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Finding Nemo

I’m fairly new to underwater videography and photography but I am enjoying it so far. I like the challenge. On one hand, you’re trying to dive carefully — have your gears intact and away from corals and such, remain neutrally buoyant, remain safe and enjoy the dive.

On the other, I’m on paparazzi mode. I get OC when I’m taking stills and videos. I want everything to be perfect. I don’t like that I still get the shakes when taking videos (I need to work on that). I am conscious of my framing and my lighting.

I use this setup: very basic, very light. A Panasonic HD cam with an Ikelite casing. Perfect for me…

Right now, I am obsessed with Clownfish, also known as Anemonefish. From a photographer’s perspective, they are perfect subjects.

Clown anemonefish1. They don’t seem to be afraid of you — in fact, they would charge at you. Because, well, it is a home invasion to them, this paparazzi stalking them. (Sorry Nemo! Peace.)

2. The anemone is the perfect background, especially with good lighting. It’s so alive!

3. There are about 30 clownfish species, and I’ve encountered a handful of them.

Curious clownfish fact: Did you know that they are born males but later develop into females? Should the top female clownfish die, the most dominant male switches sex and leads the group.

Which brings us to the question: Was Marlin, Nemo’s “dad,” actually female? 😛

Anyway, once the project is underway, you will see a lot of clownfish 🙂