Two weeks dive safari on the boat NAI'A cruising around the islands of Fiji. The reefs around the main island Viti Levu are very fine. Wonderful reefs with many colourful hard and soft corals. We even saw humpback whales but they were not interested in diving with us. Have also a look at the pictures I shot above water. First we booked a ten day humpback whale safari in Tonga on this boat and planned the whole trip around it. But then the NA'A did not get a permission for 2010 from the government of Tonga. Instead they offered a two week explorer tour around the Lau group in the east of Fiji. Last year Humpback whale sightings were reported there. Not so long time ago there were a lot of humpback whales around Fiji. But then they got hunted and either extinct or moved to Tonga where they didn't get killed. In January 2010 a strong cyclone crossed the Lau group and destroyed a lot of reefs. We've seen the rubble. Other reefs are almost dead due to coral bleaching and covered with algae. There are also not many fish around Lau. The more distant from the main island, the more Korean and Japanese ships are fishing illegally there.
Fig. 1: A wonderful coral reef with lot of hard and soft corals and deep blue water in the background. Dive #397: Yellow Mellow, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=15 mm; f/4.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-07 21:35:53
Fig. 2: A lot of pink anthias in a soft coral and with Sandra in the background. Dive #397: Yellow Mellow, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=15 mm; f/4.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-07 21:40:08
Fig. 3: Anthias hiding in a soft coral. Dive #397: Yellow Mellow, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=15 mm; f/4.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-07 21:40:49
Fig. 4: A small white scorpionfish. The wide angle lens was not the right choice to take a good picture. Wowever, it's not that bad. Dive #397: Yellow Mellow, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/10.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-07 21:45:31
Fig. 5: A feather seastar sitting on a coral. During the day they are usually curled up and at night they're open and sometimes swimming through the water. Dive #397: Yellow Mellow, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/4.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-07 21:49:07
Fig. 6: A small cavern with openings in the ceiling and all covered with corals. Dive #397: Yellow Mellow, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=17 mm; f/6.3; ISO 100; 2010-08-07 21:53:14
Fig. 7: A lot of small and colorful fish are swimming above the coral reef. If one holds the breath and stays quietly on position, they come slowly out. Dive #397: Yellow Mellow, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=17 mm; f/4.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-07 21:58:19
Fig. 8: A pretty red gorgony in blue water. Dive #397: Yellow Mellow, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=16 mm; f/4.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-07 22:00:38
Fig. 9: The same gorgony as from the previous picture but with dive buddy Sandra. Dive #397: Yellow Mellow, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=16 mm; f/5.6; ISO 100; 2010-08-07 22:02:53
Fig. 10: A lot of small colorful fish are swimming above this coral. Dive #397: Yellow Mellow, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=16 mm; f/7.1; ISO 100; 2010-08-07 22:05:05
Fig. 11: A Clarks Anemonenfish above its anemone, photographed from bottom up with the water surface in the background. Dive #397: Yellow Mellow, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=20 mm; f/6.3; ISO 100; 2010-08-07 22:10:26
Fig. 12: Feather seastars are sitting on this red gorgony which is located in a cavern. Dive #398: Howard's Dinner, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 0:53:07
Fig. 13: Softcorals are dwelling in this cavern. Dive #398: Howard's Dinner, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 0:54:11
Fig. 14: I shot this photo with a fisheye lens and had to get very close to this lionfish so that its feathers almost touched the dome port. Dive #398: Howard's Dinner, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/7.1; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 1:03:36
Fig. 15: A lot of sea goldies were hiding in the branches of this coral. Dive #398: Howard's Dinner, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/7.1; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 1:07:24
Fig. 16: A yellow softcoral with the sun in the background. Here two strobes would have been better to get a more threedimensional look. With just one strobe it looks flat. Dive #398: Howard's Dinner, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/7.1; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 1:09:01
Fig. 17: A feather seastar with the sun and a diver in the background. Dive #398: Howard's Dinner, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/7.1; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 1:10:04
Fig. 18: A hardcoral with the sun in the background. I should have waited longer before taking this picture. There are still my bubbles visible on the top. Dive #398: Howard's Dinner, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/10.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 1:25:51
