It was very difficult to choose this week’s POTW winner. In fact, there was a split decision amongst the judges – however since I am the photographer and the author of this post, I am also tie breaker.
I love cephalopods, and this octopus was extremely playful. In this photo, the octopus looks very relaxed and appears to be posing for the camera. It is also showing off it’s full spectrum colors. So often when photographing octopus, they are either retreating or ignoring the photographer, but this critter was genuinely interacting with myself and Daan, our dive guide. In fact, before this shot, Daan was able to coax it out of it’s hole with her camera lights – something I have never seen before. I have another great shot where the octopus is reaching out to my camera.
The runner-up this week is a Banded Coral Shrimp carrying a blue sack of eggs on her belly and can be found in the January 2021 Contenders gallery.
Equipment and settings: Nikon D850 / 60mm / INON 330Z strobes / f16 / 1/200h / ISO 400.
Location: Marie Pompoen, Curaçao
