Posted by Dick Analog on December 29, 2004 at 09:23:07:
In Reply to: THROUGH THE EYES OF A NEW DIVER posted by Dick Analog on December 28, 2004 at 21:32:47:
Thanks, Elaine, for your constructive comments on human interaction with marine life. I agree wholeheartedly. And no doubt the photo would have been better against the colorful background of the rocky reefs in that area, instead of a gloved hand.
I particularly enjoyed the your insight into the behavior of sea slugs. The hapless sea hare in question was drifting free (as described in the photo caption) and nearly landed on my mask, apparently knocked loose from its perch by the strong surge that day. It was some distance from the nearest solid ground, and attached itself to my glove with apparent enthusiasm when I gently put out my hand to stop its fall. After admiring the interesting coloration and body shape and snapping a couple of photos, I swam with it to the nearest rocky feef and deposited it in a protected nook. Hopefully the little guy (gal?) found a new home with abundant food & friends.
The camera used for the photos is a simple digital point & shoot - a Canon Power Shot. I'm an experienced film photographer on land, and have taken hundreds of thousands of digital images of small, distant objects in space, but I was nevertheless blown away the the quality of the images that came out of that little camera. Of course, having such colorful and fascinating subject matter goes a long way to make interesting photos.
P.S. I always look forward to your dive reports and accompanying photography.