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Category Archives: Photography
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Peacock Flounder, Bothus lunatus, Flounders
Hi gang, we had a super busy day here at Substation-Curacao yesterday with collage kids from Wilmington and folks that just wanted to go down in the sub. One of my main jobs here is to follow the sub out onto the reef and photograph who ever happens to be inside at the time and send them home with these super cool underwater photos. Most of the time the sub meets me at around 50 feet, I then take a bunch of shots and usually follow them down to around 100. We use an old Nikon D-200 in an IKELITE housing with double strobes for these shots and a D-800 for all the specimen shots and video. While out there yesterday I came across this very hidden Peacock Flounder as you see above, look how well he blends in!! Like so many fish and creatures here in the Caribbean these flounders have the art of disguise down to an art, it’s really amazing! I can’t even tell you how many times I have seen friends and divers swim right over these fish and never spot them and the cool thing is the flounders won’t move unless they are sure they have been spotted. The peacock flounder is also called flowery flounder because it is covered in superficially flower-like bluish spots. As suggested by the family name, lefteye flounders have both eyes on top of the left hand side of their heads. The eyes are raised up on short stumps like radar dishes, and can move in any direction independent of each other. That feature provides flounders with a wide range of view. One eye can look forward while the other looks backward at the same time. The baby flounders have one eye on each side of their bodies like ordinary fish, and swim like other fishes do, but later on, as they are becoming adult, the right eye moves to the left side, and flounders start to swim sideways, which gives them the ability to settle down flat on the bottom. The maximum length of this flounder is about 45 centimetres (18 in). Peacock flounders are mostly found in shallow water on sandy bottoms. Sometimes they rest over piles of dead corals or bare rock. They may be found as deep as 150 meters (490 ft). As most flounders, the peacock flounder is mainly nocturnal,but is sometimes also active during the day.… More:
Posted in Conservation, Corals, Fish, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged cool thing, lefteye, maximum length, radar dishes, specimen shots
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Golden Basslet, Liopropoma aberrans, Eyestripe Bass
Good morning from the ABC Islands!! I have a real treat for you all today especially for my fish collectors out there. This is the mega-rare, Golden Basslet, Liopropoma aberrans or we call them here, the Eyestripe Bass. Your looking at one of the rarest, most beautiful fish ever brought up from the depths and to date we have only found and collected 10!! This is an adult male, the juveniles are completely yellow with just a faint orange glow on their bellies, as they get older they get more of this beautiful orangish-red color to their bodies. These are found and collected by our new 1000 foot submersible called the “Curasub” at www.substation-curacao.com We find these fish in little caves or parked next to solitary stones, never near the walls. They seem to love areas near sandy slopes or little rubble piles the most and are always found hidden behind rocks most likely so they can ambush prey. This species like other basslets is very shy and solitary, we sometimes will see two in one area but they are always spaced 10-15 feet apart. They are found at depths between 450 and 800 feet and researchers are thinking there could be two or three different species yet to be found. Once brought to the surface which takes about a week, they are taken into our deep-water lab (it’s very cold in there) and fed live mysis (type of tiny shrimp) which they seem to love. Like other basslets they also feed on just about anything that moves and are very aggressive hunters. So if your reading this and all ready thinking, “I gotta have one”, be prepared to shell out around $6,000!!! Yes, you read that right, in fact the first one brought up ended up selling for over five figures!!! I have been told that these fish can live a long time and they seem to do well in captivity, they just need plenty of places to hide and lots of live things to eat!! I am off to the sea, we have two sub runs today!! Have a wonderful day, Barry/www.coralreefphotos.com MORE: Golden Basslet, Liopropoma aberrans, Eyestripe Bass… More:
Posted in Conservation, Corals, Fish, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged basslet, corals, curasub, eyestripe, fish, golden, Live, looking-at-one, Photography
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Longsnout Seahorse, Hippocampus reidi, Seahorse’s
