September 2021 | Week 1

Portrait of a Tarpon

If you dive at night in Bonaire, the odds are with you that you will see a Tarpon or two (or three). The tarpon are attracted to divers because they eat the fish that are attracted to a diver’s light. It can be a bit unsettling at first – a large silver fish whizzes past you. Then you settle in and start to enjoy your silvery chaperones. This week’s photo of the week is a portrait of a Tarpon. On closer inspection, these fish are not just silver but are comprised of various precious metal colors as shown in this image.

Equipment and settings: Nikon D850 / INON z330 strobes / 150mm / f16/ 1/160th / ISO 200.  
Location: Buddy Dive House Reef, Bonaire

Other winners…

October 2021 | Week 4

October 2021 | Week 4

David and I had to wait in line to get a shot of this little beauty. It was one of two seahorses at The Cliff in Bonaire. It was a little shy and conditions weren't the best on this day - visibility was pretty poor, so it took a number of shots and trying different...

October 2021 | Week 3

October 2021 | Week 3

I was on fire spotting cryptic teardrop crabs on our last night dive at Salt Pier. This little guy was one of three crabs I spotted that night - pretty good considering I had never spotted one on my own before. These critters are so small, it is difficult to know...

October 2021 | Week 2

October 2021 | Week 2

While in the shallows at Salt Pier in Bonaire, David noticed a group of crabs that were fighting over an empty shell. Given the number of crabs and the level of interest, we assume the shell was not empty, but contained some sort of food. The 2 larger crabs dominated...

October 2021 | Week 1

October 2021 | Week 1

While making our way to Turtle City on the East Coast of Bonaire, I spotted this turtle with a couple of hitch hiking remoras and made a bee line to capture an image. While the conditions were pretty mild, the visibility suffered requiring me to get as close as...

September 2021 | Week 4

September 2021 | Week 4

Expecting to capture large animal encounters while diving with East Coast Divers, I brought my 16-35mm wide angle lens, so it was a bit of a shock when our dive guide pointed out this lovely frogfish sitting on top of a group of sponges. Since we were with a somewhat...

September 2021 | Week 3

September 2021 | Week 3

Although we were very disappointed in the dive site Front Porch, I managed to find capture some interesting images, including this week's winner. I found this adorable Secretary Blenny peaking out of its Fire Coral den. Equipment and settings: Nikon D850 / INON z330...

September 2021 | Week 2

September 2021 | Week 2

This shy red Sea Horse was spotted by our dive guide Jolanda of Beyond the Coral Dive Center in Bonaire. Jolanda is amazing at spotting great u/w subjects like seahorses and frogfish. This lovely critter was one of a pair of Sea Horses at Chogogo dive site. The...

August 2021 / Week 3

August 2021 / Week 3

Due to health issues, it's been awhile since I've posted a POTW - but I'M BACK BABY!!!  I had been dry docked for about a month and on my first dive back, David found this Mantis Shrimp at Invisibles in Bonaire. He stood guard as I was shooting something else at...

July 2021 / Week 2

July 2021 / Week 2

Photos of the Pederson Shrimp are pretty common, but I like the perspective of the shrimp in this image. The head and antenna of shrimp are in focus and at eye level. The soft, blurred background helps to emphasize the focused parts of the image. Equipment and...