Spotted Scorpionfish (Scorpaena plumieri) – Blue Heron Bridge, Riviera Beach, Fl
Scorpionfish use camouflage as their primary means of predation. They cultivate a garden of algae on their face and body to blend in with their surroundings, often disappearing with a paint job perfectly matched with their hunting grounds. This algae, however, responds bright red when excited with our high-intensity fluoro lights. Unsure of how close I could really get to the animal and achieve a nice picture, I slipped in close enough where I could see myself in its eye, beyond its new, fiery hair color.
Canon G15, Nauticam NAG15, Fix Neo Blue Dx1200, 65mm Yellow filter
1/80 sec, f/3.2, ISO800
Image of a Spotted Scorpionfish eye taken with ambient (white) light, showing the normal coloration.