Hola Amigo’s, I have a very shy, bright orange, Longsnout Seahorse, Hippocampus reidi for you all today that I found right here on the Sea Aquarium house reef. For most visiting divers this is the Holy Grail of finds but sadly many will leave without ever seeing one. If you want to find a seahorse you have to dive slow, get lower to the reef and look at the base of all sponges and gorgonians, I promise you they are there you just have to find them. This little reef treasure can grow to about seven inches long and can be found in a multitude of rainbow colors. Males are often bright orange and the females yellow, both may be covered in brown or white spots, and may turn pink or white during courtship. They are found in coral reefs and sea grass beds and occasionally in the midwater of the Atlantic from North Carolina to Florida, and from the Caribbean down to Brazil. Males can carry broods of up to 1,000 young in their pouches, with larger males carrying even more young. Of the thousands of longsnouts born in each brood, only one or two may live to become adults and raise broods of their own. In the past, that’s been enough to keep their populations healthy. But today, collectors take tons to dry and sell as souvenirs. The more that are taken, the fewer that are left to reproduce—putting longsnout populations in danger. As with other seahorses, when longsnout seahorses mate, the female deposits her eggs into a special pouch on the male’s belly. The pouch seals shut while he nurtures the developing eggs. Once the eggs hatch, the pouch opens and the male goes into labor giving birth to his tiny young. We had a crazy day here at Substation yesterday with film crews, famous singers and two actors, never a dull moment around here!! Not much else to report, the rains have stopped and the island is nice and green, the down side is the wind is blowing hard again and the ocean is rough! Have a wonderful day, Barry MORE: Longsnout Seahorse, Hippocampus reidi, Seahorse’s… More:
Posted in Conservation, Corals, Fish, Photography, Seahorses, Uncategorized
Tagged barry, brazil, carolina, florida, hippocampus, island, male, males, north-carolina, other fish
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Trumpetfish, Aulostomus maculatus, Long Fish
Good morning from the Caribbean!! IF your like me, you just got to work and are just sitting there starring at your computer wondering why your head is spinning and asking yourself, “where did the weekend go”???? It’s like some cruel magic trick, you wait all week for your weekends and then “POOF” they are gone!! I was thinking, we as a human race need to implement a new work strategy, we will all work super hard on the weekends even overtime if needed and then we get the week off, tell me that doesn’t sound better!! My weekend was of course crazy busy again and so much in fact I can hardly remember what I did on Saturday?? Yesterday, Sunday I left the house at 6:30 am on my mountain bike and did a very fast paced two and a half hour ride to the North coast and back, that’s around 35 miles. After that Stijn came over and we found two more different gecko’s in my yard for my “reptiles of Curacao” collection and took them to work to be photographed. After they were photographed we took them all the way back out to the desert and released them in a beautiful spot with lots of old wood. We then met a few friends at Substation and went on a fun reef dive, I spent the whole time just cleaning up the reef and not taking my camera for once. After the dive we worked in my yard getting it cleaned up and finally at 4:30 took the dogs out for a long two hour hike around the salt ponds, talk about a man who was wiped out when I got home!!! So tell me what you all did this weekend for once. Here is a sleek Trumpetfish I found a few days ago and forgot to send it to you all. These fish are everywhere you look here in Curacao! They can be found in electric yellow, blue as you see above and even red, and I am still trying to get all the colors into one photo!! Trumpetfish, Aulostomus maculatus, are long bodied fish with upturned mouths, that often swim vertically while trying to blend with vertical coral, like sea rods, sea pens, and pipe sponges. Trumpetfish occur in waters between 0.5 and 30 meters (1.6 and appr. 100 feet) deep and can grow to 40 to 80 cm (appr.… More:
Posted in Conservation, Corals, Fish, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged aulostomus, bony fish, camera, caribbean, colors, conservation, curacao, house
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Coral Crab, Channel Clinging Crab, Mithrax spinosissimus
Good morning gang, I really can’t believe it’s Friday already!! Here is a big Channel Clinging Crab by request this morning. Most of you divers know this species by the common name Channel Clinging Crab, but it turns out that it has several other common names, including Reef Spider Crab, and Spiny Spider Crab, among others. The crab’s scientific name is Mithrax spinosissimus, and that designation stays the same, independent of the common name, which varies from place to place. This crab is a ‘true crab’ (as opposed to, say, a hermit crab), and belongs to the Majidae family. Majidae tend to have long slender legs just like this example above which is why the common names of many species in this family include the word ‘spider’. Majids also tend to have little hairs or bristle-like structures on their carapaces. Bits of material like algae, sponge, and so on attach to those hairs and act as part of the crab’s camouflage. Note that the walking legs of this species also are rather hairy, and are covered with ‘stuff’ while the business end of the crab those impressive claws, are smooth. Like so many reef creatures, this species forages mainly at night. During the day, they hunker in the reefs, under ledges, and in cavelets. Because of their size, they can’t wiggle into small cervices like so many smaller species can do. Still, they can be difficult to spot during the day, since their decorated carapaces blend so well with their surroundings. These crabs inhabit a range from the sub-tropical western Atlantic to the Caribbean. They can be found in reef areas along the coasts of southern Florida, through the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and throughout much of the Caribbean. Thanks to The Right Blue for this great information. http://therightblue.blogspot.com/2009/02/channel-clinging-crab-mithrax.html Stijn and I started filming a mountain bike movie last night but will takes weeks of work to finish. Because of all the new green growth everywhere now we thought it would be a perfect time to start this long overdo project and so many have asked to see the trails here! I am off to the sea, have a great weekend and thanks for all the wonderful comments and suggestions. Barry MORE: Coral Crab, Channel Clinging Crab, Mithrax spinosissimus… More:
