2nd Place Blackwater

Josh Raia

"Cleared for Takeoff"

The Story: This photo was taken in June of 2022, on a flat calm night in the Gulfstream off of Palm Beach, Florida. I always try and reserve half an hour at the end of each blackwater dive to spend time at the surface, looking for critters in floating mats of sargassum (a facsingating mini ecosystem!). With the conditons being so serene, it was an excellent opportunity to try and snap reflection photos just below the surface. Sargassum flyingfish are constantly swimming, and an accidental startle will see them dispear into the night sky above. This particular subject was using my lights to hunt among the sargassum strands, and turned to face me for one photo with its refelction above. It then swam straight at my mask and took off directly over my head! We lovingly refer to them as "Fu Manchu flyingfish", due to the mustache-like protrusions over their mouths.

Location: Gulfstream, Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Equipment Used: Canon R5 Camera, Canon EF 50mm F2.5 Compact Macro Lens, Nauticam NA-R5 Housing, Dual Inon Z330 Type 2 Strobes, Keldan Video 4X Lights

Camera Settings: ISO 320, F13, 1/250 sec

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