1st Place Cold Water

James Emery

"Curious Cormorant "

James Emery won a $300 gift certificate for underwater camera gear from Ultralight

The Story:

During a dive in Monterey, I was photographing the Metridium fields when I noticed a cormorant swimming down towards us. To my surprise, it began pecking at my wife's head, but she was completely unfazed. I quickly swam over to get a few shots, and then the cormorant's attention shifted to the reflection in my camera's dome port. It stayed with us for about 20 minutes, swimming up for air before returning to check us out again. It was a unique and playful moment that gave me a glimpse into the curiosity of the cormorant, and I was lucky enough to capture it.

Location:

Metridium Fields, Monterey, California

Equipment Used:

• Sony a7iii
• Nauticam housing
• Canon 8-15mm with metabones adapter
• Kraken KS160 strobes.

Camera Settings:

• f13
• 1/80
• iso 500