It had been 6 months since we dove Hermosa Artificial Reef to take ID shots for Milton Love's study. Plus we needed a chance to look for Mike Couffer's fish, GSB462. Visibility is so iffy at Hermosa at certain times of the year, that using a drop camera to assess the vis has saved us more than one bounced dive.

ID shots have to be straight on the entire side of the fish for the computer program to map the spot pattern. So the thrill of the photo is getting good light on the spots. Giant sea bass are not always in the spotted state; they can rapidly change from spotted to completely black or completely silver, depending...

Gray moon sponge at Spongehenge

San Pedro auger, Neoterebra pedroana

Flatworm, Prostheceraeus bellostriatus

Sewer outfall pipes are among my favorite places to turn over rocks
Polychaete worm

Limpet

Limacia mcdonaldi

Calliostoma tricolor

Juvenile treefish

Okenia rosacea

Okenia rosacea butt shot - they have pretty gills but we forget to shoot them

Gopher rockfish #1

Gopher rockfish #2

Pyrosomes littered the sea floor and were prey to bat stars