Shooting Photos on the Reef

I never get tired of watching the huge schools of fish grazing on algae and flowing with the waves.  I snapped over a hundred pictures before I was forced to head back to shore as the cold and shivering started to take its toll on those normally steady camera hands. The water had a fair amount of particulates, probably due to the recent rainstorms and, perhaps, due to  people feeding the fish nearby so not all of the pictures were clear enough to keep.  However, here are a few to give you an idea of the amazing variety of fish.

Convict tangs (Manini in Hawaiian) and Blue-lined Surgeon 

 Blue Parrotfish and Convict tangs

 Moorish Idol

 Rockmover Wrasse

 Snowflake Moray

 Threadfin Butterfly fish

White bar Surgeon and Convict Tang

Merry Christmas!

Moorish Idol. These beautiful omnivores are ever present on the reef, using their narrow snout to find small crustaceans in crevices in the reef.

Meanwhile, it looks like two days of feastig for Chrismas and Christmas eve. Eat now and diet later! Have a wonderful Christmas.

Video of the Moorish Idol

Here is a video of the Moorish Idol posted the other day. This is my very first video posted to youtube and, therefore, a test. It's not the best but it gives you an idea of what it's like trying to photograph fish while you're being shoved around by the surf.

The Moorish Idol was on the reef off of Waikiki, Hawaii. The red barred fish to the left of the Moorish Idol is a Moana, a type of goatfish that is native to Hawaii. The green fish with black stripes in a manini (a type of tang). There were also several other tangs that shot through the video.

Moorish Idol

This Moorish Idol was photographed off of Waikiki in an area that is now a marine preserve. Moorish idols live on small crustaceans and use their long snout to poke into small crevices for food.