My Favorite UW Pix: Spots, Stripes and Stars

Contributors' Picks from Around the World

Published in X-Ray Magazine
Issue 111, April/May 2022


Text and Photos by Michael Rothschild

The image of the crab is from one of my favorite local dives near my home in New Jersey, a shallow site just off the shore, underneath a bridge. The spots of the crab’s high-key shell contrast nicely with the dark bed of mussels.
 
The lined anemone photographed on the Cadet wreck is common coverage on our local shipwrecks. The stripes on the shaft and the stars on top seemed to be a perfect fit for this assignment. I especially like the way the bright orange background makes the white polyps pop out, giving the image a 3D effect.
 
Finally, the banded rudderfish have some of the most prominent stripes in our part of the ocean. These fish—a type of small jack— get their name from their habit of following the stern of ships near the surface. I found this group swimming under the propellers of our dive boat.

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