2nd Place Blackwater
Steven Kovacs
“Flared Beauty“
The Story: A favorite subject to encounter on a blackwater dive is the beautiful larval Tripodfish. Like many other larval fishes, the young of these species have large rounded fins that they can use to mimic Jellyfish in order to try and stay camouflaged from predators. The fins of these species are more spectacular than most other fish and the wide range of color variations that exist is truly breathtaking. The majority of the time these fins may be tucked in to the side or not symmetrically open so the trick to capture the true beauty of these fish is to photograph it when it fully opens up both sides symmetrically.
Location: Palm Beach, Florida
Equipment Used: Nikon D500, Nikon 60mm Macro Lens, Ikelite Housing, Dual Ikelite DS160 Strobes
Camera Settings: f22, 1/250 sec, ISO 320
