Photo of the Week: November 08, 2010

Hi Gang!

I have been back home in southern California for the past several weeks, and no doubt about it, fall is a great time to dive in this part of the world. As a rule we usually enjoy our best weather and water conditions, although this year we have had more cloud cover and rain than we have in recent years. Nevertheless, the diving conditions have been favorable.

This week’s POTW is a facial portrait of a copper rockfish, Sebastes caurinus, that was captured at San Clemente Island, the southernmost of California’s eight Channel Islands. Copper rockfish range from San Benitos Island off the Pacific coast of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula in the south to Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula in the north. Within their range copper rockfish tend to inhabit relatively shallow, rocky and sandy habitats where they are commonly encountered by divers as the fish hover in mid-water and rest on the sea floor in rocky reef communities at the bottom of kelp forests.

As is the case with many of its close relatives, the copper rockfish is a favorite target of many sport fishermen. According to information supplied by the California Department of Fish and Game, the largest documented copper rockfish is 22.5 inches long, although most specimens are considerably shorter. The diet of copper rockfish consists of a wide variety of prey items, including myriad worms, snails, shrimps, crabs, octopuses, squids and other fishes.

Most divers are well aware that the limited visibility and cold water where cooper rockfish are found often makes taking high quality underwater photographs more difficult than it is in areas with more favorable water conditions (places like Hawaii!). But coldwater photographers often have one big advantage working in their favor, and that is the fact that many cold water fishes are much more lethargic than their warmer water counterparts. This is not to say that coldwater fishes can’t turn on the afterburners when they want to, but on the whole coldwater fishes tends to live their lives at a slower pace, a factor that often makes it relatively easy for underwater photographers to get close to many fishes, including copper rockfish.

In the case of this week’s POTW, I saw the fish at rest on top of a ledge at the bottom of a kelp forest. I knew that I wanted to get to a shooting distance of no more than two feet away from the fish to create a high quality image. The biggest challenge I had was being able to maneuver through the thick kelp that partially blocked the path of my approach. I analyzed the situation, pre-set my camera system to the strobe settings and aperture that I thought would get the exposure I wanted from a shooting distance of two feet, and then I made sure that I was neutrally buoyant. Next I made sure all my gages were tucked in tight against my body and mapped out a path that I thought would allow me to get to the desired shooting distance without me getting snagged in the kelp.

My plan of approach worked out well, and the fish never moved. From that point on it was just a matter of composing my frames and bracketing my exposures. I captured several horizontals and verticals that I am pleased with, and I think that this frame stoods out above the rest.

I hope you enjoy this week’s POTW!

See you next week,

Marty