Posted in Conservation, Corals, Fish, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged common names, family majidae, forages, hairs, hermit crab
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Blue Tang Aggregations, Acanthurus coeruleus
Good morning friends, yep, late again what can I say?? There is so much going on here at the moment that getting to the blog is becoming down right difficult, but I am trying! So just to get you up to speed on what’s coming up for us this month, we first have the crew from “Wild About Animals” arriving from the States on the 14th through the 16th to shoot a story on the sub and all the cool stuff we find down there, not sure yet when that will air but I will keep you posted. Then, days after we have the scientists arriving from the Smithsonian again and they will be around till June 3rd or 4th. We are first taking them, our ship and the sub to Klein Curacao for a few days and then to Bonaire for five days, we are going to be sooo busy! The scientists will be searching for new species of fish and creatures and I will be right there with camera ready to photograph these new finds when they surface in my waiting deep-water aquariums that I will have aboard the ship. We are also in the middle of moving to another house so please be patient in the coming days. When we are out to sea on the “Chapman” (our research vessel) I will have no Internet which means no blog for about a week but I will make it up to you with cool photos never seen before. Here is a colorful photo of a big school of Blue Tangs cruising through the reef. We see these large groups called “aggregations” on the reef here every single day and I still never seem to get tired of it, they are just so beautiful. Adult blue tangs have three social modes: territorial, wandering, and schooling. Territorial adults defend their home rage from other members of the species. Schooling adults are not aggressive. Wanderer adults are not aggressive nor do they interact with other individuals like schooling fish do. Wanderers are mostly chased by other fish including Ocean surgeonfish and damselfishes. Occasionally, Blue Tangs form large multi-species aggregations with other surgeonfishes as seen above. Blue tangs may benefit from forming schools for two reasons. First, individuals may experience lower rates of predation when feeding in large groups. Second, by feeding in groups, fish might be able to work together to overcome the territorial defenses of other fishes.… More:
Posted in Conservation, Corals, Fish, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged blue tang, deep-water, new species of fish, research vessel, single day
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Yellow Goatfish, Mulloidichthys martinicus, Mullidae
Good morning from wet Curacao! It’s crazy how fast things change here, we went from two months without rain and now there is standing water everywhere! The forecast for today and tomorrow is heavy rain and stupid me I rode my bike to work, it’s gonna be real fun getting home. So how was your weekend???? Mine was busy with packing up our house and getting ready for our big move across the street at the end of the month. The house we are in now is much too big for us and we hardly even use the upstairs, our new place will be cheaper and have better wind circulation so needless to say we can hardly wait. I did a three hour bike ride yesterday and then went to watch Stijn and Dorian race in a criterium over on the North coast by the airport. Stijn had to do 30 laps (65k) and Dorian who is much younger only had to do 5 laps (13k), they both won first place!! Today I have a beautiful school of Yellow Goatfish, Mulloidichthys martinicus, hanging out around a mound of Mountainous Star Coral. Yellow goatfish are tireless benthic feeders, using a pair of long chemosensory barbels (“whiskers”) protruding from their chins to rifle through the sediments in search of a meal. May grow up to 39 centimetres (15 in) in length. They usually feed off of smaller fish, hunting in a school during the day, and alone at night. Goatfishes are tropical marine perciform fish of the family Mullidae. Seldom found in brackish waters, they are most associated with the reefs of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. The goatfishes are sometimes called ‘red mullets’ as opposed to the Mugilidae, the grey mullets, though that name is usually reserved for the red mullets of the genus Mullus of the Mediterranean. Within the family are approximately six genera and 55 species. All goatfishes have the ability to change their coloration depending on their current activity. By day, many goatfishes will form large inactive (nonfeeding) schools; these aggregates may contain both conspecifics and heterospecifics. By night, the schools disperse and individual goatfish head their separate ways to loot the sands. Other nocturnal feeders will shadow the active goatfish, waiting patiently for any overlooked morsels. Goatfishes stay within the shallows, going no deeper than about 110 m. I hope all is well out there, the rain has stopped and I am racing home to get the car before the next wave arrives!… More:
