Light & Motion Sola Photo 1200 – The Ultimate Focus Light For Night Divers

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Admin11

The Light & Motion Sola Photo 1200 is the most popular modeling light used for underwater macro photography. I have been using Sola lights for over seven years now. All Light & Motion lights are easy to use, lightweight, and reliable. My favorite feature of the Sola Photo 1200 is the red light option. This feature enables the user to photograph marine life without disturbing them. Some marine animals do not see red light.

Sola 1200 focus light

Best features of the L&M Sola Photo 1200

Factory sealed body ensures flood-free performance
Compatible with a ball mount, ys mount and loc-line
SOS mode – Emergency function
Adjustable light output -1200 lumens (white light max)
Red light feature

Nauticam housing – Nikon D500

Nudibranch and Sola 1200

The red light feature works outstanding underwater. Get creative with blending red and white light during your dives.

Sea cucumber Art

The red light feature works great for photographing nudibranch’s, sea turtles, and cephalopods during night-dives. These animals are less affected by the red light.

Nauticam and Sola 1200

Check out the eye of the cuttlefish. The pupil is wide open (dilated)

Photographed using the Sola 1200 (red)

With white light, the pupil is constricted. The cuttlefish looks irritated by the bright light.

Photographed using the Sola 1200 (white)

Below are a few photographs of my dive buddies using the red feature.

Motion sickness (In camera triple exposure)

Multiple exposure Ie Island

Scuba-diving with a spin

If you would like to test the Sola Photo 1200, please let me know. Friends and supporters – Save 20% off your first Light & Motion purchase https://prz.io/648x6bGC1

Learn more about this product and accessories offered at the Light & Motion Website.

Shawn Miller Underwater by Russell Gilbert

I want to thank Tokina, Light & Motion, Nightsea, and Black Fin Grouper for all their continuous support over the years.

#MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Fish Populations Decline At Maeda Point – Not A Good Sign!

Posted on August 11, 2019 by Admin11

I originally got SCUBA certified at Maeda Misaki in 1992. I have seen this popular snorkeling location drastically change over the years with the increase in tourism. Meada point is now a high traffic area, literally thousands of people enter the water on a given weekend.

Maeda misaki diving

If you have ever been to maeda point you have seen the beautiful schools of Teira batfish (Platax teira). In the late 90’s there were massive schools of hundreds of these beautiful fish. Below is an old photograph I found in my photo album. This was a common site back in the 90’s.

Teira batfish at Maeda misaki

In 2017, I noticed that populations started declining.

Schools of batfish

2018-2019, I started seeing numbers decline to less than twenty individuals. July 2019, I went to the same location on three different days and didn’t see any batfish.

Wide angle macro

These fish are a huge tourist attraction. What could have caused the decline of the batfish populations? Possible reasons for decline:

Feeding the batfish man-made products
Noise pollution from an increase in boat traffic
Moved on to a safer location
Overfishing
Contaminates entering the water – sunblock, shampoo, perfume and urine

Fu (wheat gluten)

In the past, guides would feed the fish sausage and bread. In recent years many local companies switched over to Fu (wheat gluten). It’s much cheeper than fish sausage. Kilos of Fu enter the water for fish consumption on a given week at Maeda point. Could this gluten based product be good for the fish? Why you should not feed wild animals:

Interfere’s with their natural diet and feeding cycle
Makes the fish more vulnarable to predators
Reef algae overgrowth due to the fish being full
Increase’s your chance of getting bitten

Sometimes, I see plastic bags filled will remnants of fish food floating on the surface of the water. With the increase in tourism, I am finding more trash left behind at Maeda Point. This is a photograph I took recently at Maeda point. A collector urchin (Tripneustes gratilla) is covering up with discarded sausage wrapper.

collector urchin

This is one of my favorite photographs taken at Maeda Point.

Beautiful bat-fish

Hopefully the teira batfish populations are not a blur left behind.

Fading away

My Mission: To Protect and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands for Future Generations

If you would like to help me make a difference Please check out my Patreon Site https://www.patreon.com/MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Your donations will help conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines. Thank you for your support, Shawn M Miller.

#MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Parasitic Isopods of the Ryukyu Islands

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Admin11

Scorpionfish, lionfish and stonefish all belong to the family Scorpaenidae. They all are well camouflaged and highly venomous. Their defensive spines can deliver a painful sting. It’s best to wear exposure protection and maintain good bouncy control to avoid getting envenomated by these ambush predators.

