SABA GALLERY
Like all gems, Saba’s gentle demeanor belies her birth: violent geophysical upheaveals were her attendants. Eons later, her emerald forests, punctuated by the ruby roofs of her trim cottages are ringed by sapphire blue seas. Saba lies 28 miles from St. Maarten in the Carribbean.

Saba is home to dozens of hawksbill and the occasional green turtle despite having no permanent nesting sites. The hawksbills in particular seem to come in two varieties: too shy or maddeningly friendly. But with the right subject, the results can be very pleasing.

Most often, the key to obtaining a good underwater photograph is being able to spend quality time with a subject. The turtle featured in this gallery was spotted on the shallow ledge at Tent Reef, an ideal location because it is only in about twenty feet of water and it is usually sunny and bright. On this day the surge that is often present was fairly minimal. The turtle was on the smaller side but turned out to be an unusually cooperative subject. The fortuitous combination of benign diving conditions and a little turtle cooperation allowed me to move around the turtle, adjust lighting, check results, and retake shots at my leisure.

That said, sometimes it's just a matter of being at the right place at the right time. There are several example of cooperative hunting in Saba - for example, coneys and eels, or stingrays and snappers. I was swimming along when I managed a few shots of the smooth trunkfish and stoplight parrotfish pair presented below. The parrotfish, teeth visible, literally munches away at the reef, eliminating large quantities of sand. The trunkfish, meanwhile, 'blows' on the reef to reveal its meal.

Click picture for close up view