Giant Pacific Octopus

Hey guys, This was my first attempt at shooting an octopus. I think it turned out pretty well even though it was challenging to know which angle to shoot at. I kept thinking "closer... closer..." but a 14 foot octopus makes you back up to get any of it framed!

P.S. - The image was shot on my PT-010 housed Olympus C4040Z with single YS-90DX strobe. f/2.6 @ 1/200

Dunno if I would have wanted to get quite that close!!!

Looks ever bit like a pink stalagmite with eyes.

Flash looks a little strong towards the top of the head, but easily fixable and doesn't degrade any.

Did you get any more pix? Might have been nice to zoom in towards that amazing eye with the flash muffled slighly so not to cause distress.

14-foot! very cool.

speaking of distress, maybe the cephalopod folk out there can let us know if flashes are harmful to octopi? In aquariums they are always kept in relatively dark location with explicit "no flash" signs...

Got a few more shots, but none that are as artistic...

You want to take your glove off when you pet them so you don't disrupt their mucus membrane that protects them from bacteria. They also like the feel and warmth of your hand. Its a bit nippy to take your 5-mil gloves off in 45 degree (fahrenheit) water. My wife was the sacrificial hand this time!

My wife had the right idea hiding behind the rock.

His eyes are as big as a fist. I know they get bigger, but it was funny to have to change lenses in order to frame him.

And one more pink stalagmite.

Thanks for that, it will make a few people happy to see one of these beasty's.

Sure hate to be a crab in the proximity!

Did you see the video of the one taking out the shark not too long ago on either A&E or Discovery? It was truly hard to believe.

Man!!! How big was the shark? I can't believe I let my TIVO miss that one! :angryfire:

Nice shot.

I never have luck with the big ones - they are always in a crack.

As for strobe use - I don't know if it hurts them, but I do know that they will allow MANY shots before leaving the vicinity, however, they typically turn white, which I assume means they don't appreciate it much.

As for critique - I suggest you try to take macro shots of the eyes. I've seen amazing photos of Octopus eyes. Another suggestion is to take shots of the tentacles curled up. Nice repeating pattern that non-divers can recognize.

Another...

First, nice shot.

Secondly, Bob you will be that close. They will just sit for you a lot of the time. I was using a framer last trip and was able to place it as desired. We were lucky enough to have octopus on most every dive we did last time. Not anticipating that but, we will see them.

Third, I agree with Rob's comments. The closer macro of the eye, or a slight angle adjustment to get a little more of the eye prominent might have produced a bit better result.

Fourth, thanks for getting me excited about my August trip.

Fifth, I had one that size in a den but would have had to join him in it to get a nice shot. I did not have the ----- to get in there. He was massive!

the tentacle shot is stellar

Rob: amazing shots. I love the lines on the tenticle photo. Look at the size of her suckers compared to the 10 inch rockfish. Undoubtedly a powerful and beautiful animal.

P.S. - We were on board the Sea Venturer during the trip. This was our second trip to the Gulf Islands (Nanaimo) with Chris and Belinda. It looks like a few of you guys are going to Port Hardy with them this August. They run a great operation! Its a wonderful thing when Belinda serves eggs benedict for breakfast.

Diverhead. I have dove the Sea Venturer twice. Three times come August. Yes, Chris and Belinda are fun. They are friends of ours. Heck, as some already know my wife and I met on the boat.

Glad to hear you too had a good time with them.

Man!!!  How big was the shark?  I can't believe I let my TIVO miss that one!   :angryfire:

The video of the octopus taking out the shark can be seen at the below link. Amazing.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/octopus/index.html

As for strobe use - I don't know if it hurts them, but I do know that they will allow MANY shots before leaving the vicinity, however, they typically turn white, which I assume means they don't appreciate it much.

Hello Rob,

I have been told by the curator of a UK Sealife center that strobes physically damage the sight of Cephalopods and cause stress.

A captive octopus had died after being photographed by the public using flash. Obviously a contained animal has little or no place of retreat.

I have seen mixed responses with Little cuttles (Sepiola atlantica) where the creature would physically shake from being startled by my flash to being hounded by one Cuttle while I tried to photograph something else. If a creature shows distress then I leave it alone imediatley. As some creatures use disguise as defense they may not always move away.

If you think about it these guys live in low light conditions and so a strobe being fired a few times a close range must be similar to firing the strobe in your own eyes in the middle of the night.

Try it out... you may even get a slot on Jackass TV

I have just seen the Octopus take the shark video........ the shark didn't seem too bothered by it!

Best wishes

PauP