What's the funniest thing that happened to you while photographing a subject?

[drbill]

Ha, I did something similar in the dive park... I saw a jellyfish near the surface with a garibaldi pecking at it, and slowly approached with my eye to the viewfinder. Once I got close enough, I realized it was a mylar balloon with the decorated surface worn off. Some marine biologist I am!

 

[ce4jesus]

I once came up from taking a picture in coz and the entire dive group was staring at me and pointing up. I look up in time to see a turtle coming right at me, right through the sun. The million dollar, to die for, turtle sunball.....I had a screwed on macro wet lens. All I could do was watch and imprint the picture on neurons that are bound to fade.
My second favorite was a photo I was taking in Hawaii. I was with an inexperienced group so the dive shop let me go down first and just asked I stay within view. I decended a sloping anchor line to a patch of sand. Thought it would be cool to lay in the sand and frame the rope the divers were gently making their way down. All with the boat in the background and clear blue water things were going well...til I felt a sharp peck between the bottom of my wetsuit and the top of my boot. I turned..nothing. Went back to framing. There it was again only slightly harder. I turned quickly to find a large 6" wrasse lurking about. So I laid down again, this time watching him...sure enough he was trying to pull off the freckles. ..OUCH!!!

 

[Charlie99]

Realized that the "Really big bat ray" I was so intent on photographing ... was a rock.
Admittedly kind of bat-ray shaped and colored, but still a rock.

It must have been a cousin to the snake-eel shaped rock that I snuck up on. At least it didn't go back into its hole.

And then there was the time I was totally focussed on getting a close up shot on an eel that kept moving out at me menacingly. Suddenly something grabbed my shoulder and shook it violently. After recovering from my shock, I turned around to see a snorkler that had swum down to point out the manta that was do repeated passes just above my head.

 

[Teamcasa]

I’m not sure it was the funniest but I had the best time videotaping the Mantas in Hawaii. I just could not stop smiling.

 

[TSandM]

I wasn't doing the photography, but watching an 18" ling cod angrily take the camera away from one of my dive buddies was pretty darned funny.

He did get it back.

 

[scubadale]

I was shooting video of an eel with a group of divers behind me. Photographer sees the group and comes over the coral head to take a picture of whatever we were all looking at. He comes in between myself and the eel - blocking my shot - but I got good video of the photographer when he realized what we were all looking at and that he was much closed to the eel than he wanted to be.

 

[limeyx]

It must have been a cousin to the snake-eel shaped rock that I snuck up on. At least it didn't go back into its hole.

Must be Of course it has the one benefit that at least it will still be there next time I dive that spot!

 

[Hammerhead]

Ran out of air. 1,000+ dives worth of experience and I ran out of air.

 

[alcina]

drbill - glad I'm not the only one that has happened to. I'm always amazed when it happens.

I've had my head in a hole looking at some shrimp or fish cleaning action and just laying there. Back on the boat the other divers have been so excited about the dolphins they saw - "did you see them?" they ask. "no, I was looking at little stuff" I reply.

But they were playing with your fins, I get told!

I just figured it was more divers not being aware of what they were doing and ignored the bumps I was feeling LOL