Fig. 19: The top of this reef almost touches the water surface. Dive #398: Howard's Dinner, Vatu-I-Ra, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/6.3; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 1:27:14
Fig. 20: Red gorgonies with lots of orange anthias. Dive #399: Coral Garden, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/4.5; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 4:31:15
Fig. 21: Hard and soft corals with damselfish in the foreground and divers in the background. Dive #399: Coral Garden, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/200 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 4:35:01
Fig. 22: A lot of sea goldies are swimming around this coral block with soft corals. Dive #399: Coral Garden, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/200 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 4:36:18
Fig. 23: Feather seastars with sea goldies and the sun in the background. Two Thumbs Up, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/4.5; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 20:57:58
Fig. 24: Very beautiful gorgonies with lots of colourful small fish. Two Thumbs Up, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/4.5; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 21:03:27
Fig. 25: Very beautiful gorgonies with lots of colourful small fish. Two Thumbs Up, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/4.5; ISO 100; 2010-08-08 21:11:57
Fig. 26: A beautiful red coral hind with blue dots. Usually they are shy and don't like being photographed. Dive #402: Tetons 1, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/10.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-09 0:26:24
Fig. 27: This type of nudibranch is very common around Fij and about 2cm in size. This one here probably got bitten by a fish. Tetons 1, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-09 0:34:00
Fig. 28: A longnose hawkfish is sitting on coral twigs. Dive #402: Tetons 1, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/10.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-09 0:42:42
Fig. 29: A sea slug (Phyllidia varicosa) Dive #402: Tetons 1, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/14.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-09 0:46:27
Fig. 30: A nudibranch of the species Flabellina. Don't know the exact name. Dive #402: Tetons 1, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/14.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-09 0:48:56
Fig. 31: A swarm of barracudas with some surgeon fish hiding in it. Dive #403: Namena NST, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=24 mm; f/5.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-09 4:36:20
Fig. 32: A swarm of barracudas with some surgeon fish hiding in it and the sun in the background. Dive #403: Namena NST, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=24 mm; f/9.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-09 4:37:56
Fig. 33: This dive site was called "fish factory". A more suitable name would be "the fish have gon e to factory" because there were almost no fish here. The current was very strong here. It was like riding on a train and looking out the window. Dive #404: Fish Factory, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/4.5; ISO 100; 2010-08-10 0:30:10
Fig. 34: The current on this dive site was so strong that I hardly could point my camera on this coral. It almost blew the mask off the face. Dive #404: Fish Factory, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.6; ISO 100; 2010-08-10 0:42:05
Fig. 35: Where is the bluespotted stingray? It was hiding under a table coral and being photographed by this diver. I had no chance to get there. The current was too strong. Dive #404: Fish Factory, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/11.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-10 0:51:44
Fig. 36: I didn't have much time for taking pictures on this dive site because the current was that strong. After all, this site wasn't very special either. Despite the strong current there were very few fish. Dive #404: Fish Factory, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/8.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-10 0:53:03
Fig. 37: And some more underwater landscape with corals and little fish. Dive #404: Fish Factory, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/6.3; ISO 100; 2010-08-10 0:59:02
Fig. 38: Yeah, a gorgony at the "texas reef". After the dive I knew why it was called with that name. It looked like the desert in texas. Probably in texas there were more fish. The reef was pretty damaged, mostly due to the cyclone in january 2010 and probably overfishing. Dive #406: Texas Reef, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/7.1; ISO 100; 2010-08-11 4:23:53
Fig. 39: My dive buddy girlfriend wife Sandra ... there wasnät much more to photograph on this site. There were as many fish as in texas. Probably I should have photographed the dead reef for documentation but I forgot it. Dive #406: Texas Reef, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/4.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-11 4:51:04
Fig. 40: A photo of clarks anemone fish (Amphiprion clarkii). Dive #407: Night dive in Radi Harbour, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/200 s; f=60 mm; f/13.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-11 7:22:56
Fig. 41: A sleeping black-spotted pufferfish ( Ein schlafender schwarz gepunkteter Kugelfisch (Arothron nigropunctatus) which had a parasite louse behind one eye. Dive #407: Night dive in Radi Harbour, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/200 s; f=60 mm; f/18.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-11 7:46:40
