1st Place Marine Life Behavior

Yoichi Sato

"Born From Mouth"

Yoichi Sato won a 8 Day/7 Night & 12 Dives for 2pax at Meridian Adventure Dive Resort in Raja Ampat, Indonesia from Meridian Adventure Dive Resort

The Story:

I was fortunate to capture the irreplaceable moment of a tiny creature hatching. On a midsummer night, while most creatures were fast asleep, a male Ostorhinchus properuptus, having completed a week-long incubation period, summoned all its energy and, with a trembling motion, released a swarm of larvae from its mouth. To minimize stress on the fish, I observed the process under a dim red light. During the hatch-out moment, I used red lighting with a special setting that turned off the red light as soon as the strobe's pre-flash was detected. This setup effectively eliminated red light interference in the photograph, ensuring the image captured the moment as naturally as possible.

Location:

Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima, Japan

Equipment Used:

• Canon EOS R5
• Canon EF-S 60mm F2.8 Macro USM
• Nauticam housing
• 2x INON Z330
• 1x RG Blue S02RE-SNC

Camera Settings:

• f/13
• 1/125
• ISO 400