Honorable Mention Cold Water
Josh Raia
“Beam me up!“
The Story:
Pacific spiny lumpsuckers make for fascinating macro subjects. With every color variety imaginable (we adoringly refer to them as “flavors”) and their large, expressive eyes, one could spend an entire dive following a single individual as they hop and hover around the dive site. Lumpsuckers are particularly difficult to photograph since they are little bundles of energy who are constantly searching for the perfect perch on which to rest. They have specialized pelvic fins that create a modified suction cup, allowing them to anchor themselves to kelp and various debris on the ocean floor. My favorite thing about lumpsuckers is that they are very picky with what they will and will not hang on to. Watching them land on an undesirable object never ceases to make me laugh, causing my mask to flood. They tend to suddenly shoot straight up and away in the water columns when this happens – Safely floating back down elsewhere!
Location:
Seattle, Washington, USA
Equipment Used:
- Camera: Canon EOS R5
- Housing: Nauticam NA-R5 Underwater Housing
- Lens: Canon RF100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens
- Lights/Strobes: Inon Z330 Type 2 Strobes with Retra Optical Snoot
Camera Settings:
- Aperture: F11
- Shutter Speed: 1/250
- ISO: 100
