All of a sudden I had time for 3 subsequent dives to take my camera. It was a busy day shooting and editing!
And I’m trying to shoot a variety of things, but some things you don’t always see, and other things are just too beautiful to let pass.
The lion fish are absolutely gorgeous and very photogenic. I guess I’ll keep on shooting those.

And then there are the less common ones. Frog fish… Got a moray eel, an extremely cute juvenile harlequin sweetlips, a few different pufferfish, and a few beautiful sea urchins.
The sea urchins really were something different. The colors are stunning (and unedited!). It was almost like being in a club with a big (neon) light show. The colors are radiating, pulsing almost!
You’re missing out on a beautiful world if you only live above water.
I guess the powers that be put all the colors in the ocean, out of the reach of human destructive hands as much as possible…

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.2, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.2, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.2, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.5, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.5, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.5, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/32, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.8, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.5, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.2, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

Another day of diving…

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.5, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.5, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.5, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

It’s not all fluffy, furry creatures here.
This little critter was posting outside my door when I came back from dinner last night.
It was the size of a thumb, from the knuckle up. Really cute!

D800, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/11, Tamron 90mm, on-camera flash

D800, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/11, Tamron 90mm, on-camera flash

D800, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/11, Tamron 90mm, on-camera flash

I think I’m just tapping into the top layer of the wildlife in this place, but so far what I’ve seen it’s mostly the furry, fluffy stuff. In a variety of sizes. Mostly big…

D800, ISO100, 1/125 sec @ f/3.5, Tamron 90mm, on-camera flash

D800, ISO100, 1/125 sec @ f/3.5, Tamron 90mm, on-camera flash

D800, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/4, Tamron 90mm, on-camera flash

D800, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/4.5, Tamron 90mm, on-camera flash

D800, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/4.8, Tamron 90mm, on-camera flash

It was one of those evenings again…
I just can’t seem to escape them here…

D800, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/2.8, Nikkor 50mm

D800, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/2.8, Nikkor 50mm

When you’re in a country where the rainy season has just started, chances are good you’ll find yourself sitting on the open patio (or if you’re in luck, somewhere outside without any cover ) watching the rain come down.
Over here it’s like the sound of static noise on the radio. But during and after you could get some nice pictures…

D800, ISO6400, 1/2000 sec @ f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm, burst series

D800, ISO6400, 1/8000 sec @ f/3.5, Tamron 90mm

D800, ISO6400, 1/2000 sec @ f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm

And of course, it may happen so, that in this kind of weather (or any kind of weather, for that matter) other *little* critters may come out to have a look as well…

D800, ISO100, 1/320 sec @ f/4, Tamron 90mm, on-camera flash

D800, ISO100, 1/320 sec @ f/5, Tamron 90mm, on-camera flash

Stray pets in abundance here…

D800, ISO100, 1/125 sec @ f/5.6, Nikkor 50mm

D800, ISO100, 1/125 sec @ f/2.8, Nikkor 50mm

D800, ISO100, 1/125 sec @ f/2.8, Nikkor 50mm

Another day in the water. This time with camera again.

The cool things: a (quite small) school of Jackfish. I remember last December, when we were diving in Bohol (without camera ) and we actually got to dive INTO a much larger school of Jackfish, and they started circling around us. That was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced.
There were just “a few” in this school, but it was still really nice.
A good handful of scorpionfish (I’m getting better in spotting them ), a barracuda, a Sweetlips (Rubberlips) and a lot of other small stuff.
The scary thing: a titan triggerfish. A big one, too. Imagine I shot that picture with a 90mm macro, and it’s still that big (probably just over half a meter). And it looked like it was in a bad mood (did you see the teeth?). When they come after you and grab a hold of you, they’ll bite through your wetsuit.

But really… I can’t say anything else but every dive is an awesome experience.
I’ve got it bad… Real bad… I could do this every day for the rest of my Life

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/2.8, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.2, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.2, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.8, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.2, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.8, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/2.8, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

… I’m slightly messed up with the days. Day 6 is actually not today. Today is already Day 9, but I lost track of time. Also, internet mostly doesn’t work. Checking FB and stuff goes, but the other day I downloaded a file of about 150kb and it took me over 20 minutes. Back home I don’t even see the download bar with those kind of files, but here I just have to make do.
Uploading pictures therefor also takes forever, so everything you see here is slightly lagging compared to real time.
But I’m sure you don’t mind.

So day 6… or actually, it’s NIGHT 6.
It was a looooong night. I went to “sleep” around 0:45, hovered in semi-consciousness for about 2 hours and then woke up, pretty much wide awake.
My friend here (see below), was sitting -literally- on the other side of the wall (little, thin bamboo wall) and provided me with a beautiful concert that lasted the whole night, every 20 minutes or so.

D800, ISO100, 1/320 sec @ f/3.5, Tamron 90mm, on-camera flash

It’s a beauty, isn’t it? But having that next to your head and hearing this the whole night:

So what do you do then?
I just got up and stood outside watching it get light, while listening to the cacophony of sounds. Crickets, tokays, birds, dogs howling, roosters yelling, birds whistling, the waves crashing on the beach in the background… Not bad, really. And I almost collided with a couple of bats a few times (or rather, they with me).
And when it did get light in the end, there were some cute birds sitting nearby.

D800, ISO1600, 1/1000 sec @ f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm

… after several days of trying to get online… The WiFi in this wilderness here is wobbly, hence the silence.
Phone network I haven’t had since I got to the island.
But… day 4 was the day I took my camera down. I went through my air in a breeze, which I guess is understandable. But I got some nice pictures. And I missed about 1.000.

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/500 sec @ f/2.8, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.2, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/500 sec @ f/3, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/500 sec @ f/3.8, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/500 sec @ f/3, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/500 sec @ f/3.2, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.2, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/1000 sec @ f/3.5, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe

D800 (in Ikelight underwater housing), 1/500 sec @ f/3, Tamron 90mm, Ikelight DS161 strobe