So when we went to Wakatobi, mantis shrimp were definitely on my list of things to look for. When we're in the Caribbean, they're not something I expect to see, so when we managed to find three separate ones on this trip, it was pretty impressive. I don't know if this is just luck, or if Anya is getting better at spotting them (she located all three).

The first one I didn't even get to take any photos of. The last one I only managed to get a shot of it once it had retreated back to its burrow and would only stick its head out (I might have been able to wait it out a bit longer to see if it would come out, but there was a ton of other stuff to photograph on that dive). But this one... this was the cream of the crop! Anya spotted this one in the bottom of a small barrel sponge.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/200th sec at f/16. Image Stabilization on. ISO 400. Ikelite Housing and Port and Ikelite 161 Strobe in TTL Mode. Raw conversion in Photoshop CS5.

It is a Dark Mantis (Neogonodactylus curacaoensis) and they grow to about 2 inches in length, which is about how big this guy was. They're pretty quick and I had to move and think just as quick to try and get the photos I did. I didn't want my camera to go into an auto-focus hunt mode, so I was trying to make minor adjustments with the manual adjustment knob and use the AF button as little as possible, which explains both why there aren't quite as sharp as they could be and that some of them are a bit too close - I wish I had backed up a little and gotten the whole mantis in the shot.

But all things considered (especially that it was only out of its burrow for a minute), I am pretty happy with the results.

This really was one of the highlights of the trip.

- Bill