The Stories of My Best Shots #26 Another Pygmy Seahorse

This pygmy seahorse shot I took during the Evolution Photoganza 2012, an underwater photo event I led in Malapascua, Philippines. Next year’s Photoganza will go down (literally) in June, stay tuned for the details, coming shortly to this website.

One of the things which I like to do during the Photoganza is to find superb marine life around the island, which I know very well at this point. Many pygmy seahorse pictures come about when a dive local guide points is finger at the minute fish, and the photographer starts strobing away.

So, if you find yourself dive-guide-less and need to find your own pygmys, this is how it’s done: 1. you need to know which species of soft coral to look at. 2. Not all of the right soft corals also have pygmys. Give up looking for one before your air runs out. 3. Don’t fucking touch and break the coral. 4. Move your hand behind the coral, and sweep over the whole tree, or scan it with your divelight. The pygmy sea horse might move, and you’ll pick that up. 5. The pygmy’s head and torso look very much like a piece of soft coral, but the tail is wrapped around the coral stem, and such a topology is atypical for the growth of the horse’s home coral. This will stand out and allow you to see it.

Find it, shoot it. Like it did. Or ask me to find one for you.