Detail of feather-duster worm (Sabellastarte indica).
Nikonos RS SLR camera; Nikonos 50mm objective and Rene Aumann UW Services X2 teleconverter; two Nikonos S-105 strobes; Ektachrome VS 100 film; F16; 1/125s; TTL. Taken at: 5m depth; diving from MS. FeBrina. Trip organised by Chris Newbert of RS Tours. Shot on: 11:00 4 March 2004; overcast day, choppy water, no current. Feather duster worms live in a calcified tube buried in the sandy sea bed. Like an umbrella, they erect and unfurl their spiral of comb-like spines out into the surge to catch food particles and plankton. Despite looking fragile, this net survives being thrown to and fro violently in the surge. But if it detects an unusual movement or touch that could be a predator, the net is withdrawn into the tube in a flash. Sea water adsorbs red colour in the first few meters, and so to the naked eye all these animals look drab brown or black. I carry a 5400C (daylight) torch and flash it on one of these after another until I find one with interesting colours and patterns. Then comes the patient waiting for the animal to open up once more, take a shot which triggers its withdrawal, adjust exposure and angle and wait for it to once more open up.
Size: 8252px × 5315px
Location: Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea.
Photo credit: © Malcolm Ross / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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