Fig. 42: Unfortunately there were that many transparent worms during this night dive which were attracted by my pilot lamp and swimming around the field of view and ruined asmost every picture. Here's a baby cuttle fish trying to hide in the sand ... and a lot of nasty worms. Dive #407: Night dive in Radi Harbour, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/200 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-11 7:56:11
Fig. 43: A swimming flatworm with a lot of transprarent other worms swimming always in the light beam of my camera. Dive #407: Night dive in Radi Harbour, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/200 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-11 7:58:11
Fig. 44: A snail is looking at me underneath its shell. Dive #407: Night dive in Radi Harbour, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/200 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-11 8:01:25
Fig. 45: A big crayfish is trying to hide underneath a coral block. Dive #407: Night dive in Radi Harbour, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/200 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-11 8:06:31
Fig. 46: Portrait of a small crocodile fish. Dive #407: Night dive in Radi Harbour, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/200 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-11 8:14:40
Fig. 47: Another portrait of the same small crocodile fish. Unfortunately one of these nasty transparent worms was dancing on its head and I didn't see it only later on the computer screen. That's why one should take always more than one picture of the same target. Dive #407: Night dive in Radi Harbour, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/200 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-11 8:14:53
Fig. 48: A small scorpionfish. Dive #407: Night dive in Radi Harbour, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/200 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-11 8:16:45
Fig. 49: The kauri snails look alive much better than dead in souvenir shops. Eine Kaurischnecke. Horrible this tourist merchandise with animals. Dive #407: Night dive in Radi Harbour, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/200 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-11 8:20:41
Fig. 50: A big crab sitting on a coral. Dive #407: Night dive in Radi Harbour, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/200 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-11 8:23:54
Fig. 51: Little fish in a coral. Dive #408: Yanuca Island, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-12 4:51:10
Fig. 52: Two shrimps in an anemone. Dive #408: Yanuca Island, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-12 4:54:45
Fig. 53: A shrimp in an anemone. The second one disappeared oout of the frame. Dive #408: Yanuca Island, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-12 4:56:17
Fig. 54: The exhaust hole of a big shell. Dive #408: Yanuca Island, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-12 5:01:02
Fig. 55: A heart shaped red hard coral. Dive #408: Yanuca Island, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-12 5:20:01
Fig. 56: A pretty fish dancing around. Probably a juvenile. Dive #408: Yanuca Island, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-12 5:33:11
Fig. 57: A transparent shrimp on a anemone. One can also see the eggs inside the body. Dive #409: Yanuca Island, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-12 7:52:34
Fig. 58: This orange spotted filefish (Oxymonacanthus longirostris) is taking a nap in a coral. Dive #409: Yanuca Island, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-12 7:56:00
Fig. 59: A small scorpionfish. Unfortunately one cannot see the lightning like reflex in its eye. Dive #409: Yanuca Island, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-12 8:19:16
Fig. 60: The eye of a small octopus looking at me. Dive #409: Yanuca Island, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-12 8:22:17
Fig. 61: During night dives one can see hermit crabs walking around. Dive #409: Yanuca Island, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-12 8:26:59
Fig. 62: A sea urchin (probably Heterocentrotus mammillatus). Dive #409: Yanuca Island, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-12 8:28:23
Fig. 63: A flatworm swimming in water. Dive #409: Yanuca Island, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-12 8:29:04
Fig. 64: Sea stars have a remarkable regenaration capability. This one has lost two arms which grow back. If you cut off an arm of a sea star, then also a sea star grows back from one arm. Dive #410: Matua Leva, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-13 0:50:11
Fig. 65: A christmas tree worm with blue gills living in a stone coral. Dive #410: Matua Leva, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-13 0:54:14
Fig. 66: Christmas tree worms with yellow and white gills living in a stone coral. Dive #410: Matua Leva, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-13 0:54:29
Fig. 67: This anemone is guarded by an anemone fish. Dive #410: Matua Leva, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-13 1:10:41
Fig. 68: Unfortunately this picture of a whitetip reefshark was totally underexposed because the camera settings were on macro. Converted it to black/white because it looks better than blue/cyan. Dive #411: Windseye Passage, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/5.6; ISO 100; 2010-08-13 4:55:20
