courtneyplatt's photostream

A relatively recent addition to Grand Cayman's eco-tour offerings is a night-time kayak tour into bioluminescent hot spots with guide, Tom Watling. It is a bit of a technological challenge and trick to capture the dim blue glow that we easily see with our eyes, by using a long exposure while the guys are frozen via a tiny flick of tightly directed flash. It's not as easy as it sounds. I would never have thought to even try it until the Nikon D3 offered amazingly clean ISO 3200 capability.

Tom did his best "glow angel" in the shallows to show off the intensity of the glowing microbes lighting up in response to his movements. Bioluminescence featured heavily in the forests of the epic 3D film, Avatar, which totally thrilled me.

Josephine played her part perfectly, enjoying the serenity of a hot spa treatment for Tips N Toes, Grand Cayman.

Turning the tables!

Perhaps I should stop telling my cat, Pixel, that he is the "King of Beasts". When he saw this Doberman Pinscher dog coming across the far side of the field, he charged out after it despite my frantic shouting for him to stop. Click "all sizes" above and you'll be able to see that only one of 8 paws is on the ground during this high speed sprint. My heart swells with pride, but I fear that Pixel may not be long for this Earth. On cue, he performs "sit, stand and roll-over". He is also toilet trained, sleeps between my knees and nuzzles me when I wake. Thank you Lord for your wonderful cat!

A 2" long Royal Gramma, AKA Fairy Basslet, yawns against an orange elephant ear sponge backdrop at 80 feet in Orange Canyon, Grand Cayman Island.