Indonesian Pygmy Seahorses

[Jay Gould]

Hi, Artie made Akos do it; Al & Akos made me do it; who's next? :D

Rather than post these images in three threads, I am going to post them in the same thread so you can compare and enjoy (hopefully!).

These "giants" amongst sea creatures are + - 1/2" in height :eek:.

To find them we first use a magnifying glass on the Gorgonian fans. As you can see they each have adapted to the particular fan they call home. :)

Camera: Canon G9 in Canon UW housing
Capture date/time: 30 Sept 08; 8:16am
Crop factor: approx 35%
Light condition: diffused through 45' of sea water
Lens: 7.4-44mm
Focal length: 7.44mm
Extender: none
Tube: none
Flash/Comp: none
ISO: 400
Exp Prog: Av
Speed: 1/60 sec
Aperture: f/7.4 macro mode
Exp Comp: 0
Metering: Center-weighted
WB: Auto
AF Drive: One Shot
Tripod: No

Processing done in LR.

All C&Cs gratefully appreciated!

Cheers, Jay

[Jay Gould]

Camera: Canon G9 in Canon UW housing
Capture date/time: 8 Oct 08; 8:16am
Crop factor: approx 35%
Light condition: diffused
Lens: 7.4 - 44mm
Focal length: 7.4mm
Extender: none
Tube: none
Flash/Comp: none
ISO: 400
Exp Prog: Av
Speed: 1/60 sec
Aperture: f/8 macro mode
Exp Comp: 0
Metering: Center-weighted
WB: Auto
AF Drive: One Shot
Tripod: No

All C&Cs gratefully appreciated!

Cheers, Jay

[Jay Gould]

Camera: Canon G9 in Canon UW housing
Capture date/time: 9 Sept 08; 8:43am
Crop factor: approx 50%
Light condition: diffused through 45' of sea water
Lens: 7.4 - 44mm
Focal length: 16.8mm
Extender: none
Tube: none
Flash/Comp: none
ISO: 400
Exp Prog: Av
Speed: 1/60 sec
Aperture: f/8 macro mode
Exp Comp: 0
Metering: Center-weighted
WB: Auto
AF Drive: One Shot
Tripod: No

All C&Cs gratefully appreciated!

Cheers, Jay

PS: I hope you have enjoyed my tiny friends! We are going back Oct 2010 to visit them!!

[denise ippolito]

Jay, Amazing you could even see them to photograph them! I can't believe the details you were able to get!!

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Congrats Jay on the great images. You do need an SLR for these and time is your enemy as they are so deep that no-deco time becomes the biggest safety issue. I love these guys too, though never saw them at all as I did not even do one dive outside of the east coast here.

Denise, I bet you did not know that there is one even named after YOU!!!! Well sort of. One well-known American u/w photographer (Denise Nielsen Tackett) has one named after her, who found the species in SE Asia somewhere. :) See this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise's_pygmy_seahorse)to Hippocampus denise. It is strange though, as normally when a species is named after a woman it ends with an 'ae'. So why they left the 'e' out?

Enjoy it girl! ;)

[Jay Gould]

Jay, Amazing you could even see them to photograph them! I can't believe the details you were able to get!!

Hi Denise, to shoot them one person is point at them with our stainless steel pointer sticks that we use to fend off of the rocks etc. We touch NOTHING - not permitted to wear dive gloves.

Once found the stick stays within a couple of inches while the photographer sets up the shot. generally I am almost touching them with the front of the housing. The G9 has a wonderful macro mode - that is practically all I shoot UW.

I do have to Croc images and other critters that you might like as apparently UW images haven't been posted very much.

At least I can share something while I am leaning the other fields. :)

Thanks for you comments; glad you enjoy them; I do too! :D

[Jay Gould]

Congrats Jay on the great images. You do need an SLR for these and time is your enemy as they are so deep that no-deco time becomes the biggest safety issue. I love these guys too, though never saw them at all as I did not even do one dive outside of the east coast here.

Thanks Mate, no SLR housing for me!

My brother is a professional UW photographer and the gear he carries is more significant than carrying a "simple" 300 or 500 (my next goal after South America - don't tell Jackie ;) :)).

I thought long and hard before opting to attempt to learn BIF rather than go the serious UW route.

Thanks for your comments.

[Fabs Forns]

Jay, sorry to rain on the beautiful parade, but we only allow one image per post, unless they are reposts :(

[Jay Gould]

Jay, sorry to rain on the beautiful parade, but we only allow one image per post, unless they are reposts :(

OK! No problema; just thought since all the same subject they would be good together. :o

[Kartikeya Puri]

Wow.. underwater world does open a whole new world to people like me. I wonder how one trains his eyes to find these little wonders.

Cheers,
Kartik

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Kartik
With a lot of practice, and a little luck of course. Learning about the creatures' habitats also helps, as well as behaviors. It takes time, but works the same above and below the water.
Have a good day mate. :)

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Jay, Im not really sure what Im looking at in the first two, but can clearly see the little guy in the third post. Well captured.

[Jay Gould]

Hi Jay, Im not really sure what Im looking at in the first two, but can clearly see the little guy in the third post. Well captured.

Hi Stuart, one of the interesting facts about these Pygmies is how they adapt to the surroundings.

In the first image in this repost, I think you can see the horse.

In the second image, is a Pygmy seahorse that in real life is approx 1/2" in length. In this image you can see the eye and the fat tummy and the cute tail.

Hope this helps.

[Alfred Forns]

I'm having a sensory overload with all these images Jay !!!

Never had the chance to photograph one ... can't even imagine spotting one !!! ... post the croc when you can Will be looking for mine !!!