Tuga

Seriously, if anyone knows how to transfer a trip, I won a liveaboard in Indonesia that I would love to trade for gear or cash. Otherwise, this will be the second prize I will have to throw away cuz I can't afford the airfare.

Thanks! That's certainly the one but there are a couple slight differences I can see. These pix have been sent to a Japanese expert that has done a paper on them for his thoughts. Notice the white line below the eyes that don't exist on my shot.

This gal is about 1/2 -3/4" long (carapace) and I know where a pair of them live at about 40fsw off Maui. It is unknown to the the author of the Hawaiian Inverts book. I have not messed with the color saturation. This is the way they come. The blue is as bright as a light and it's how I can spot them. Very secretive, living in dead coral and staying deep in the holes most of the time.

I guess it depends on the housing you have, but with an Ikelite focus port and the non-VR Nikon 105mm, you can switch uw.

Hey James, how you been? I didn't know they had teeth either until this was on the computer. I talked to a freind that knows these things - a marine biologist - and she said she has seen them ambush little things that swim by. Now that's little. Yeah, I wish I could replicate that shot. IB, yes, I meant I could back off a little with the Woody's and the 60mm.

I am able to get MF with 60mm or 105mm with a 2xTC with Ikelite. See: http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showt...mp;#entry135282

Interesting thread. I have an Ikelite/D70 system and I have been playing with a Tamron 2x TC lately. I should be clear that I prefer MF on all macro so AF was never a consideration for me. At first, I was using the 60mm w/TC with the Ikelite 105mm (non VR) focus port. This worked well and I was able to use the MF knob. The gear for changing the focus from MF to AF won't work with this combo so you would have to decide before diving. I loved the high magnification of this combo but to get full mag you have to get so close, it becomes hard to light the subject - especially if it's not in the open. Then I added a Woody's and it helped some. Here is my fav example with that combination: Of course I don't always get results that good but it shows the potential. Next, I had Ikelite make me a special port: The 105mm (nonVR) focus port with 1 1/2" added to the length. This allowed me to use my 105mm (non-VR) lens - again, in MF only. This gives me more working distance. I'm still learning this combo and my eyes aren't good enuf to find the critters that do this setup justice, but it's fun! This is the best shot with this system so far. I can't remember if I used the Woody's on this shot - I wish the exif could show this. But this barred whip coral shrimp was less than 1/4" long and this is full frame.

When we compete in art this is what happens. Art is too personal and subjective to be a contest. Add to that the notion that the playing field must be level and you have an unworkable situation. The orgs that run contests want to get as many entry fees as possible. Photographers that pay good money to enter, expect that they will be given the same judging standards as everyone else. Sponsors want to see lots of participation and continuously new faces in the winning circle. These are all opposing concepts so unhappy people can be expected. Should a shot be considered “better†because it is of a rare occurrence? Or because the photographer used a lesser priced camera? Or because it wasn’t cropped? Or because the photographer isn’t lucky enuf to be in the water 300 days out of the year? All of these questions only come up because it’s a contest and really have nothing to do with how the image affects the viewer. Isn’t how the image affects the viewer really all that matters? Imagine Michelangelo being disqualified for using the wrong medium (the rules clearly stated no ceilings were allowed!). Picture Ansel Adams being disqualified for dodging the edges of a shot (no manipulations!). As long as we look at underwater photography as a competition it will be stifled as an art. I’m not saying that we should never enter contests. I’m just saying that as long as we treat photography more like football than painting, the results will be scores instead of art. Just a thought.

Thanks for all the info... always more to learn. Again, both are stunning!!

Delicate - beautiful! How'd you shoot that? Night? Fast shutter? Lens? Camera? Really nice!

Well at least I feel better about not knowing what it was. I didn't mean to get the scientific community in an uproar though. If I had known how unique it was, maybe I would have grabbed it. Who knows, I coulda had a black sac named after me. This is fun... Thanks Art

Thanks Art! So let me see if my lay brain got it right. A male typically attches this sac of sperm on the female to fertilize the eggs but it is normally another color. If it doesn't get removed or something else goes wrong it dies and/or rots and turns black. That about it? Well that's a lotmore than I knew before. I believe you have helped me. Mahalo for your time and effort.

No, beside the fact that I quit killing these things years ago, it was peak NO lobster season and she was carrying eggs, They probably would have jailed me if I took her. :freak: Thanks for the effort. I hope we learn more.

Thanks Art! Glad to hear I'm not the only one puzzled. Looking forward to any more you come up with.

Here's a flagtail tilefish from Maui. It's the only tilefish we have. Hard to shoot before they disappear into the sand. This one was about 6-8 inches.