Fig. 69: A group of butterfly fish passing by. Dive #412: Trigger Rock, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/4.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-13 21:02:06
Fig. 70: A swarm of fusilier fish. Dive #412: Trigger Rock, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/4.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-13 21:07:24
Fig. 71: An emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator). Dive #412: Trigger Rock, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/4.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-13 21:10:26
Fig. 72: A whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) was lying on a rock prominence taking a nap. Athough I got closer very slowly I roused it. Dive #412: Trigger Rock, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/4.5; ISO 200; 2010-08-13 21:17:41
Fig. 73: Thats all what the cyclone Thomas left from this reef when it passed in March 2010. A sad view. Dive #412: Trigger Rock, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=13 mm; f/4.5; ISO 200; 2010-08-13 21:24:04
Fig. 74: Thats all what the cyclone Thomas left from this reef when it passed in March 2010. A sad view. Dive #412: Trigger Rock, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=15 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2010-08-13 21:32:40
Fig. 75: A leopard shark. Dive #413: Qilaqila Passage, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/91 s; f=22 mm; f/5.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-14 5:02:53
Fig. 76: A leopard shark. Dive #413: Qilaqila Passage, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/91 s; f=22 mm; f/5.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-14 5:02:55
Fig. 77: Lat. Porcipiger flavissimus. Dive #415: Katfuga Island, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/8.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-15 5:05:31
Fig. 78: An orange spotted filefish (lat. Oxymonacanthus longirostris) looks directly into the camera. Dive #415: Katfuga Island, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/10.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-15 5:11:57
Fig. 79: A boomerang triggerfish or sycthe triggerfish (lat. Sufflamen bursa). Dive #415: Katfuga Island, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/10.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-15 5:22:29
Fig. 80: Sandra with glory. Dive #415: Katfuga Island, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/22.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-16 2:14:10
Fig. 81: A gorgony with the sun. And here again with Sandra. Dive #418: Namena NST, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/11.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-16 21:16:27
Fig. 82: My dive buddy and wife Sandra is diving behind a black coral. The sun is forming a glory around her head. Dive #418: Namena NST, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/9.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-16 21:18:51
Fig. 83: The sun is shining above an arch connecting two coral blocks. In the foreground is a softcoral. Dive #418: Namena NST, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/9.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-16 21:24:41
Fig. 84: There was a strong current on this dive site. Sandra is holding on a piece of dead coral and the bubbles are blowing in the wind. Dive #418: Namena NST, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=10.5 mm; f/6.3; ISO 100; 2010-08-16 21:35:13
Fig. 85: A swarm of jackfish (mackerels) passing by. In the background a diver. Dive #419: Namena NST, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=24 mm; f/4.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 0:24:11
Fig. 86: A swarm of barracudas swimming in the front of the sun. Dive #419: Namena NST, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=24 mm; f/22.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 0:29:39
Fig. 87: What is the best one can do when there is current? Yes. Sit down, hold on tight, stay calm and watch the fish coming to you. This saves a lot of air and one sees much more. My wife took this advice literally and is sitting there like a steam locomotive. Dive #419: Namena NST, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=12 mm; f/6.3; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 0:31:44
Fig. 88: My cleaning shrimp is sitting on the sand and enjoying the fish which are getting very close. What most dive beginners don't know: You can't swim after fish. They come to you when you are staying quietly on the same position. Dive #419: Namena NST, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=12 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 11:32:12
Fig. 89: A swarm of barracudas passing by. Some of them are overexposed. It is difficult to set the correct amount of flash for these silver fish. It's usually a lucky guess because one usually has just one chance. After the first shot the formation usually breaks up. Dive #419: Namena NST, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=12 mm; f/7.1; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 0:38:45
Fig. 90: A big swarm of fish is passing by. I think it were jackfish. Dive #419: Namena NST, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=12 mm; f/11.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 0:39:21
