Sport Diver covers

The only way I've ever seen a shot like the one of the octopus, is when some numb nuts dive master chases one down, and digs it out, and plays with it, until is squirts all ink, and then lets it go, in mid water.

Anyone else suspicious?

Too bad it is the best photo...

Don

Yes, octopus seldom (can never say never with a wild animal) swim up into the water column. I'm a bit suspicious but willing to give the benefit of the doubt on this one. The octos in Puget Sound sometime come out and do stuff like this I think.

Cheers

James

You know, someone on this board accused me of abuse, too, for that juvenile turtle photo. I think that they assumed that I was holding the thing with one hand and photographing it with the other -- which is totally untrue. It was an extremely difficult shot to get, and all I was doing was following it around.

Its the same with post processing. Some people don't realise the effort that goes into some images - and assume that something must be fiddled with every good shot they see.

Alex

The only way I've ever seen a shot like the one of the octopus, is when some numb nuts dive master chases one down, and digs it out, and plays with it, until is squirts all ink, and then lets it go, in mid water.

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Have you ever stopped to ask why they might do this?

Perhaps because their customers indirectly request this from them, (that is IF a divemaster does this, i find it to be regular divers more) indirectly that is by tipping them with gratuities of appreciation for having shown them something cool by digging it outs of its hole (for example)

Gratuities are mainly a northern american thing ...

Anyway .. this photo looks like it was taken at night time .. and If you have ever watched an Ocotpus hunt they do some pretty cool stuff ... they are aweome animals and awesome hunters. I was amazed the first time i saw a crab get it from an Octo.

What sort of Octo is it anyway? It looks massive.

Several Dive outfits in Kona Hawaii do it. I have personally watched it happen, several times with my own eyes, while out with them.

I have told them that I find it unacceptable, and stopped using them.

I've also been present, when others have said to these guys, that this terrorising the octos, and leaving them defenseless for 48 hours, is horrible, and they have said, "Well, you don't know how many customers come back, years later, and say how they remember that octopus climbing on their hand..."

So yes, ignorant, uninformed customers do demand it.

To me, it looks like a tropical octo, not particularly large, taken fairly close up.

Don

Is there a url where the cover is shown?

"Well, you don't know how many customers come back, years later, and say how they remember that octopus climbing on their hand..."

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Can octopus only ink once every 48 hours ? This sounds odd ... as squid can do it more or at least seem to around here .. they always ink when they run away from our semi submarine .. they hang around our moring so we see it happen a lot.

I saw an octo ink twice in about 10 minutes in Dominica.

On a side note, I just got the latest issue of Scuba Diving magazine. Strange coincidence that this month's cover looks a lot like Eric's screaming turtle. Its also a turtle silhouette type shot from underneath the turtle, but with a lot less expression than Eric's shot. I don't pay that much attention to their covers, but you'd think they'd pick something different from anything that was up for their Photo Annual cover shot contest? So much for variety.

On Cayman Brac I had an octo approach ME during a night dive. I was very still and it started probing and exploring me with it's tentacles. It was a blue color (which I have always associated with a happy octo) and it crawled onto my arm. It flushed even bluer when I reached over and stroked it. It made no effort to leave my arm and seemed to enjoy the stroking. Another diver came over and stroked it too roughly which caused it to flush red and leave my arm in a cloud of ink.It landed nearby and just stood there watching us. I showed him how lightly to touch him if he were to come back over. Well, he did and eventually allowed the clumsy diver to attempt another stroke. This time he flushed blue again and was happy.

I spent most of my dive with it until I had to gently push him back onto the coral head he came from. He was probably well used to divers and had no fear of them. I wish him well, and thank him for such a magical experience.