Theme 01 - 15 January, 2009: Post your favorite photo of 2008

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

I'm stealing an idea from Alex Mustard over at Wetpixel (Wetpixel.com :: Underwater Photography and Videography).

Please post your favorite photo taken in 2008 -- complete with details of the shot and/or why it's your favorite.

I'll start. This shot was taken after completing a cave dive at Ginnie Springs in October. The tannic water of the river contrasted beautifully with the crystal clear water coming out of the Devil's Ear. Those of you who have been there know the flow out of the Ear can be quite strong. I took the shot looking up at the sun with my legs wrapped around the "deco log" to keep from being blown out to the surface. My buddy (and model) Bert Wilcher of Tampa Adventure Sports (Tampa Adventure Sports) slowly swam left to right and right to left, allowing me to take several different sunburst images. This one was my favorite.

 

[parabolic]

Beautiful photo Doug, and this is a nice idea. My favorite for 2008 would have to be this one from Tiger Beach. I really enjoyed that trip, and I finally got tigers checked off of my bucket list

 

[fairybasslet]

That is such a great shot Doug. I'm going to post a different one than the one I posted on WP, just to keep things interesting.

After years of trying, I finally got a decent shot of a fairy basslet in Curacao last Feb. My first outing with my new Oly SP560. Internal flash. It's not a spectacular shot or an unusual subject, but it was a personal best. Now I find it easy to pass them by looking for other challenging subjects.

 

[seaducer]

Out of all the bad shots I have taken this year, I like this one the best. I have sharper images, I have images with much more color. I even have both of those things with this particular subject. But none of the other shots I have display this much charisma. Taken off Riviera Beach Florida this past spring, this little guy came out of a coral cave and would not leave me alone! I forget what I was trying to shoot, I suppose that was his point?

Anyway, here he is...

 

[Teamcasa]

This is a photo my wife took of me while diving Niihau, Hawaii.
Below is part of the video I took during during that trip.

[vimeo]2429730[/vimeo]

 

[Hammerhead]

Hard call, but I'll have to go with one of these

 

[under water]

It's hard to settle on one.
This one I like because I travelled over 25,000 miles to Australia and back hoping to see a Weedy Sea Dragon. And there it was just about 3 minutes after splashing into Botany Bay near Sydney.
http://delargy.com/images/2008_11_Australia/Sydney/weedy3.jpg

This picture shot in Osprey Reef about 1500 miles north of Sydney tugs at me as well. I was not really sure what the deal was between these two fish.

 

[FrankPro1]

After viewing your guy's shots I'm a little hesitant to post my modest amateur photos... But here they go:

Kelp Sunburst shot taken while free-diving at Christmas Tree cove this November. A great day of diving, tons of critters, warm waters and perfect visibility.

Spainsh Shawl shot taken while scuba diving at Marineland's 120 reef last Saturday. We were blessed with above average visibility and tons of life this last weekend. A great dive to top off an awesome year of adventure and exploration.

 

[Jim Ernst]

Doug, That is a bad azz picture!!
This is a great thread , and very nice pictures to the rest of you that have posted above.

These are two of many I shot in Nassau, I think it maybe the fun I had shooting the shots that makes these two of my favorites for 2008!

 

[Missdirected]

Posting so I can be subscribed to this thread - I suspect it is going to be a really good one.