In the 1980’s Robert Bolland stumbled upon an interesting underwater find. He found a tiny undescribed isopod hitching a ride on a scorpionfish. 1984 the parasitic isopod Renocila bollandi from Okinawa was named after him.

Over the years I photographed a dozen of these orange Isopods (Renocilla bollandi)

I have always wondered,

What is the relationship between the two?
Is the relationship mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism?
Why does the isopod only prefer venomous fish (scorpionfish) as its host?
Why does the isopod always stay close to the eye?

See why they call it the bearded scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis cirrhosa).

Learn more about the hazardous marine life of Okinawa.

Learn more about Robert Bolland and his research at The Okinawa Slug Site.

My Mission: To Document and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands

This site is also designed to help people identify the beautiful animals of Okinawa, basically to serve as an online nature reference guide. If you would like to make a contribution to support my mission, please click on the donation link paypal.me/maketheswitch4nature

Your donations will help conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines. Thank you for your support, Shawn M Miller.

#MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Get Fa-Millerized with the Nature of the Ryukyu Islands – – – – SUBSCRIBE BELOW

Searching for Cephalopods by Shawn Miller

Posted on April 13, 2019 by Admin11

Lately, I have been getting out a lot more on night dives. The conditions have been great for Scuba diving and underwater macro photography. Diving at night is exciting because you never know what you will find. My last dive I stumbled upon a few new brightly colored nudibranchs and an undescribed pygmy cephalopod known as the pharaoh cuttlefish.

Could this pygmy cuttlefish be an undescribed species or just a clever juvenile broadband cuttlefish resembling the sand?

Scientific name: Sepia sp
Common Name: Pygmy or Pharaoh Cuttlefish
Found: Kin bay, Okinawa
Habitat: Sand bottom @ night
Depth: 35feet
Size: 17mm

More than likely this pygmy cuttlefish is Sepiella inermis. The pharaoh cuttlefish is absolutely stunning. I found this large specimen sand-dwelling during a night dive.

If you have never been night diving I highly encourage you to try it. If you want to learn more about Cephalopods of Okinawa, check out my post on the beautiful Blue-ringed octopus.

My Mission: To Document and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands

Your donations will help conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines. Thank you for your support, Shawn M Miller.

#MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Get Fa-Millerized with the Nature of the Ryukyu Islands – – – – SUBSCRIBE BELOW

Parasitic slugs of Okinawa

Posted on March 2, 2019 by Admin11

Gymnodoris nigricolor Is a tiny nudibranch that attaches to the fins of gobies. It is found in the winter months and then it seems to completely disappear when the water warms up. This nudibranch is by far the hardest to photograph because of its size and it stays attached to it’s host. When the goby feels threatened, it retreats into its burrow taking the tiny slug down the hole with it.

In order to photograph sand-dwelling gobies you will generally need a 50mm-100mm macro lens.

Be patience and move slowly. If your lucky the goby will accept your presence without retreating.

February 2018, I was fortunate to find Gymnodoris nigricolor crawling on the sand in search of a host

When the slug finds a host it will attach onto the closest fin.

Look close and you can see the buccal apparatus of the slug clamping down.

Once its locked down, the goby cannot shake the slug off.

No one really knows what happens next. Why does the nudibranch attach to the fins of its host？ Does this specialist feed on only the fins of gobies or is there another reason？

If you would like see stunning photographs of more sea slugs check out my post on nudibranchs

My Mission: To Document and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands

Your donations will help conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines. Thank you for your support, Shawn M Miller.

#MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Moai Statue Found Underwater, Okinawa-Japan

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Admin11

A friend and I stumbled upon a Moai statue underwater. The statue had a good amount of surface growth on it as if it been underwater for a long time. Is It possible Typhoon Trami uncovered this statue? or did someone place it there on purpose for an underwater treasure hunt? Typhoon Trami was devastating and destroyed the coral and killed a good amount of marine life.

Moai statue- Ryukyu Islands

Regardless if the underwater statue is authentic or not, I was excited when I found it. I have never seen anything like this underwater. I got the same feeling when I went to Yonaguni to see the underwater monument.

