2nd Place, Nudibranchs

Jackie Hildering

"Just Below the Surface"  Shot in British Columbia, Canada with Olympus E-PL2

Jackie won a 4-night, 12-dive package at Maluku Divers in Ambon, Indonesia!

The story:  I was at this site to document the advancement of Sea Star Wasting Syndrome. While only at 3 m depth, I looked up because of the glinting sunlight. It was then that I spotted the Alabaster Nudibranch on the kelp, slowly advancing upward. I positioned and waited, desperately hoping that s/he would continue to the top and that the sun’s rays would then be streaming down. I saw the potential of the shot to raise awareness about the astonishingly beautiful and fragile life hidden right below the surface of our dark ocean. It took about 5 minutes, the sunlight flickering on and off . . . and it all came together, allowing me to capture this stunning moment. Species: Dirona albolineata to 18cm length. 

Location:  Bear Cove, Port Hardy, British Columbia, Canada

Camera:  Olympus E-PL2, Olympus housing, Olympus 14-42 lens, dual Inon Z240 strobes.

Settings:  f13, 1/160, ISO 200

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