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 October 8Oct 8 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.

Very nice indeed, especially for a challenging scenario! I love weird and wonderful macro subjects, and the way you captured the head-on shots seeming to look into the camera gave it impact. Well done.

Wow great capture such fine detail. I like the black negative space in the end clip it really showcases the subject well. Nice work you have a lot of patience!

19 hours ago, Chris Ross said:

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.

Thanks Chris - the more tropical species we get here thanks to the Kuroshio / Blackcurrent flow are really great, just not as common (though Okinawa is definitely a blue-ring octopus hotspot!).
The bonfire dives helped for the swim, I use backbutton focus to aquire in MF, then try to anticipate the movement and follow the peaking - the problem is Z-axis movement on such a shallow focal plane...
This is where fast-video tracking autofocus would be a game changer, but it seems to be something of a unicorn for video, as most useable lenses would not support it apparently.

5 hours ago, Troporobo said:

Very nice indeed, especially for a challenging scenario! I love weird and wonderful macro subjects, and the way you captured the head-on shots seeming to look into the camera gave it impact. Well done.

Thanks a lot. It was my first time finding these guys, so I gave it some time.

The “face” they have is really odd - almost bird-like but with an almost mammalian snout… quite cute in their way 😁

5 hours ago, PeterN said:

Wow great capture such fine detail. I like the black negative space in the end clip it really showcases the subject well. Nice work you have a lot of patience!

Thanks Peter. One of the major issues I had was that they love their little overhang spaces, which were too tight to fit my camera rig - I couldn't close enough to focus with the diopters. Luckily this one went on a stroll all around the rock, stopping in a few spots around the way, and we spent a good hour and a half together!

Yes, I was happy to get a bit of black negative space at the end, for a little blackwater feel.

20 hours ago, bghazzal said:

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

Dunno how you do it with the diopters and all - and no tripod. One day I hope to shoot video as nice as that.

Wow, terrific video!

Half man, half gyroscope!

I wish I could be as stable as you, shooting freehand with the diopter lenses!

23 hours ago, humu9679 said:

Dunno how you do it with the diopters and all - and no tripod. One day I hope to shoot video as nice as that.

Thanks Craig, appreciate it - oh, and I just sacrifice a few chickens under a full moon, usually does the trick 🐔🌕🎎

😉
More seriously, the rig’s bulked up like a souped-up hot rod - almost neutral and nicely balanced, which helps a lot.
It looks ridiculous and weighs about 10 kg on land, but underwater it’s a real pleasure to handle.

I acquire focus manually and then follow the peaking with the elbows, which usually involves plenty of moaning and cursing… sometimes miracles happen, and critters actually stay on their Y-axis for more than a few seconds.
I, for one, will welcome fast shallow-plane video autofocus 😅

18 hours ago, Davide DB said:

Wow, terrific video!

Half man, half gyroscope!

I wish I could be as stable as you, shooting freehand with the diopter lenses!

Thanks! It’s all in the careful calibration of lunar cycles and chicken sacrifices.

But not to worry, soon enough, AI will handle all the dirty work anyway - and probably hallucinate a few extra critters along the way 👾😅