luckily, they really aren't constantly on the move like the vast majority of fish.
These cute orange fish are the Sea Goldie (Pseudanthias squamipinnis), female. They are small, cute and widespread and are often taken for aquariums. In the sea, they can sway around a large coral in dozens, a whole flock. Such an orange live cloud :)
The White-spotted puffer (Arothron hispidus). It's always nice to see them. It is quite large, up to 40-50 cm long, omnivorous (corals, algae, mollusks, sea urchins, etc.) — look at its powerful jaw.
The dots that become white stripes around the fins and eyes have a little iridescent tint, which slightly dilutes its almost monochrome color. It looks funny and swims rather slowly — also a nice object for photography.
The Coral grouper (Cephalopholis miniata) is a very bright and aggressive looking fish. Such a rich base color and very contrasting spots! And yes, the appearance does not deceive, it is a predator. Under water, it is more difficult to determine the dimensions by eye, but I would say that it was 30-40 centimeters long.
The Speckled sandperch (Parapercis hexophthalma). Like the very first fish, it also sits motionless and hunts from ambush, not in corals, but on the seabed. And at the same time, it is well disguised — it blends perfectly with the background. Quite quickly removes from the place, if you swim close, but does not go very far.
The Whitetail or Silverspot squirrelfish (Sargocentron caudimaculatum). I find its eyes funny, they seem to be too big compared to the body. Perhaps because it is a young individual, or maybe it is because of the predominantly nocturnal lifestyle — they are nocturnal hunters, feeding on small living creatures at the bottom. During the day they often gather near the reefs and in the shaded depressions where I saw it.
Well, I hope you enjoyed looking at a few marine life. Personally, it is very pleasant and interesting for me to remember and find out who is who in the underwater world of those whom I saw :)
It's better to watch the photos in high resolution.
OLYMPUS E-M5 Mark II
You can also see my photos in my blog LJ and in my profile on NatGeo. You can read a short interview with me here.
