Tropical Sunrise
January marked the fifth month of our year-long "One World" sailing adventure sponsored by Nikon. There were 9 of us on board -- the captain and two crew, a cook, a guide, three photo contest winners and me ("the professional") -- bearing south in a three-masted schooner about 7 miles off the coast of Ecuador. We were feeling pretty good, having bagged several hundred remarkable captures of a golden sun, and then a thumbnail moon setting one after the other on a teal and purple sea, and now we were plowing through furrows of phosphorescent waves with a mantle of diamonds spangling the sky over our heads. The captain was determined to round The Horn while the summer seas remained favorable.
Gradually the stars clouded over, rain fell lightly, steadily, then soon enough in sheets and we were pitched by heavy winds. The main sail was set but she started diving bows-under and in the crook of an 18-foot swell a wall of salt water hit me square in the chest, prying my arms from the mast. Washed overboard I was churned like a cork until I lost consciousness.
At dawn I found myself mildly bruised and beached on the sandy shore of a black lagoon teeming with so much colorful life I thought surely I had died and gone to heaven. Barely thinking I dove back into the brine as an unworldly golden sea creature darted by. I raised my D3, still strapped with its underwater housing to my belt, squeezed the shutter and surfaced to check the monitor, seeing I'd fired too late to capture the creature's head but astounded at the image that did appear. There are no words for moments like this, I thought, when nothing goes according to our plans but we feel strangely more fortunate than we could have hoped for.
Back on terra firma, safe and secure in my dry studio surrounded by the bounty of my many adventures, I am still most strongly drawn to this one image. And now words do come, three especially, bubbling irrepressibly heavenward like the dying confession of some repentant pirate: A Fish Tale. (Taken at an airport aquarium.)
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Comments and faves
story.teller, altereflex, Edson Martins, swisscan, and 250 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Anne Strickland (65 months ago | reply)
Beautiful de - tail !!
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story.teller (65 months ago | reply)
Beautiful colors!!!
Reminds me of mine! =D
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Judy Cabbages (65 months ago | reply)
Wow, what a shot!
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mellsjelly (65 months ago | reply)
Beautiful *.*
Ian Lambert (65 months ago | reply)
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i love the colours........ very nice
Jonathan Dacey (65 months ago | reply)
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An Gobán Saor (65 months ago | reply)
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SGillard (65 months ago | reply)
Great composition!
MONKEY50 (65 months ago | reply)
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Nicolas Moulin (Nimou) (65 months ago | reply)
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Really nice capture. Gongrats and regards.
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altereflex (65 months ago | reply)
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beautiful colours!!
Paddy McDougall (65 months ago | reply)
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pdisparu (65 months ago | reply)
Wonderful !
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!Katie! (65 months ago | reply)
Your out-of-this-world photo has become a legend in Global Village 2,
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Edson Martins (65 months ago | reply)
Stunning colors and a perfect composition.
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Fort Photo (65 months ago | reply)
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BAM @ GOSH phase 2a (65 months ago | reply)
Great Work! Nice Image!
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David Comas [deleted] (65 months ago | reply)
Impressive colors and detail! Great macro!
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jimiliop (65 months ago | reply)
This is really one of Natures Finest!!>
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EYE Second That Your Photo Is Beautiful!
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swisscan (65 months ago | reply)
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This is really one of Natures Finest!!
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Jus'fi (65 months ago | reply)
This is really one of Natures Finest!!>
An Gobán Saor (65 months ago | reply)
Great detail. Fantastic colours. Great composition
© the big pictures (65 months ago | reply)
excellent comp!
thethi: more 1 million vws tks a lot :-) (65 months ago | reply)
8/49 on 2008-01-07
Your photo qualifies for Faves EXTREME 5.
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CR3A71V3 (65 months ago | reply)
What a great way to photograph a fish. Did you ask this fish permission for the upskirt shot? :) The contrast is awesome between the black and the vibrant yellow. Loving it!!!!
Carpe Feline (65 months ago | reply)
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2008/01/08
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losy (65 months ago | reply)
This is really one of Natures Finest!!>
great crop....
ron brewer (65 months ago | reply)
Great shot.
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Allyeska (65 months ago | reply)
outstanding
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davidlkel (65 months ago | reply)
Great Colour
This out-of-this-world image was spotted in Lunar Village
MARCO A. DE LA ROSA [deleted] (65 months ago | reply)
A wonderful taking
Oncejakphoto (65 months ago | reply)
That is vibrant, and well done.
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16 faves/87 views on 2008-01-07, qualified for
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F-2 (65 months ago | reply)
Very nice image!!
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Angie Chestnut (65 months ago | reply)
Great cropping! Beautifully crisp shot
HVargas (65 months ago | reply)
beautiful shot
canmom ( Carrie ) (65 months ago | reply)
16 / 90 on 2008-01-08
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algo (65 months ago | reply)
Stunning colours and contrasts.
Make a beautifu limage.
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Music To My Eyes (post 1 - give an award to 5)
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Colour Art Award
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JustJan (65 months ago | reply)
Great cut-out
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