Looking at the photo again,it looks like its been taken in a tank, looks like fresh water weed, every thing looks so clean. Or is it just me diving in Scotland!!!!

I’m very sorry that my photo looks irrealistic but if you would have some acquaintance about the fauna and flora of the seas, you would have noticed that the “fresh water weed” is a caulerpa prolifera and lives in salt water seas. The blennius pavo is a type of blennidae which lives in salt water seas too. I just think it’s you diving in Scotland!!!!

Ok, ive had another look at the photo, and you say no strobe used, how is it so well lit? have you got a filter on? if so please share the secret with us all. - Chic - Always in it, only the depth varies!

The Shot was taken in apnea at about four meters. The camera was laid on the ground to avoid its’ movement. The picture was taken with maximum aperture and 2 sec shutter speed because I had no strobe. No filter was used. The camera was in macro mode at max zoom at an approximate distance from the blenny of 50cm. The camera was set in timer mode so it wouldn’t move when i click the shot button. Since I was low on air I reemerged. When I came back down, the blenny had gone but the camera captured it in the photo. I did not retouch the colors/balance of the picture. I only tilted the image because the sea floor wasn’t completely flat. I did not look in the viewfinder because it was positioned on the ground, so I tried to approximate and center the camera on the blenny as well as I could. This is all.

Sounds like one hell of a lucky shot then… RS

To take a good shot you must be talented but sometimes luck can help too!!!!!!

I’m off to the shop to buy one of these cameras that photograph fish themself, then i can have a good dive and not worry about the camera - Brilliant -I like a good fairy tale, one to tell the grandchildren, how much air did you have left, to leave your camera, come up to the surface and go back down to retreive it must have used even more air than just lying on the bottom relaxed. How many camera’s have you lost!! Any way, i must compliment you on your English, i didn’t expect such a good reply. I must away now and have a look at this weeks contest.  Best of luck this week -Chic-

Since it’s so easy for you, go on and try. Dive, search for something to photograph and when finally, after your are underwater for some time, you find something to shoot, you set the camera in timer mode, set it in Manual and set aperture and shutter speed, focuse on the fish, place the camera on the ground, try and center the fish as exact as possible (without seeing in the viewfinder) and then click the shoot button. Maybe now I am a bit low on air, don’t you think? When I reemerged the camera was right below at 4 meters (it’s no that much) and I could see it from the surface. Then I went down and took it. Maybe it’s not that easy?

Sorry for my English. I know it’s terrible.

Do I understand you were FREE diving, not with SCUBA gear? This picture gets better and better....RS

I was free diving. Only with my mask and without flippers.

:oops: I think i’m nearly lost for words now, I’d be lucky if i could hold my breath for 30secs, never mind do all that. You must have fish gills rather than human lungs. Is this something you do all the time? do you dive with scuba equipment? -Chic-

I,ve always dived and still dive only in apnea with mask and flippers. Sometimes I put on also my wet suite but I’ve never even tried diving with tanks! Do you people use tanks or something else?

Yes i’ve got twin tanks, one for air and one for coffee for when i’m cold on a long dive.

I really need to buy one of these things!!!!

I didn’t use a wider aperture because my minolta doesn’t have a wider aperture. I used a 2 sec. shutter speed because it was very dark since the sunlight was obscured by the clouds and primarily because I have no strobe. I think that the un-focused leaves make the photo not so flat. The blennys are fantastic posers, they stay still no matter what you do. I really don’t know why my picture got so many votes in such a short time but I was asking myself the same thing. How come that some other wonderful picts get only few votes? I think that my picture wasn’t so good to get 50 or more votes, and how come the toadfish (the best one for me) got only 20? It’s 30 votes of difference. There must be someone geeking around with the votes. I think it’s not fun to win when you know there’s abviously something wrong going on.