Moai replica statue size: Two feet in length
Dive spot: Kadena north steps
Location: Okinawa, Japan.
Depth: Forty-five feet

Moai statue- Ryukyu Islands

Recent update: The mystery has been solved. It was purposely placed there by a dive instructor for a treasure hunt! The statue is not authentic but still a cool find.

I was not well prepared to photograph a subject of this size. The plan was to photograph tiny nudibranchs and gastropods. I had my underwater rig setup with a designated 60mm macro lens.

Underwater Equipment used:

Nikon D500 +Nikon AF-S 60mm macro lens
Nauticam Na-D500
Light & Motion Sola 3800
Sea & Sea YS-D2 strobes

Please do not use any images without my permission. Know your nature with Shawn Miller, have a great day!

Searching for the Ryukyu Sea Dragon by Shawn Miller

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Admin11

I have always been fascinated by the beauty of seahorses. I have seen five species of seahorses in the beautiful waters of Okinawa. They are scarce and difficult to find. They have the ability to change color to blend into their surrounding environment. They are often found resting with their prehensile tails wrapped on something sturdy.

The Pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti) Is the most beautiful seahorse. They live on red or orange gorgonians making them camouflage and difficult to find. They even have tubercles that resemble the polyps of the coral they live on. They are found in deep water (80-150feet).

The Pontoh’s Pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus pontohi) was recently described in 2008. They live on calcareous algae and hydroids making them camouflage and difficult to find. They have fiber-like strands that resemble the algae they live on. They are found in shallow water (20-60feet).

Denise’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus denise) Is another beautiful seahorse. They live on orange gorgonians making them camouflage and difficult to find. They even have tubercles that resemble the polyps of the coral they live on. They are found in deep water (100-150feet).

Another beautiful pygmy seahorse. Could it be a juvenile Hippocampus pontohi, or H colemani or H servensi.

The thorny seahorse (Hippocampus histrix) Is very rare in the waters of Okinawa. This is the only specimen I have found. It was washed up on a local beach during Typhoon trami. They live on gorgonians in deep water. Hopefully, someday I will photograph a live specimen

The Great seahorse (Hippocampus kelloggi) Is the most common seahorse found here. They live on sea-grass and algae in sandy areas. They are found in very shallow water (2-40feet).

The Ryukyu sea dragon (Kyonemichthys rumengani) is a species of pipefish native to Okinawa. It can be very difficult to find based on its size.

Seahorses are often taken from the sea, dried and sold for medicinal purposes. Their biggest threat is habitat loss and over-collecting. They hold a high-value for medicinal purposes and in the pet trade market. Populations have drastically decreased over the years, making them harder and harder to find. Let’s protect these beautiful seadragons.

People often ask me what is the purpose of conservation photography? Having the ability to affect some form of positive change in the environment and make a global difference with the photographs. Hopefully, the images will inspire people to care more about nature and make a positive difference in the environment.

My Mission: To Document and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands

Your donations will help conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines. Thank you for your support, Shawn M Miller.

#MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Have a great day!

Dinah’s Goby – living in glass homes by Shawn Miller

Posted on August 11, 2018 by Admin11

Brightly colored gobies are popular subjects for underwater macro photographers in the beautiful waters of Okinawa. The Dinah’s goby (Lubricogobius dinah) adapts by using man-made objects as a protective shelter. Discarded glass bottles and cans are prime real-estate for a variety of Marine life in the Ocean.

Scientific name: (Lubricogobius dinah)
Common Name: Dinah’s goby
Distribution: Ryukyu Islands
Habitat: Sandy bottom, living in shells and bottles
Depth: 20-50meters
Diet: Plankton
Average Size: 25mm

You will need a designated macro lens to photograph this beautiful Goby. Approach slowly and avoid any sudden movement.

Goby glass bottle © Shawn Miller

When threatened, the Goby will retreat into the glass bottle.

The Dinah’s goby © Shawn Miller

I was fortunate to have the goby pose for a photograph.

The Dinah’s goby © Shawn Miller

I used the Light&Motion Sola Nightsea to light up the mouth of the bottle to create this beautiful image.

The shy goby in a more natural home.

Know your nature with Shawn Miller. Have a great day!

