4th Place Blackwater

Steven Kovacs

"Intimate Moment"

The Story:

Phylliroe Bucephala, a species of pelagic nudibranch, are interesting sea slugs that swim like a fish and look somewhat like a fish as they search out in the open ocean for Jellyfish to prey on. Although they are fairly common to see over deep waters off of Palm Beach during blackwater dives, witnessing the mating behavior of this species is quite rare. On rare nights when there are large numbers of these nudibranchs present in the water, it is possible to observe them come together to mate. It can be quite a challenging photograph to attain however, since not only is the mating process short lived, usually lasting less than 10 seconds, but the pair tend to twist and turn in the water column during this behavior. This can make it quite the challenge to attain an aesthetically pleasing photograph. On this particular night I was very fortunate to come across this pair just as they came together and I was able to obtain a couple of photographs I was pleased with, including this one.

Location:

Blackwater dive off Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Equipment Used:

• Nikon D500 with 60mm macro lens Ikelite housing with dual Ikelite DS 160 strobes

Camera Settings:

• 1/250 sec
• f/25
• ISO 320