Every shot in this set was taken with a Canon 5DII , Canon 100 mm Macro L , in an Ikelite Water Housing, with 2 Ikelite 161 Underwater Strobe / Movie Lights . The Key is set to TTL, with the fill light that I have set up on my left drip is triggered with a slave on Manual. I almost always shoot in Manual, with AI servo mode on.

The more I dive, the more I realize:
1. The variety and number of creatures that come out at night are FAR more interesting than day diving.
2. Night diving photography feels like going on an Easter Egg hunt as a child, only better. You never know what you will find, what you are looking for is moving, and you definitely WILL find something.
3. Night diving is addicting.
4. We turned off our lights and swam around for a few minutes, it was a completely different experience.
5. The fear and tension of knowing you are being watched and possibly hunted makes it a little more fun.
6. You want to learn all about the things you see. It makes you a bit of a marine biologist.

One thing I never realized was that many, many night creatures can be found in the same location every single time you dive. This long nose butterfly fish for example is always under the same rock, and almost always upside down! My dive instructors say it is common for many critters to stay in one location for their whole lives.
This is a flea cone shell, as designated by the black spots. I am fascinated by cone shells and their biology. There are 3 species in Hawaii that have the potential to kill a human. I am also noticing different beaches have different dominant cone shells. I see more Flea and Imperial Cones at Makena than anything else. Our dive master was surprised when I told him I saw this; a Red Hawaiian Lionfish. They too are poisonous. Im not sure what this is…yet.We met an Octopus that went from this….to this in a split second. Jebbs flatworm! Cowrie shell. This was my fav photographic accomplishment of the night. This…thing…whatever it was (probably a flatworm of some kind) was swimming in “mid-water”, about 6 feet of the bottom. I would say it was about 1 cm in length, and tossing itself around everywhere. At first I thought it would be impossible to get, simply because its dark, its moving, there was current and the lens I was using was not the best for moving subjects in water, but the great thing is….I think I figured out how to consistently get this shot. Not easy…but it worked!Batman? Brown Striped FlatwormFuchsia FlatwormSpong Crab. They literally carry yellow sponge on their backs which they shape and groom. The find of the night…..a Anemone Crab! They decorate their bodies with Sea Anemones! Check out the cool eyes!Need to figure out what this thing is too….