Best of Mike #19

As exciting as scuba diving can be, there are still moments of boredom. I have actually seen someone fall asleep under water.

For me the boredom comes when I am not seeing photo worthy subjects. But, you can't push a camera through the water for 45-60 minutes and not use it ..... at least, that's what the little voice in my head keeps telling me.

So, my favorite "anti-boredom" technique is to get close, real close to something that I would otherwise call too ordinary for a pixture.

Today's, pixture is an Elephant Ear Sponge. 

Like all sponges they are an animal, that feeds by filtering nutrients and oxygen out of the water.... that it pulls in through their pores.

These sponges are one of the very few animals that have absolutely no protective mechanisms or response to organisms that threaten them.

They come in a variety of colors and shapes.... so out of the ocean you see them used for adding color to an aquarium.


When dried out, they are both very absorbent and fine textured.... so are a favorite for creating a smooth finish when making pottery.

I have no idea what that pile of white stuff, in the foreground of the pixture is. That's often the bonus of these extreme close-ups ..... finding something, in the pixture, that you had no idea was present when you took it.

Sometimes, it's even more exciting than "a pile of white stuff".