Sex on the reef, well foreplay anyway.....

Found this happening the other day: https://vimeo.com/55001853It's a bit early for them to be doing this, (should be Jan and Feb) but doing it they were, 2 days after Bopha had gone through, which is why the viz at times is so bad. This is a quick edit to a song by Pearl Jam I had going through my head as I was filming. As an indication, the long wide shot at 2:34 has approx 1800 to 2000 Moorish Idols in it. Just about every surgeon/unicornfish in the local area must have been there along with the Pacific Longnose Parrotfish (Hipposcarus longiceps) too but they stayed very deep.Enjoy.Richard

[vimeohd]55001853[/vimeohd]

yes, quite early in the season. Always my favourite time in Palau is school time!

Awesome- moorish idol shot rocks!

The moorish idols are just nuts. Amazing quantities of them, and you got some killer shots, especially with the shark in the background.

Moorish Idols... holy craptastic!

Nice one Rich

Dean

Great stuff.

By why leave in the plastic bag at the end? Seems a bit incongruous with the rest of the footage...

Regards

Peter

You'd be amazed how much plastic is in the ocean Peter. Far too easily it gets there too. People need to be reminded.

You'd be amazed how much plastic is in the ocean Peter. Far too easily it gets there too. People need to be reminded.

Richard, I know all about plastic in the ocean. I've done two documentaries on the topic. One was distributed to 3,000 schools across Thailand to encourage kids to encourage their parents to reduce plastic waste. I was not saying that we shouldn't be reminding people all the time about plastic in the ocean. Just did not seem to fit with the storyline of your "Sex on the reef" video...

Regards

Peter

Peter I thought it was interesting to juxtapose a lively "sexy" reef with pollution, which can stop that sex in its tracks. Certainly more visual food for thought than a standard video. Although I'm not too fond of the Pearl Jam soundtrack. However, it did suit the frenetic pace of the schooling fish.I have to add that HDV look is very distinctive.

Cool shots, Richard.

I'd have preferred sex and rubber ...

Dean

No tires that day thankfully Dean. Next time maybe just for you! But lets hope I don't get the chance.

My intention with the plastic Peter is not to preach to the choir. This film was edited with a broader audience in mind.

My point really was as Drew said, to have a contrast from life at it's peak of productivity to a scene devoid of life and a visible culprit for it. I admit I've used that shot before in connection to a turtle that was mouthing the lens which might be a closer connection.

Maybe it's just my style to show something great and then give a jolt about our responsibility for it. The next film will do the same. I won't apologize for that. I see so much destruction on the reefs here from careless people it makes my blood boil.

My apologies to you though Peter if I came across as patronizing.

Richard

Richard

Great stuff Richard!

Wow looks like the Typhoon definitely stirred things up!

We were actually just talking about Palau last night. The recollection of dozens of sharks herding huge schools of Moorish, Unicornfish and Scad has been burnt into my memory so deeply that I still consider it my best all round diving experience. Wonderful shots!

Cheers, Simon

Cheers Simon,

Stirred things up is the understatement of the year! Some sites have a thick layer of fine sediment all over the reef, with the viz around 3m. Looks like a Christmas Card, German Channel is going to take a while to recover. Conditions on this day were terrible, ripping in-coming current with all the fish aggregating at 20m in a nasty down-stream current on the opposite side of the plateau.

Looking forward to the next half moon and hopefully a repeat of this action in better conditions......

Richard