Day 32

Time has really been flying by!  I can't believe I've already been here for over a month.  I haven't been able to get in the water as much as I'd like, but it is what it is.  I was able to go for a few dives this weekend, so that was nice.  I also spent about an hour in 10 feet of water taking photos of tiny fish, which turned out better than I expected!

I like the big stuff just fine, but the little tiny creatures are the really neat things for me.  A lot of these pictures are of gobies (which are really tiny fish), which I've never bothered looking at or identifying before now.  Turns out they're actually pretty cool!

This is a goatfish being cleaned by a cleaning goby and a juvenile French angelfish.

These are... oh wait, I have no idea.  Hopefully I'll ID them later?

These are juvenile Slippery Dicks.  (Yes, really.)

Close-up of the young Slippery Dick.

Yellowfin mojarra.

Surgeonfish!

Surgeonfish.

This species of surgeonfish is also known as a Blue Tang, but this name is used for two different species.  Dory from Finding Nemo is a different type of fish also called a Blue Tang.

That's a clown wrasse.

I'm still gonna go with Slippery Dick juvenile on this one.

These are about an inch long and blend in very well with the sand.

They are Bridled Gobies!

Here you see eight Bridled Gobies!

More Bridled Gobies.

Banded butterfly fish.

While taking all those goby photos, I found this lovely and inquisitive shrimp!  This guy was a solid size, definitely eatable.  (Not that I would, of course.  Bonaire's shores are a protected marine park!)

This is a scarlet-striped cleaning shrimp!

He's quite beautiful, don't you think?

Seen from the port of my little plastic-bag camera case.

This little low-resolution fish is a type of cardinalfish called a flamefish!

More flamefish and a juvenile French angelfish around a lovely orange Christmas Tree Worm.

Mr. Shrimp is trying to feel the camera with his antennae.  He's also got a lovely anemone above him.

Pan out.

Quick break--look at these squat anemone shrimp!  I want to get some better photos of these guys.

My scarlet-striped cleaning shrimp finally came out to play!

He was actually upside-down, so I flipped the photo.

How he really looked.  Isn't he gorgeous?

Christmas Tree Worms of all colors!  I'd very much like to know how they become all those different colors.

More bridled gobies!

Bridled goby.

From far away.  See how small he is?  About an inch (3cm) long.

It's not that I'm obsessed with bridled gobies or anything, it's just that there's about a billion of them.

As long as you catch them before they move, they're pretty easy to shoot!

I also saw a few very small lionfish in the shallows.  They have an interesting pattern on their fins that I never noticed before!

Look at the spots!

Super cool.  They look like wings.

Looks nice...

Yep, that's lovely.

Pretty!

This little guy hiding behind an urchin is a Saddled Blenny.  Blennies are similar to gobies in that they're very small and very fast.

He's so fast!

Close-up.  He's pretty.

Oh look, another wee lionfish.  They're a real problem here!

Ooh, here's something I don't see often: a nimble spray crab!

These guys hide under rocks when they see people coming.  Pretty!

To be honest, I'm not totally sure what this is.  I think it's a blenny, probably a Saddled Blenny with pale facial coloration.

The face is different from the other one I shot, but the body is the same coloration.  It might just be my flash messing with the color.  Who knows?

Fireworms are nothing particularly special here, but they're one of those animals that is simply incredible close-up.  I was surprised that my camera got such good detail!

This is a fireworm.  It's large, but not unusual.

Oh dang look at those bristles.  They're like little trees.

This is the head.  Tell me that's not cool!

Here's a photo I did not take, and also a reason why I want an underwater housing for my DLSR.  What a cool photo!

This photo was taken by Michael Gerber, and was found on his flickr account.

Now for a few more taken by little old amateur me:

Same worm.

It's blurry, but you can make out the details!  Very cool!  It looks like fire!

This is a Rusty Goby, I think.

Aha!  I got you, Mr. Sharpnose Puffer!

Sharpnose puffers are hard to shoot because they move a lot and they don't like divers.  The rusty gobies were pretty chill until I got too close.  What a pretty little fish!  It should have been called a "tiger goby."

Oh hey there, Queen Parrotfish.  It's incredible what a little flash action does for underwater photos!

Inside this anemone we've got some squat anemone shrimps!

They're actually beautiful, even though you can't tell from my photos.  I want better ones of these guys!

They've got a nice anemone home.

Anemones look really cool up-close too, don't they?

This poor soapfish looks very surprised to see me.  They often sit on their sides under rocks.

Oh look, another crab!

This nimble spray crab is brought to you by the power of flash photography.

Love the colors!

Some sports team that has purple and yellow as their colors should make this their mascot.

Hidden in an old tire, we've got a juvenile Puddingwife!  (On the right top.  There's a mystery fish on the left and a bridled goby on the bottom right.)

Bridled goby!

Baby puddingwife.

I think he's very pretty!

And so shiny.

That is a pretty fish.

Look at that fin detail!

 And last but not least, a damselfish that looks like something out of Avatar: the juvenile longfin damselfish!

Love those head spots.

They're about 2 inches (5cm) long.

It's like a starry night sky on its face!

That's all the photos I've got for this week, but hopefully next week I'll get back to the shallows for some more pictures!  I'm limited to about 15-20 feet of water, but I won't let that stop me!  :)

Until next time!
-Ashton

PS: If you didn't see my photos from last week, I think they're worth checking out!