Frogfish of Okinawa by Shawn Miller

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Admin11

Frogfish are found throughout the Ryukyu Islands in shallow water. They are popular subjects for underwater macro photographers in Okinawa. They are masters of camouflage and mimicry so they can be difficult to find. The juveniles resemble toxic nudibranchs, tunicates, seaweed, algae, soft corals, and sponges.

Warty clownfish (Antennarius maculatus) © Shawn Miller

Spotted frogfish (Antennarius pictus) © Shawn Miller

Scarlet frogfish (Antennarius coccineus) © Shawn Miller

Painted clownfish (Antennarius maculatus)

Painted frogfish (Antennarius pictus) © Shawn Miller

They are also known as anglerfish. They spend most of their time staying in one location using a specialized fishing pole and lure to attract prey. They are vicious hunters and are capable of swallowing fish larger than itself.

Spotted clownfish fishing (Antennarius pictus) © Shawn Miller

They move slowly, crawling over the reef with their pectoral fins or by using jet propulsion in open water.

On several occasions, I have seen large anglers the size of a football at Maeda point” Meet Frogzilla ”

Sometimes humans see random faces on natural objects. The scientific term for this is Pareidolia. Can you see the frogfish resemblance?

My Mission: To Document and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands

Your donations will help worldwide conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines. Thank you for your support. Shawn M Miller.

Searching for The Blue Ringed Octopus at Maeda Misaki -Okinawa

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Admin11

The Blue Ringed Octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata) is one of the most beautiful marine animals in Okinawa. It’s only the size of a golf ball, but extremely venomous.

- Scientific name: Hapalochlaena lunulata

- Common name: Blue-ringed octopus

- Distribution: Ryukyu Islands

- Habitat: Tide pools and shallow water coral reefs

- Diet: Crabs, shrimps, and fish

- Average size: 8-12cm

Color: Golden-yellow with blue rings

Interesting facts about octopuses in general

Yes- you got it. The plural of octopus is octopuses.
They are capable of producing a dark cloud of ink to escape from predators
They have a parrot-like beak used for eating prey
Octopuses have eight arms and are capable of regrowing them
They use jet propulsion to move quickly through the water
The Blue-ringed octopus can kill a human with one bite

I first photographed the Blue-ringed octopus at Maeda point in 2011. This intense octopus was published on National Geographic Your Shot Daily Dozen.

They are hard to find due to their small size. Persistence, patience, luck and a diving with a buddy with good eyes will increase your chances.

Mating season occurs in the summer months. A rare event that happens quickly.

People often ask me what is your most memorable experience underwater. Definitely swimming along the reef with a Blue-ringed Octopus.

The difficult part is locking on focus and photographing it when the moment happens.

Blue-ringed octopus in open water © Shawn Miller

Cephalopods can produce a cloud of ink to confuse and escape from predators when threatened

My dive & jive buddy spotted this Blue-ringed octopus feeding on a crustacean during a night dive recently.

The two-part parrot-like beak cephalopods use for feeding.

The single Blue-ringed Ocellated octopus (Octopus ocellatus) is scarce in Okinawa. I have seen and documented only one live animal.

If you would like to increase your chances of getting better photographs of Cephlapods, I recommend using the Light & Motion Sola 1200 underwater modeling light. The red light feature allows the user to get in close without disturbing the marine life.

Underwater setup with sola 600

Anyone in Okinawa that would like to try a Light&Motion Sola light, I will gladly let you test one of my personal lights on a night dive.

Learn more about the Light & Motion Sola series. http://www.lightandmotion.com/choose-your-light/sola

My Mission: To Document and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands

Your donations will help conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines. Thank you for your support, Shawn M Miller.

#MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Okinawa Nature Photography

沖縄自然写真 By Shawn Miller

Tag Archives: scuba diving in okinawa

Light & Motion Sola Photo 1200 – The Ultimate Focus Light For Night Divers

Fish Populations Decline At Maeda Point – Not A Good Sign!

Parasitic Isopods of the Ryukyu Islands

Searching for Cephalopods by Shawn Miller

Parasitic slugs of Okinawa

Moai Statue Found Underwater, Okinawa-Japan

Searching for the Ryukyu Sea Dragon by Shawn Miller

Dinah’s Goby – living in glass homes by Shawn Miller

Frogfish of Okinawa by Shawn Miller

Searching for The Blue Ringed Octopus at Maeda Misaki -Okinawa