Posted in Conservation, Corals, Fish, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged dorian, family, genus, goatfish, Mediterranean, mountainous, mugilidae, mulloidichthys, north, Photography, stijn
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Banded Butterflyfish, Chaetodon Striatus, Reef Fish
Hello Earth people, I have a cute little Banded Butterflyfish hiding in a sea-fan for you all today that we came across the other day while cleaning the reef. These fish are so beautiful and really one of the more graceful fish you will see on the reef, they just cruise about the reef (usually in pairs) without a care in the World. This one here was so calm that I was able to photograph him or her with a 105 macro lens and really showed little concern at all. I was telling a new underwater photographer just yesterday to concentrate your efforts on animals and creatures that are relaxed, stationary or slow moving and practice patience! Banded butterflyfishes, also called banded mariposas, butterbuns, butterflyfishes, Portugese butterflies, and school mistresses, were first described by Carl Linnaeus as Chaetodon striatus in 1758. The family name “Chaetodontidae ” means “bristle-tooth,” while “striatus” refers to their thick black vertical stripes — two on their sides and a third extending from their dorsal fin to their caudal peduncles (tails). Their pelvic fins, except for the spine, are also black. A well-known denizen of commercial aquariums, this species has a short snout and a vertically flattened, squarish “disk-shaped” body. They have 12 dorsal spines, 19 to 21 dorsal soft rays, 3 anal spines, and 16 to 17 anal soft rays. Adult banded butterflyfishes grow to a maximum length of about 15 cm. Maturity is reached at lengths around 12 cm. Banded butterflyfishes, Chaetodon striatus, are associated with tropical marine reefs from 43° N to 23° S, at depths of 3 to 55 meters. In the Western Atlantic, they can be found from Massachusetts to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. In the central Atlantic they are found off St. Paul’s Rocks .Banded butterflyfishes, Chaetodon striatus, feed primarily on polychaete worms, coral polyps , crustaceans and mollusk eggs, scraping off the invertebrates with their bristly teeth. Adults may form plankton -feeding aggregations of up to 20 individuals, and they occasionally clean other reef fishes which join the group, such as grunts, parrotfishes and surgeon fishes. They are a diurnal species, active during the day and sleeping at night. At the end of the day they seeks shelter from night predators such as moray eels, sharks, and other larger reef fishesBanded butterflyfishes, Chaetodon striatus, reproduce quickly. Their minimum population doubling time is less than 15 months.… More:
Slender Filefish, Monacanthus tuckeri, Filefishes
Hello friends, sorry for the no blog yesterday and the very late one today!! Yesterday was a holiday called “Queens Day”, were everyone dresses up in Orange (Netherlands national color) and parties like it’s 1999, it’s honestly the biggest party of the year here! While this big event was getting underway I was underwater with a group of divers from the World famous “Dive Bus Hut” which is now located across the street from the old Breezes Hotel, it’s now called Sunscape I think.. The dive was an annual event held by PADI to help get folks out there at least once a year to clean up their local reefs. We mostly found yards and yards of fishing string but did bring back a lot of plastics as well. I was joined by not only our buddy Mark from the “Dive Bus Hut” but also, my wife Aimee and my two mountain bike students Stijn and Dorian, it was a great time! While they cleaned trash I found the tiny little fish above called a Slender Filefish hiding in the gorgonians, talk about a fun fish to watch and below is some cool info about him. After the dive we stopped at a local BBQ, ate till we could hardly walk and then went to see what all the fuss was about at the “Queens Day” celebration in Punda. We walked for an hour soaking up the madness of thousands of Dutch people all wearing orange, I swear my eyes hurt when we got home!! Today (WED) is Stijn’s 16th birthday and to start things out right we did a very fast paced three hour mountain bike ride to the North coast and back, it was great!! We did have to navigate quite a few muddy areas that were still filled with water but other than that it couldn’t have been a better morning for a long fast three hour sprint! So, all is well here and now a bit more information on today’s fish, read on. This little beauty above is called a Slender Filefish, Monacanthus tuckeri and is one of the smallest types of filefish in the world, growing to a mere three inches (but most typically found in the Caribbean at about one inch). Another master of disguise, this fish is usually found hiding out in the gorgonians, changing its color and even patterns to blend in with its surroundings.… More:
Posted in Conservation, Corals, Fish, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged aimee, biggest party, great time, muddy areas, stijn
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Rainforest of the Sea