Fig. 91: A very small (ca. 1-2 cm) black saddled Toby or sharpnose pufferfish (Canthigaster valentini) hiding in a feather seastar. This species is toxic and is being mimicked by a non-toxic blacksaddle filefish (Paraluteres prionurus). Dive #420: Mushrooms, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/11.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 3:58:30
Fig. 92: A hawkfish sitting on a piece of coral. Dive #420: Mushrooms, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/18.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 4:04:27
Fig. 93: A small blenny sitting on the ground. Dive #420: Mushrooms, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/18.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 4:06:38
Fig. 94: A brittle star is winding its arms around the twigs of a coral. Dive #420: Mushrooms, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/18.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 4:12:42
Fig. 95: A longnose hawkfish is sitting in that gorgony. Unfortunately it disappeared right after this picture so I couldn't adjust the angle that the white coral on the bottom left corner was not visible. Dive #420: Mushrooms, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/18.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 4:16:55
Fig. 96: A scorpionfish is sitting well carmouflaged on the ground. As the name suggests, they sting if you touch them accidentally. Better keep distance and not touch anything. Dive #420: Mushrooms, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/18.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 4:27:14
Fig. 97: This curious blenny is looking out of its home hole. Dive #420: Mushrooms, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/22.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 4:36:10
Fig. 98: A portrait of a jackfish. Dive #420: Mushrooms, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/5.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 4:49:55
Fig. 99: A big grouper which got disturbed by the divers in its cleaning station. The many sharks around seemed not to bother it. Dive #421: Nigali Passage, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/4.0; ISO 320; 2010-08-17 19:52:45
Fig. 100: A grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhyncos) was swimming right in front of the sun when I took this picture. Unfortunately it wasn't very close so that the colour saturation would have been better. I had to adjust saturation, colour balance and contrast in this picture. See here. Dive #421: Nigali Passage, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/10.0; ISO 320; 2010-08-18 6:55:13
Fig. 101: These two grey reef sharks seemed not to have any interest in the divers below them. Nigali Passage, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/6.3; ISO 320; 2010-08-17 19:55:26
Fig. 102: A female grey reef shark. Unfortunately it was too far away for a good exposed picture and appears cyan instead of grey. Even with 24mm focal lenght at APS size chip the sharks have to get very close to fill the frame. Dive #421: Nigali Passage, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/5.6; ISO 320; 2010-08-17 19:55:46
Fig. 103: This big fish swarm stood in the current and was compact. I tried to get closer with the current wile breathing as little as possible. But the formation broke up before I was close enough. Dive #421: Nigali Passage, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/4.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-18 7:12:44
Fig. 104: A big swarm of fish standing in the current. Unfortunately the water was not very clear. Dive #421: Nigali Passage, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/4.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 20:13:39
Fig. 105: The huge yellow scroll coral (lat. Turbinaria reniformis) field at the entry of the channel at Nigali passage. Dive #421: Nigali Passage, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=15 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 20:30:47
Fig. 106: A swarm of surgeon fish is passing by on the yellow scroll coral (lat. Turbinaria reniformis) at the entry of Nigali passage. Dive #421: Nigali Passage, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=15 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 20:33:01
Fig. 107: At first glance, salad corals look like they are soft, but they hare hard corals with embedded green algae. This is one of my favourite pictures. I had to hold myself on a rock, otherwise the current would have pushed me towards the corals. Dive #421: Nigali Passage, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=15 mm; f/16.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-18 7:36:05
Fig. 108: A beautiful gorgony at the entry of Nigali passage. I shot it downwards up with the water surface in the background. Nigali Passage, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=18 mm; f/9.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 20:39:48
Fig. 109: A beautiful gorgony at the entry of Nigali passage with the water surface in the background. Dive #421: Nigali Passage, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=18 mm; f/11.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-17 20:40:45
Fig. 110: A humpback whale is diving in front of us while we were snorkeling. Unfortunately it is only an unsharp snapshot. It didn't have interest in us. I found this whale as a black blinking dot on the horizon while I was on the ship's deck. This was the first whale I have found. Dive #421: Nigali Passage, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/160 s; f=10.5 mm; f/6.3; ISO 200; 2010-08-18 0:24:02
