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FieldworkFieldworkIN SEARCH OF OCEANIC ANGLERFISHNIGHT DIVING IN THE WATER COLUMN

ABYSSAL AMBUSHERS

The “new frontier” of underwater photography - taking macro images of the tinydenizens of the deep which migrate towards the surface after sunset

The “new frontier” of underwater photography - taking macro images of the tinydenizens of the deep which migrate towards the surface after sunset

BLACK WATER

STORIES

HEREGOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES HERE

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A Juvenile Flying fish, family Exocoetidae, photographed against the surface. On the title spread, the larval stage of a Spotfin flounder Cyclopsetta fimbriata.

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TEXT AND PHOTOS BY SUZAN MELDONIAN

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Spotfin flounder Cyclopsetta fimbriata.

rom the time we begin our firstlesson in scuba diving, we are taught toget in the water and drop down lettinggravity take its hold. It is enchanting, thiseuphoric feeling of weightlessness, or achance visual encounter with wildlife intheir world. Soon many of us take upunderwater photography to capture andshare these moments. In due course, yousoon begin seeking out exotic locations togo diving, in search of cool animalencounters and even wilder underwaterscenics. In many ways it can become anaddiction. For many photographers, it isabout capturing the beauty, the challengeof underwater imagery, and documentingas many creatures as possible. We arestruck by the colors, the patterns and aswe drill down further, capturing thebehavior on film. I think innately we are allpioneers in our own right. Every time weenter the waters, we feel like we are goingwhere no others have gone before. Thepossibility exists to see and photographsomething that no one else has seenbefore almost haunts us at the core. Asour imagery progresses, it becomesgrippingly clear that as photographers, itis our solemn duty to share our capturesboth rare and beautiful, if for no otherreason than to enhance the humanexperience and educate the masses of thisworld within a world living just below thatblue horizon line. Whether you areattracted to warm tropical waters withwhales, dolphins and turtles, muck dives

filled with fascinating little creatures,dramatic caves, wrecks, and that list goeson and on, there comes a time in everyunderwater photographer’s life where wecrave more. Let’s face facts… some of usare artists in the making, others adrenalinjunkies, and some just have anunquenched thirst for knowledge. In the last few years, black water diving istaking the underwater photography worldby storm - all over the world! Why? Justlook at some of the images. We aredocumenting some of the coolest creaturesever seen on the planet! We arephotographing in-situ that which marinescientists have dreamed of. But moreimportantly, we are documenting ourworld underwater - for us and for science.And it’s been there all along.The world’s largest migration on Earthoccurs every single night...in every ocean...in every lake. Perhaps, even in anybody of water. It is called a VerticalMigration. Also referred to as the Dielvertical migration, it is the journey ofphytoplankton from the depths to theshallows. Every night organisms move upfrom the mesopelagic zones to theepipelagic zones. But in fact we’rediscovering larval creatures that willeventually reside in even deeper depthsonce matured.Here, we are diving in the Gulf StreamCurrent. Just a few miles off the coast ofRiviera Beach, Florida, we find ourselvesin about 150-200 mt/500-650 ft. of

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Fish in a Pyrosome. Pyrosomes, genus Pyrosoma, are free-floating colonial tunicates that live usually in the upper layers of the open ocean in warm seas.

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Left, jellyfish Orchistoma sp with an amphipod on top; right, the larval stage of a Candy basslet Liopropoma carmabi.

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Left, a so-called Sea Angel - Sea angels are a large group of extremely small, swimming sea slugs. Right, a jellyfish belonging to the family Pandeidae.

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The stunningly beautiful larval stage of the Tripodfish Discoverichthys praecox.

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Top, a juvenile Filefish; bottom, the larval stage of a Flying fish. Top right,Acorn worm Enteropneusta sp.

water. We are not diving that deep, ofcourse, but drifting in it, to perhaps 12-15mt/40 or 50’ depth. We avoid goingdeeper because there are cross currents,not wanting to be whisked away and weneed to stay relatively close to our boat.The Gulf Stream Current primarily travelsfrom the Gulf of Mexico, through theStraits of Florida up the east coast of theUSA up to Iceland, Greenland, the BritishIsles and back again somewhere aroundthe Tropic of Cancer meridian. So what is black water Diving? It is divingover depth, in the open ocean at night.This is not for the faint of heart. You shouldbe at least advanced certified or better.You must be very comfortable with severalnight dives under your belt and yourequipment must be in top condition. Ourset up: here we follow a large illuminatedball with a float line that is 12-15mt/40-50’ long, with lights as markers every

3mt/10 feet. At the ceiling there are 3bright lights shining on the super largeball, at the midpoint is an orange ball,and at the end of that line are 3 blinkinglights. Visually this is very helpful togauge your depth by simply looking upas there is nothing but the blacknessaround you for a reference. Our job asunderwater photographers is to followthe ball. The dive boat follows the floatline and visually keeps track of the divers.This downline also tends to attract thephotosensitive creatures, and is there toenhance safety, as anyone can hold ontothe line if they feel the need. Plus, severallight sensitive creatures tend to clustercloser to the light, while others shy away.There are other operations that handlethis as a tethered dive, but here we preferthe freedom to be untethered, and weare all very experienced divers andunderwater photographers. Also, there

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Scaly tailed Mantis shrimp Lysiosquilla scabricauda larval stage.

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Left, larval stage of a Ceriantharian tube anemone; right, larval stage of another tube-dwelling anemone.

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Larval stage of Tonguefish, a flatfish in the family Cynoglossidae. They are distinguished by the presence of a long hook on the snout overhanging the mouth.

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Sea Butterfly Corolla spectabilis. Sea butterflies, scientific name Thecosomata, are a taxonomic suborder of small pelagic swimming sea snails.

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Left, Exocoetidae Flying fish larval stage. Bottom, Ring jellyfish Aequorea sp.

are other locations where folks arecreating “bonfire dives”, which isbasically the same theory although not indeep water, but rather in shallow inshoredive water. Your diving skil ls andbuoyancy abilities are paramount whiledrifting in the darkness. The environmentis filled with gelatinous flimsy creatures.Every time you kick, it sends a shockwave through the water column sendingsubjects into a spin. Controlled breathinghelps too, because you can’t blowbubbles heavily or you blast all yourgelatinous subjects to smithereens. Yourwhisper is their Category 6 hurricane! Itis very important to not dive under yourbuddies, as your bubbles might blow oneof their subjects out of sight. Stay calmand relaxed and focused. Check yourgauges regularly and always maintain

an extra reserve of air in case ofemergencies. In Florida the weather canchange in an hour. As a side note, keepa snorkel handy, in case it is flat calm,you might want to go for some of thosedelicious reflection shots at the surfacewhile waiting for the boat to pick you up.At the end of the day, we aredocumenting life on our planet, whichmay reflect the balance of nature or bean introduction to things we just neverimagined. Something previouslyreserved for science expeditions is nowbecoming a “new thing” without the lab,but merely a camera and an underwaterhousing. We can use our photographyto impact the rest of the world becausewhat we are photographing isimportant… important for education,science and also as art. .

Aequorea jellyfish with - presumably commensal - fish.

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Top left, larval stage of Scrawled filefish; top right, juvenile Flying gurnard Dactylopterus volitans. Bottom left, Reef squid feeding on fish prey; bottom right, Leptocelus sp. Snake eel larva.

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Juvenile fish - possibly trevallies - in a salp. This is a barrel-shaped, planktonic tunicate. It moves by contracting, thus pumping water through its gelatinous body.