Pin Cushion Sea Star Abstract

Rarely does photography qualify as art! Most photographic images display a documentary style but occasionally an image is captured that is as compelling an art form as any Picasso! Such is the case with this eye pleasing image of the underside detail found on a sea star and beautifully revealed by Alan Saben during our dive tour exploring the pristine reefs off Wakatobi Resort. Alan (and the rest of us) were inspired by a similar image captured by an unknown photographer and displayed as a 2 meter mural artwork aboard MV Pelagian. Although I usually feature my own images in our photographic E-News portfolio, I am so impressed with Alan's image I could not resist presenting it.

Photo Data: Location: Wakatobi, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Dive 2000 trip aboard MV Pelagian Sept 2012. Genre: Macro Detail. Photo Data: Nikon D300, Nikkor 105mm lens, Seacam Housing. Manual Exposure Mode. ISO 100. Exposure f22 @ 1/125th sec. Image by Alan Saben.

Photo Hints: These images can be captured equally well with either a DSLR or Compact camera, as long as you have a macro lens for your DSLR or macro dioptre lens for your compact camera. The best subjects are those that exhibit interesting details over a relatively flat section of their body. Due to the very shallow depth of field of macro lenses and dioptres the image must be shot at a 90 degree right angle to the subject to ensure all areas of the image remain in focus. EQUIPMENT COMMENTS: A macro lens or a Diopter Lens is essential for this genre of photography. Fortunately this is available for some compact cameras and most DSLR cameras providing you have purchased the right models. Always consult with the Dive 2000 UWP team before choosing any camera equipment to ensure these options are available to you.

Interesting Facts: Sea stars belong to the Phylum Echinodermata. Echinoderms means Spiny Skins and this also includes sea urchins and sea cucumbers. There are about 6,000 species of echinoderms and their fossil record dates back over 500 million years. Basket stars are the largest echinoderms at over a meter in size and the crown of thorns sea star is infamous for devouring coral reefs, its spines deliver a nasty sting, another species of sea star, the flower sea urchin can kill you if it comes into contact with your bare skin.

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