kevindcornwell Loc: Hilo, Hawaii

From the old fishing village, Milolii, south of Kona, Hawaii. A few of the best from today's shots. I shot over 300 frames and got about 15 good results. The Moorish Idol, I'm going to go back and try again, he's at an angle, and I know I can do better, more patience. :-)

No strobes, ambient sunlight and PP in Photoshop to balance colors.

Yellowtail Coris, 15 feet


Moorish Idol, 25 feet


Threadfin Butterfly, 55 feet


Michal, 58 feet


Michal, 60 feet


He won't eat him, and I won't touch him.


Christmas Tree worm, 25feet


Butterflyfish, 18 feet


Raccoon Butterfly fish


Michal, trying to get away, 40 feet


This flock of butterflys just wouldn't leave us alone! 18 feet

George H Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Kevin,
Really nice shots, the Moorish Idol is beautiful. Funny how inquisitive fish can be. Have to let people know that they can subscribe to Underwater by going to their profile page.

George

Scubadoo Loc: Central Indiana

Man that water looks clear,nice shots. The color is really good.

Bunny-Jean Loc: Wisconsin

I have been subscribed, just checked, still am and not getting any notifications....

kevindcornwell Loc: Hilo, Hawaii

Thanks all! It was a surprising dive to be sure. We usually have a couple of butterfly fish follow us the entire dive, but this time an entire school of about 30 hung around the entire dive. At the end, I stopped at about 15ish feet and just lay on the sand, They came right up and stuck their snout in my camera lens - I couldn't even focus! It was quite funny and quite exhilerating. The behavior stems from their thinking that we're pretty big fish on the prowl and once we get some hapless 'thing' in our jaws, tiny bits will float away and the butterfly's will have an easy lunch. So, they hang around, hoping. Forever disappointed.

George H Loc: Brooklyn, New York

There is also the possibility that they look at you as protection since you do not seem predatory.

George

kevindcornwell Loc: Hilo, Hawaii

That could be as well, George. I normally do dive with a sign on my back that reads, "No Worries! I'm a vegetarian."

kevindcornwell Loc: Hilo, Hawaii

I forgot to mention that my camera is a Sony NEX-5 with the 18-55 zoom lens, a Magic Filter to help balance color, all in a Nauticam NA-5 housing. I manually adjust the white balance on the camera every 5 to 10 feet. And, it really does look different underwater. The balance will look fine, but then when I get back ashore, it's all off. I'm getting better at interpreting that difference as well. Shooting without strobes, while it keeps the load in my hand light, has its own set of unique annoyances. But, I much prefer it. My goal is to shoot and recreate what I see, and don't see with strobes so I don't shoot (during the day) with them either. I enjoy the challenge :-)

krashzmom Loc: Columbia, SC

Those were some nice shots. What is that on the bottom of "I won't eat him". I love the moorish idol also and I love butterfly fish. The Big Island is the only place that I saw a lot of them. The raccoon ones don't even look real sometimes to me. On Maui and Oahu, it didn't seem like very many there but I may have been in the wrong place. We had a puffer fish in Maui that thought my husband's camera was his best friend. I'll have to put those up. It was so close he had pictures looking in his gill.

krashzmom Loc: Columbia, SC

After we get a certain number of subscribers will they start sending notifications. I know you and I talked about it but I was curious about that.

kevindcornwell Loc: Hilo, Hawaii

It's a sea cucumber. Specifically a Hawaiian Spiky Sea Cucumber. Endemic to Hawaii. It's been long known in the islands, but has not been scientifically described.

krashzmom Loc: Columbia, SC

I wouldn't eat him either. Do they do any damage? Also meant to ask you if there are problems with Lionfish. I've never seen one and they may just be around the ABC islands. They have started catching them and getting divers to mark or spear them and serving them in restaurants because they do so much damage to the coral, but they are beautiful fish.

kevindcornwell Loc: Hilo, Hawaii

We do have lionfish, but they have predators here so are not getting out of control. We have two common ones, the Hawaiian Green Lionfish, and a standard issue Lionfish (red).

krashzmom Loc: Columbia, SC

I think I saw a green one years ago at the Maui Ocean something center now that you mention it. Oh, and if you ever have a chance...I don't recommend Lionfish fritters. They just aren't right. Uch!!

George H Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Mom,
The reason they are a problem on the East Coast and the Caribbean is that they have no predators and will eventually take over the ecosystem. Thus eradication is the only solution, they are beautiful to look at but not native.

George