Blood in the water.

In the world of underwater photography and videography, proximity to subject is all important. The water column between the camera and subject robs you of light, colour and clarity and pays you back with suspended particulate matter in spades. That is why I was so happy to be in the right place at the right time with this crowd:




In places like Palau there can be found a interspecific hunting relationship where different species of fish rely on and interact with each other in the pursuit of food.

The main players in this case are Moray Eels, Napoleon Wrasses, Red Snappers, Brown-marbled Groupers, White-tip Reef Sharks, Grey Reef Sharks and usually Giant and Blue-fin Trevallies.

The moray hunts by entering small cracks and crevices in the reef where small fish often hide, the Napoleons and Snappers know that any fish encountered may try to escape and so follow the Moray as it moves over the reef, waiting for any fish to be flushed from it's hiding place by the Eel.
In the above clip, two eels were under the yellow flat coral and flushed out a small fish that was within a fraction of a second chomped by an alert Red Snapper, the tiny amount of blood released was carried by the current and was quickly picked up by the huge number of White-tip and Grey Reef Sharks in the area.
The Shark's incredibly well honed instincts snap into action and they swim over as fast as they can to investigate closely followed by an assortment of other predators with every animal focused on finding the source of the blood.
Each species has developed it's own hunting strategy, White tips being slender with flexible fins placed well back along the body can get their heads and most of their bodies into cracks and crevices in the reef, the Napoleons with their size and "aggressiveness" can threaten the sharks, butting them out the way, then use their enourmous mouths to "hoover" up any prey that gets close enough. The Grouper is very well camouflaged, resembling a large rock where it lies in wait. All these species are out-manouvered by the Trevallies with their ability to accelerate and change direction incredibly quickly.
The Fathom Imaging wide-angle lens I have mounted on the front of my Gates underwater video housing produces an image that appears smaller and further away than in real life, this enables me to get very close to a subject and still keep it in frame. The point of this is that the water column is much reduced and the image clearer than when viewed with the naked eye.
I have been watching these fast and furious displays in the past and up until now have either been too far away for a good image or too close and have disrupted the animals natural behaviour with my bulk and bubbles, this time however I could see that the key players (Moray, Napoleon, Grouper) were poised and the stage set and I carefully manouvered into position, slightly up-current, attaching my reef hook to a rock so I could hang relatively easily in the current, and I waited.
I wasn't disappointed.
At times the sharks are passing only centimeters away from the lens and there are moments in these situations where you have to remind yourself that they are very highly evolved hunters who are not interested in a great big ,rubber clad, stationary human being holding a big black monocular box and blowing noisy, shiny bubbles.
However this all means nothing if you are not in the right place at the right time. Keep your eyes open and watch for the signs, just like the observant Red Snapper.....


photoshop@fishnfins.com
www.lightningstrikeproductions.co.uk

Distant Cousins

Spot the difference time; two quick clips of truly fascinating animals that you can see whilst SCUBA diving in Palau; the Chambered Nautilus and the Octopus both from the cephalopod family.
Found throughout the western tropical Pacific and Indo-Pacific; Nautilus inhabit the deep, dark abyssal areas in near total darkness. They have fantastically well developed senses of taste and smell to help them locate prey and carrion. They join the incredible biomass of other animals that make the vertical migration each night from depths of 300m or more to shallower waters of 100m following the food chain. It is possible to catch them in traps as they come up by using a steel cage and a dead chicken, gross I know but they love it. The cage is bought up to recreational diving limits in the morning and it gives us the lucky few a chance to dive with them.

The Octopus is another incredible animal, intelligent, capable of puzzle solving and with 8 arms a mutitasking brain. I filmed these two late afternoon at 20m as they were "getting to know each other better" The male extends out a tentacle and deposits a package of sperm inside the female's mantle whilst giving an amazing display of skin colour and texture changes. The Octopus has lost it's external shell and now uses camouflage and an extremely flexible body to avoid predation. A good way to locate one is to look for discarded bivalve shells around their dens, they just throw out the dinner plates!

Whats even more incredible is that they are both related to your common garden snail!