Underwater

                                  
                                                 
Diver & Sponges

                                                   
                                                      

Waterscapes

                                          
                                                  
Bayou Desiard                                                      

                                                                  

Underwater

                                       
                                                       
Queen Angel

                                                   
This photograph was taken in the Caribbean back when I was scuba diving much more often. I was using a Nikonos II underwater camera, which I still have but have not used in many years, in part because I no longer have a working strobe for it. It uses film, and this image is a scan of a 35mm slide.

Without a strobe, the yellow of the fish and the red encrusting sponge on the coral below the fish would be muddy brown. Even the blues would not be so brilliant. The sea is a giant blue filter. Only in very shallow, clear water are bright yellows and reds visible to the naked eye.

Aiming an off-camera strobe at a moving target underwater is no small challenge. In this instance, I got it just right, not only the angle but the distance, such that the strobe cast the perfect amount of light on the subject. It particularly pleases me that the scale pattern shows through the transparent yellow of the pectoral fin. With too much light, that would have been washed out and not visible.

This fish is one of many angel fishes found on coral reefs in the Caribbean. She/he is called "queen" because of the crown on her head.
                                                 
                                                  

Scanned Negatives Project

                                        
                                           
Basket & Bread

                                                
This photograph was taken in 1979. I was an undergraduate at Iowa, having gone back to school after the end of my first marriage. The Board of Regents of the State of Iowa sponsored a study abroad program, and I spent a summer in Spain through that program.

In Spain, I lived with a Spanish "mother" and this is how she stored the bread. And what wonderful bread it was! Crusty on the outside, soft on the inside and fresh every day.

My son gave me a scanner for Christmas. It is quite a wonderful piece of technology. This image is the result of a scanned b&w negative. This frame was marked on my contact sheet as one to print, but I never got around to printing it. I posted this image on Google+ yesterday, and that is the first it has been seen by another person!

This is just the first of hundreds of slides and negatives, b&w and color, that I will scan and share. I have been posting many images on Google+, but will do a better job of also posting them on my photo blog for those who aren't on Google+.
                              
                                            

Windy City Wandering

                                                             
                                                             
For the Last Time, They Parted Company in Opposite Directions (Chicago)

                                                    
                                                       

Joy in the Morning

                                                    
                                                   
Juvenile Humpback Whale, Mámala Bay, Honolulu Hawaii

                                                         

This was clearly a small whale, as whales go, but it did not seem to have a mother around, therefore it was probably a juvenile that had recently left its mother. It did not breach but when two mature whales passed in the distance--we could see their 20-foot spouts but never got close--the juvenile near the boat did a series of tail slaps, most likely to signal the adults of its presence, according to the naturalist on board.

Usually tail slaps are done with a vertical tail. The tail at an angle makes this a "peduncle slap," and according to an online source, might signal stress or aggression. Makes me wonder if this was a baby that had gotten separated from its mother.