Rainforest of the Sea opened last month at the Horniman Museum & Gardens and runs till 15 September. Entry to the exhibition is free. A new photographic exhibition at the Horniman Museum & Gardens captures the underwater wonders of the coral triangle. Rainforest of the Sea (opening 9 March) features stunning photographs of sea creatures in Borneo, and highlights the diversity of coral reefs, as well as the threats facing one of the world’s richest habitats. Marine biologist and photographer Jamie Craggs worked without the aid of digital photography to create the series of striking underwater shots – from a turtle silhouetted against an azure sky, to close encounters with a longhorn cowfish, a bumblebee shrimp and a hairy squat lobster. Jamie says: ‘Coral reefs are often called the “rainforest of the sea” because, like rainforests, they are one of the most biologically diverse habitats on the planet. These photos weren’t taken with an exhibition in mind, but the threats to this amazing underwater world are so great that I wanted the images to do some good. I hope Rainforest of the Sea will not only show visitors the beauty and wonder of the coral reef and its creatures, but also raise awareness of the importance of protecting them for the future.’ Jamie has worked on coral reef expeditions in the Philippines, as an underwater cameraman in Borneo and as a professional aquarist in the UK. He is currently the Aquarium Curator at the Horniman, overseeing a collection of 2,500 live specimens from 150 aquatic species. He specialises in coral biology and is working with international organisations to conserve coral reefs and better understand the impact human life has on these fragile and globally important habitats.… More:
Posted in Corals, Fish, Invertebrates, Photography
Tagged azure sky, photographic exhibition, rainforests, squat lobster, underwater wonders
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Caribbean Sharpnose Puffer, Canthigaster rostrata
Good morning friends, how was your weekend?? Mine was so busy and filled with so many adventures which is probably the reason I am so tired this morning! Saturday morning I took the dogs out for a long two and a half hour hike and the second we got home it started to rain. And by rain I mean one of the hardest rains we have had in years, it was an all out flooding tropical downpour!! In just seconds our driveway was transformed into a raging river and our backyard looked like a small pond, everything was flooded in just minutes! So because of the rain I was now pretty much stuck at home and went to work on the computer for the rest of the day. Sunday morning my buddy Stijn came over and we again took the dogs out for a long walk and did some much needed trail work. While moving some brush Stijn found a beautiful little gecko that I had never seen here before so we put him in a container and carried him back home and then to work to photograph him. We brought leaves, sticks and rocks from where we found him and re-built him a natural little World for him to hang out in for the photo-shoot and after took him all the way back to the desert and released him in his original home! I couldn’t find any info about him this morning but once I do will send you the photo and tell you more. After the gecko event we grabbed our dive gear and took off on a fun dive, Stijn went lionfish hunting and fed them to his big pet spotted eel and I took my macro lens and searched for anything of interest to shoot. One of the cool things I found was this cute little Sharpnose Puffer and ended up hanging out with him for quite awhile, they are just so cool! Below is some information I found for you about the puffer so please read on. MORE: Caribbean Sharpnose Puffer, Canthigaster rostrata… More:
Posted in Conservation, Corals, Fish, Invertebrates, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged bike ride, gecko, half hour, macro lens, photo shoot
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Sunray Lettuce Coral, Helioceris cucullata, Stony Corals
Hi friends, good news again, it’s pouring rain at this very moment!! Yes, we are finally getting some much needed rains and it’s safe to say our prayers have been answered!! I did a walk this morning at 7:00 with Aimee, the dogs and our friend Mandy and we could see it was pouring on the North coast but it didn’t look like it was going to come this direction, boy was I ever wrong! For the last 30 minutes it has been an all out tropical downpour which is hitting the roof so hard you can hardly hear anything else, lucky Curacao! Today I have a few examples of one of the coolest, most beautiful stony corals on the reef called Sunray Lettuce Coral or Helioceris cucullata for you coral experts out there. Colonies of Sunray Lettuce Coral form thin plates that encrust and contour over the substrate, occasionally with lumpy surfaces as seen above. Colonies edges extend outward from substrate, are often undulated and generally rounded. This coral may also form in overlapping, shingle-like plates like you see in these two photos. With polyps retracted, corallite pits appear in honeycomb pattern. Colors are normally brown, red-brown or even gray with polyp centers white or green, edges of the coral are always lighter. These very fragile corals inhabit sloping reef faces, attaching to and encrusting the rocky substrate. Leaf, plate and sheet corals often form structures with virtually identical shapes and sizes and often grow mixed together overlapping one another. Distinguishing the different species requires close observation of the valley and ridge structure not to mention polyp placement and septa detail, always take a close-up shot if you have a camera. have a wonderful day, I’m headed out to do a dive as it just stopped raining. Barry MORE: Sunray Lettuce Coral, Helioceris cucullata, Stony Corals… More:
Posted in Conservation, Corals, Fish, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged Coral, corals, curacao, dogs, fish, hard corals, helioceris, lettuce, mandy, spanish, white-or-green
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