Story behind the shot - Yawning Goby

Finding the Right Goby

I was diving in the Catalina Dive Park for the SoCal Shootout. There were hundreds of blue-banded gobies, and most don’t want you to get close. I was lucky to find one that wasn’t shy, he held his ground and did not instantly flee like the others. I had already seen it dart out and eat something, so maybe it thought it had a good feeding spot. When it ate something, that motion had caught my eye and made me decide to come in for a closer look.

Becoming Friends

I took 35 shots of this particular goby. At one point it opened its mouth wide for a couple of seconds and I got 2 or 3 shots off before the mouth closed. My strobes were pointed slightly in. Photo was uncropped. I used the “creep in” approach, getting a little closer with every shot. I started without the diopter, and when I realized he wasn’t scared at all, I  flipped the diopter down. His yawn lasted just long enough for me to get 3 very quick shots off.

Settings & Equipment

I used the Nikon D500 with the Nauticam D500 Housing, flash trigger, Nikon 105mm VR lens, two YS-D1 strobes and the Subsee +5 diopter. My settings were as follows - 1/200th, F18, ISO 200. That enabled me to have my flash reasonably low powered to recycle fast and F18 meant I could blur the background as I got in close, though it made the focus a bit more picky of course. Most of what I then altered as I moved in closer was the composition, focus and strobe position.

[Publisher's Note] Helen's photo ended up winning best of show in the the 7th annual SoCal Shootout. Congrats Helen!