Seahorses

Lost this one when it first went up. Apologies for the radio silence.

I noticed my topside pics seem to get more response on this blog so far than the underwater stuff. I have a theory this is because non-divers find birds and other terrestrial animals easier to relate to than underwater creatures. Also little ducks and stuff can be cuter than sharks and seaslugs until you learn to love them. So I decided to "go nuclear" on the underwater cute factor and unleash my seahorse pics. Seahorses, in my experience, are a real pain to photograph. They have a tendency to shift their heads or lean back and ruin the classic profile shot you want. Most inconsiderate. They also pair bond so you often get a chance to take a bad picture of two seahorses instead of one, as with this shot taken on a night dive in the philippines.
Much easier to photograph are their close relatives the pipefish which are essentially straightened out seahorses. They range from ridiculously coloured (top), through delicately patterned (centre), to....erm....pretending to be a lump of grass (bottom).