Price To Pay
As soon as I got back from Thailand, I came down with food poisoning and am now at home nursing a high fever. Normally I would say something about each photo… but since there are some hundreds of photos and videos like the ones below that have yet to be shared, I think I'll pass on the lengthy commentary this time round and just write a little bit.
I Love Fish Photography
Most everyone I know hates fish photography because you have to lock your camera on them and follow them for ages before they 'accidentally' flash your their colourful sides. Typically they angle themselves so that you'll either be looking at their tails. This is a strategy to minimise being noticed by predators.
One thing great about fish photography is that you don't have to hold onto anything or try to stabilise yourself to get a shot because you'll need to hover and move with the fish at the same time while making sure that you stay locked on them for the right angle. Though that isn't easy to come by all the time, I always find the challenge fun (until I find myself out of sight of the group).
I noticed that butterflyfish tend to hang out in 2s and 3s but angelfish tend to wander alone.
Butterfly Effect 
Spectacular! I love these photos!Once while snorkeling in the Caribbean I saw two pufferfish the size of dufflebags. They came up over the coral. I had no camera. 😦
Dufflebags!!! Wow! Any idea what species they are? I've never come across such huge puffers before… with the except of a very large and pregnant porkie pine during a night dive! 😀
I don't know the species…I have tried to find photos online but had no luck. It was amazing!And, I just finished reading your previous post….you should definitely travel the world! We all want to see what you see as you go! 🙂 Very sorry about the fever and food poisoning by the way. 😦
Ahh… if you ever need to find a really comprehensive database to ID your fishies, you can use this database http://www.fishbase.org. I always use it when my fish identification guides fail me :). It's international and it was recommended to me by a friend who is doing research in marine biology in Australia.
Oh I do want to travel the world. I don't think I can take it staying on this island for much longer… conventionality doesn't reall sit well with me and there's so much more out there. But yep when I get food poisoning I sometimes wonder how I'd survive if I was out there by myself in an unfamiliar place! eep~:P
These are so good! Wow, you are a patient photographer-last time I snokeled with a camera I kept hissing curses when "the perfect object" suddenly dashed away-and muttering in a snorkel results in much sea water consumed :p But really, your pictures are beautiful! I love triggerfish, especially the picasso triggerfish-such fantastic colours, and cool behaviour 🙂 Thanks for sharing, and I hope the food poisoning is over soon!
[das ist gut]
Thank you for the fish id site! I think I found the guys we saw! I posted a picture on my blog!
wow, beautiful shot, Ellen! I wish I could snorkel and take pics of the sea life too! But I even dont know how to swim! Haha!
Oh Picasso triggers have the most amazing colours… they're my second favourite for triggers just behind the clown trigger which I think is the most amazing and friendliest trigger ever encountered just bumbling away with its huge polkadots.
Haha! Yep..cursing is quite common when it comes to fishes… they never ever ever stop moving…. if your camera doesn't react fast enough when you push the trigger it's goodbye to the perfect shot. Very frustrating! I once had a very rare angelfish stare at me finning away while I cursed my camera which had decided to freeze.
Hi Nikki! Fever is over… but I'm still running to the toilet…
To be honest, there are times when I prefer underwater photography to land photography.. there's always something great to take photos of and you never break a sweat! 😀
Hi Liya, you can too! I learnt swimming when I was 26…. nearly drowned when I was around 19…. about one year later, I passed my divemaster swim test… and I'm such a psychomotor moron… so if I can do it, you can do it too! 😀
Haha, but don't neglect those butterflies, too much. Pleeeease!!!Hope the running is over, by now, too. Don't forget to drink a lot and to refill those minerals you have lost (oops, I sound like a mother, now, sorry).
It looks like I won't be butterfly hunting tomorrow… I'm really weak from the runs… oh don't worry 🙂 I'm on rehydration salts and charcoal pills… they're helping a lot 🙂