Coral reef photography

We snorkeled for about 45 to 60 minutes at Trunk Bay on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The amazing thing is that without any prior experience or knowledge of the life that exists around a coral reef, we were able to snap shots of many different species - sometimes getting (in this picture) 3 or 4 different species in one shot.

I would recommend the snorkeling (and/or SCUBA which I have not yet tried) experience to everyone. It is FUN and EDUCATIONAL and expands ones photographic hobby. (And by the way, as a beginner, I used a very inexpensive camera...a Nikon Coolpix waterproof camera which came with a 16 gig memory stick...I ordered it online for about US$120).

You can see some of the different ones that I took in that short time span on the list that I have started as follows:

Coral and coral reefs

comments (12)

WildFlower

Lion

This could be a long-spined sea urchin (Diadema antillarum). Posted 10 years ago
1. Lilygirl
  
  Lion
  
  Hi Wildflower
  Yes it is a long-spined sea urchin for sure, but I did not identify that one specifically because the purpose of this post was to show how, in the coral reefs, it is so easy sometimes to get the different animals all in one picture. For in this one, there is Diadema antillarum, Porites divaricata and also Porites astreoides. And in addition there is that little yellow fish at the bottom of the picture which I have not identified. Posted 10 years ago, modified 10 years ago
2. 1. WildFlower
    
    Lion
    
    I see what you mean. Now that you have added links to the previous photos of these species it looks better. You could also add the names of the species in the description and as tags. The list is nice, but it contains mostly corals, the sea urchins are not in it. I also tried to identify the fish first, but in vain. The sea urchin was easier to identify :) Posted 10 years ago
  2. 1. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      Have to reply here, because we're at the lowest reply level further down the discussion. Regarding deleting comments: this is intentionally not possible (only for admins). This is a common "best practise" on websites with threaded/nested comments. The reason is that if you delete a comment, all replies to it would be "orphaned" and make no sense anymore, thus it destroys the discussion history. Posted 10 years ago
    2. 1. WildFlower
        
        Lion
        
        Even if there are no replies, comments cannot be deleted. Posted 10 years ago
    3. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      That is correct, as that too would delete the history of the conversation since people can comment below other comments. You can argue that this would happen anyway if somebody edits and clears their comment, yet please note that on many sites, comment editing is time-restricted or not possible at all. JungleDragon is quite liberal in this matter. I'm not saying it is perfect, but it is a balancing cord. Posted 10 years ago

Lilygirl

Lion

..... Posted 10 years ago, modified 10 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Lilygirl, as a tip: when you reply to somebody (in this case wildflower), please use the reply link below her comment. When you comment below her, she will not get a notification so she may never see your response.
  
  Regarding species identifications, it is ok and encouraged to identify one even if the photo shows multiple species.
  
  Back on topic: thank you for photographing your coral reef trip, really like the list and the work you put into it! Posted 10 years ago
2. 1. Lilygirl
    
    Lion
    
    Ferdy,
    My error on the reply to Wildflower (in too much of a rush, but thanks for pointing it out.
    Take another look at it and you will see how I handled it. Posted 10 years ago, modified 10 years ago
  2. 1. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      It's not an error, I see it happen a lot, people expect it to work the way you used it, so one day I should change that. For now, here's how notifications on a photo work:
      
      - The photo owner (in this case you) will get a notification for any comment on the photo, whether it is a reply or not
      
      - Others (non-photo owners) commenting on the photo will only get a notification for direct replies to their comment.
      
      I hope this helps. Posted 10 years ago
    2. 1. Lilygirl
        
        Lion
        
        I knew that...it was an error on my part...heehee Posted 10 years ago
      2. WildFlower
        
        Lion
        
        I've mentioned it before, I have disabled all the notifications so it doesn't really matter how she replies...
        
        There is something else that I wanted to ask you for some time now. I know it is not a good time, but maybe you could add it to your todo list. It would be good if we could delete our own comments if we have written something that we don't mean anymore. Now the only way to remove a comment is to either change it or replace it with ..... Posted 10 years ago