Here's some Okinawan macro, shot last week on a shore dive at Okinawa Main Island, Japan.

The Ryukyu Seadragon - also known as the Japanese Pygmy Seadragon - is a species of thread pipefish (Kyonemichthys rumengani) found in the Okinawa Archipelago. Well camouflaged and quite small (adults reach up to 2.5 cm in length), it is elusive and somewhat difficult to spot in the wild.
This little guy had a pregnant partner (not sure if it’s the male or female in their case…), which I didn’t include in the clip for continuity ^^

Technically, the bonfire/planktonic video shooting I’ve been doing is helping with handheld macro shots using diopters, and I’m happy I was able to follow a freeswimming critter this small, as it was really in a walkabout mood that day! 😅

🎧 Music : "Through the green Thicket" by Tomotsugu Nakamura (sound on please)

🎥 Shot on a Lumix LX10 in Nauticam housing, 4K, 30fps,
⚙️ Nauticam CMC-1 and the lovely AOI UCL-05 closeup diopters (well, the old AOI/fantasea version, UCL-05LF to be precise, budget, budget...), two Kraken Hydra 8000v2 and one Backscatter MW4300 video lights

Cheers! Ben

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by bghazzal

Nice work Ben, I saw their relatives in Lembeh a couple of weeks ago, indeed quite tiny. Impressive keeping it in focus during the swim.