2nd Place Compact Behavior Ocean Art Safe Under The Sea
2nd Place Compact Behavior Ocean Art Safe Under The Sea
Elena Markushina
"Kiss Under the Sea"
The Story: The annual aggregation of Giant Cuttlefish in Whyalla is a unique spectacle of natural wonder. Every year at the coldest time in May-June, hundreds of these beautiful giants gather for their mating dance in the cold waters of the South Australia coastline. Some male species can be more than a meter in size and whenever you look around, you will see battles and dances of love and life.
This shot is of the ultimate intimate moment where male cuttlefish is grabbing a female with his tentacles, turning her so that the two animals are face-to-face, and using a specialized tentacle to insert sperm sacs into an opening near the female's mouth. They're so consumed by their passion, they will let you stay very close to the action.
Although I have a very first (and quite old) model of SonyRX compact camera, it performed beautifully, letting me capture all details of cuttlefish's colourful skin pattern and warm tones of the scene.
Location: Whyalla, South Australia
Equipment Used: SonyRX100 in Nauticam housing, wide angle wet lens, ANO V1500UV videolight.
Camera Settings: f3.2, 1/60, ISO 125
