SABA GALLERY 2
Sometimes it's a distinct advantage to really know a site. And sometimes stealth counts for more.

The spotted cleaner shrimp lives in one specific anemone at Torrens Point. I really don't know how they live (for anemones, it's reputed to be a very long time but no one really seems to know), but I've returned to this exact spot on three occasions spanning 18 months. The shrimp is a great photo subject. It does not move much beyond a four inch or so radius. And unlike some really shy anemone shrimp, it does not hide under or deep inside the anemone. And it's friendly! If I put my finger in front of it, it will try to clean it.

The arrow blenny, on the other hand, was a spotted mainly because we like hanging out in one area of Customs House Reef rather than swimming the more traditional loop around the reef. Francoise spotted a few fish with funny hook tails, not really swimming, just sort of hovering over the reef and waved me over. Frankly, I had no idea what they were when I took a bunch of shots. I wasn't really expecting too much, considering the nondescript background. It was only after the pictures were uploaded to the computer and checked against Paul Humann's description that we identified the fairly uncommon arrow blenny. And then it took a viewing on a big screen to see that in one image there was a tiny crustacean in the blenny's snout!

Then there are those images that depend on stealth. Stingrays are actually not that easy to photograph. Unless they have been trained out of all natural behavior à la Stingray City, they are shy and will swim away at the slightest unexpected water motion. Sometimes, though, if the water is reasonably still, and one approaches very, very slowly, it becomes possible to take a super close-up of their unusual eyes and gills.

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Click picture for close up view