Photo of the Week: January 24, 2011

Hi Gang!

This week’s POTW is an image of a pair of lizardfish sitting on a coral head in Fiji. Taken on the “check-out dive”, meaning it was the first dive of a recent month-long trip, the image is one of my trip favorites.

In some respects lizardfishes (roughly 40 species worldwide that occur in tropical and temperate seas) bear some resemblance to terrestrial lizards, especially when these fish prop themselves up on their pelvic and pectoral fins as they rest on the substrate.

 Ambush predators, lizardfishes are voracious carnivores. They primarily prey upon small fishes such as herrings, sardines, anchovies, silversides, basslets and grunts. They also consume significant numbers of squids, shrimps and other small invertebrates. When hunting, lizardfishes sometimes bury themselves in the sand or mud with only their eyes exposed. This position enables them to be mostly hidden while waiting on their prey to pass within striking distance. But whether partially buried or exposed as this pair was, when given the opportunity lizardfishes “launch ” themselves at their potential victim at speeds that are so fast that it is difficult to follow the action. Lizardfishes use the rapid and powerful side-to-side motion of their tail to propel themselves. Their razor-sharp, needle-like teeth and armed tongue assist lizardfish in grabbing and holding their victim.

The coloration of a given lizardfish tends to vary greatly depending upon the habitat that the fish is in at any given moment. Lizardfishes that live in areas of white sand bottoms often display rather faint color patterns, while those that occur in darker, rocky-bottomed areas are more distinctly marked.

A key factor in being able to capture this week’s POTW was being able to get to a camera port-to-lizardfish distance of about two feet. I was using a Nikon 60 mm macro lens, and needed to be able to get to within two feet in order to be able to fill a pleasing percentage of my photographic frame with the fish. The key to getting that close was achieving and maintaining neutral buoyancy, tucking gages, slow, deliberate movements and not crashing into the reef or doing anything else that might cause the fish to flee. I won’t say that I can always get as close as I want to a lizardfish, but if I follow my own advice and go slow I usually enjoy a high percentage of success in terms of being able to get myself into a desirable shooting position.

I did my best to get the visible eyes of both fish the same distance from my focal plane so that I could get the visible eye and face of both fish in focus. I cranked my strobes up to full power so that I could close down my f/stop to f/16, a setting that would give me a good depth-of field. I used a D300 camera in a Subal housing, and lit the scene with two Ikelite DS 125 strobes.

I hope you enjoy this week’s POTW!

See you next week,

Marty