November 2, 2015

Mobula Mike Couffer

11/1/2015
West of Mission Bay

Spinetail Mobula
Mobula japanica

Canon 7D MkII
Ambient light

Green Sea Turtle Sandy Dildine

11/1/2015
Laguna Beach
Deadman's Reef
25 feet

Green Sea Turtle
Chelonia mydas

Olympus TG-3
Ambient light

Black Abalone Andrew Harmer

10/30/2015
San Luis Obispo County

Withered foot on a Black Abalone
Haliotis cracherodii

Olympus TG-3

Avalon Dive Park Patricia Washington

10/31/2015
Catalina Island
Avalon Dive Park

The stairs at Avalon Dive Park

Nikon D7000
Dual Sea & Sea YS-D1 strobes
Tokina 10-17mm lens
f/14, 1/160, ISO 200

California Barracuda Stuart Berryhill

10/31/2015
Catalina Island
Near Johnson's Rock
50 feet

California Barracuda
Sphyraena argentea

Olympus E-PL3
Single Sea & Sea YS-60 strobe

Pacific Seahorse David R. Andrew

10/27/2015
La Jolla Shores
67 feet

Pacific Seahorse
Hippocampus ingens

Nikon D7000
Dual Ikelite DS160 strobes
60mm lens with SubSee +5 Diopter
f/16, 1/200, ISO 250

Leopard Groupers Dana Joseph

10/27/2015
Baja California, Mexico
Bahia de los Angeles

Leopard Grouper
Mycteroperca rosacea

Three of these have the normal coloration, while the center one has the "Golden Cabrilla" coloration (same species).

Barred Sand Bass Bill Arquette

10/31/2015
La Jolla Shores

Barred Sand Bass
Paralabrax nebulifer

Sea & Sea DX-2G
Dual Sea & Sea YS-110 strobes

Bluebanded Goby Herb Gruenhagen

11/1/2015
La Jolla Shores
Vallecitos Point

Bluebanded Goby
Lythrypnus dalli

"The goby in the foreground 'photobombed' me. I was focused on the one in the background and as my camera was focusing and flashed, the 2nd goby jumped in."

Sea & Sea 2G
Internal strobe

Gorgonian Weiwei Gao

11/1/2015
Point Loma Kelp
65 feet

California Golden Gorgonian
Muricea californica

Canon 70D
Tokina 10-17mm lens at 10mm

California Sheephead Steve Murvine

11/1/2015
Point Loma
65 feet

California Sheephead
Semicossyphus pulcher

Canon G-15
Dual DS-161 strobes

Juvenile Cardinalfish Jovan Shepherd

11/1/2015
La Jolla Shores
Vallecitos Point
67 feet

Possibly a juvenile Plain Cardinalfish
Apogon atricaudus

There is an open question about whether juveniles with the black bar on the dorsal fin are Plain or Guadalupe Cardinalfish, or both, but for now we'll call this a Plain Cardinalfish...

with juvenile Blacksmith
Chromis punctipinnis

Olympus E-PL5
Dual Sea & Sea YS-D1 strobes
14-42mm lens

Ocean Sunfish Walter Heim

11/1/2015
8 miles off Mission Bay
20 feet

Ocean Sunfish
Mola mola

Canon 5D Mark 1
Ambient light