Redspotted Hawkfish – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern These fish can be very shy This is the only species of hawkfish we have in the Atlantic basin! This 2”-3” reef dwelling fish was common to see where I used to live, in the Florida Keys. However, this fish was also a challenging one to get a photo […]
SOUTHERN STARGAZER – IUCN Conservation Status: LEAST CONCERN Stargazers cover themselves in the sand This eyeball belongs to a rarely seen creature called a stargazer. There is a northern stargazer and a southern stargazer. Both look about the same, and the only way you can really tell the difference is the tail of the stargazer, as well […]
PYGMY FILEFISH – IUCN Conservation Status: LEAST CONCERN The pygmy filefish and the green feather algae are almost the exact same color! This is yet another photo from Blue Heron Bridge in West Palm Beach, Florida. Diving here is like playing underwater Where’s Waldo. There are lots of cryptic creatures that camouflage with the seafloor. Some practice mimicry, […]
LONG-SNOUTED SEAHORSE – IUCN Conservation Status: DATA DEFFICIENT This long-snouted seahorse may be pregnant! It’s odd to think of seahorses as “fish”, but these ornate creatures are indeed a species of fish. However, unlike a lot of fish, seahorses are not good swimmers. They do have fins and are able to swim, however they rely on the […]
SLENDER FILEFISH – IUCN Conservation Status: LEAST CONCERN Blackwater photography is unique because everything you are shooting will typically be within an arm’s reach. I believe this blackwater photo to be of a juvenile filefish. It is only about one to two inches long! This photo was taken during a blackwater night dive off the […]
Greenbanded goby – IUCN Conservation Status: LEAST CONCERN Cayman Greenbanded goby – IUCN Conservation Status: ENDANGERED Christopher Columbus called Samana Bay “Golfo de las Flechas” This beautiful sunset is from the Samana Peninsula in the Dominican Republic. More specifically this was taken near a small municipal district called, Arroyo Barril, just west of Samana. If […]
ALLIGATOR GAR – IUCN Conservation Status: LEAST CONCERN Alligator gars are “living fossils” What am I looking at? This strange shaped fish is named after what it looks like, an alligator. It is in fact a fish. However, this fish can breathe both air and water! In addition, this type of fish is actually able […]
Scrawled Cowfish – IUCN Conservation Status: LEAST CONCERN Notice the horns on the scrawled cowfish Scrawled Cowfish What catches your eye when you see this photo of a scrawled cowfish? For me it was two-fold: one, the mesmerizing blue and yellow pattern that covered the cowfish’s body, and two, the little horns that protrude from […]
IUCN Conservation Status: LEAST CONCERN Striated frogfish can change colors! This is a black-phase striated frogfish. Let’s breakdown what we are looking at. This is a fish that lives in salt water. It is not a frog. It is pea-sized. That is my fingertip in the bottom left corner, for scale. These fish can take […]
IUCN Conservation Status: LEAST CONCERN Shortnose batfish have bright pink lips! Sometimes with macro photography, you can get so zoomed in that it’s hard to tell what you are even looking at. That is part of the fun of macro photography. Images can look even sharper than what your eye can see. DONATE This is […]