Fig. 111: The world is upside down on this humpback whale picture. It was a snapshot that came this way out of the camera. It looked funny so I left it this way. Dive #421: Nigali Passage, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/180 s; f=10.5 mm; f/7.1; ISO 200; 2010-08-18 0:24:06
Fig. 112: This s a false cleanerfish (Aspidontus taeniatus) which looks similar to the real cleanerfish (Labroides dimidiatus), but instead of cleaning the fish from parasites, it bites off a bit of the fish itself. Dive #422: Anthias, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/20.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-18 2:11:58
Fig. 113: I had to wait patiently for these two fire dartfish (lat. Nemateleotris magnifica) until they have positioned themselves like that. Dive #422: Anthias, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/16.0; ISO 100; 2010-08-18 2:22:06
Fig. 114: A goby watching out for its partner the blind pistol shimp. Dive #422: Anthias, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/32.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-18 2:34:06
Fig. 115: Two spottail dartfish (lat. Ptereleotris heteroptera) swimming side by side. Dive #422: Anthias, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/16.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-18 2:36:10
Fig. 116: This lobster is hiding in a hole under a block of corals. Dive #422: Anthias, Fiji. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=105 mm; f/36.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-18 2:39:55
Fig. 117: That reef doesn't look healthy at all. Many dead corals and algae growing on it. Dive #424: Vatu Vai, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=16 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2010-08-18 21:17:12
Fig. 118: A nice table coral with small fish above and rays of sunlight. Dive #424: Vatu Vai, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=22 mm; f/11.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-18 21:30:53
Fig. 119: The small fish are always hiding in the branches of horn corals. One has to approach them very slowly holding the breath. Then they slowly come out for one picture. The flashlight scares them back again. Dive #424: Vatu Vai, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=22 mm; f/13.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-18 21:35:37
Fig. 120: A swarm of fish is swimming through the coral garden. Dive #424: Vatu Vai, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=24 mm; f/11.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-18 21:39:52
Fig. 121: Unfortunately that white tip reef shark was too far away for the macro lens and also for the flash. Dive #424: Vatu Vai, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/5.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-19 0:22:16
Fig. 122: That white tip reef shark just laid down and got disturbed by a photo diver. Dive #424: Vatu Vai, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/5.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-19 0:23:16
Fig. 123: This clown triggerfish (lat. balistoides conspicillum) is getting cleaned by a cleaning fish. Dive #424: Vatu Vai, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/4.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-19 0:41:12
Fig. 124: This clark's anemonefish is looking out of its anemone. Dive #424: Vatu Vai, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/14.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-19 0:56:05
Fig. 125: This blue spotted stingray is hiding under a coral and probably taking a nap. Dive #424: Vatu Vai, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/250 s; f=60 mm; f/14.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-19 1:01:53
Fig. 126: Three humpback whales. Unfortunately too far away out in the blue. I couldn't get closer and the visibility was bad. The animals were not interested in us and just swam by. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2010-08-19 5:29:22
Fig. 127: And here the fourth humpback whale of this group, with a young one. — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/160 s; f=10.5 mm; f/6.3; ISO 200; 2010-08-19 5:29:28
Fig. 128: An anemone fish with a soft coral, but no anemone nearby. Dive #426: Mount Mutiny, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/8.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-19 20:55:39
Fig. 129: Colorful soft corals growing on an overhang from top to bottom. Dive #426: Mount Mutiny, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/5.6; ISO 200; 2010-08-19 21:12:35
Fig. 130: A broken stone coral. Here one can see how the pattern of the surface is created by pillars inside of the coral. Dive #426: Mount Mutiny, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/8.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-19 21:25:59
Fig. 131: Here are anemones on the reeftop but no anemone fish. Dive #426: Mount Mutiny, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/125 s; f=10.5 mm; f/16.0; ISO 200; 2010-08-19 21:33:38
Fig. 132: The reef top of Mount Mutiny, a rock pillar made of stone corals, grown from 1000m depth. Dive #426: Mount Mutiny, Fiji — EXIF: Nikon D200; Δt=1/160 s; f=10.5 mm; f/6.3; ISO 200; 2010-08-19 21:46:40
Fig. 133: I tracked the entire tour with a GPS device.
