I don't remember taking this picture. I remember doing some more-classical gorgonian shots, and I remember fiddling with the strobes to  see what I could do with a little backlight. When I got back to the boat, there were four substantially-identical pictures like this on the flash card, but I don't remember looking at this image in the LCD on the back of the camera. In this digital age, with instant feedback,  it's rare to look at an image after the shooting is over and gasp a surprised "Wow," but this image did that for me.

One of the great things about photography is its ability to surprise and delight the photographer. Every photographer over 40 will wax mystical about the first time they saw a print come up in the developer. In spite of all the Ansel Adams devotees (and I'm one sometimes) out there pre-visualizing the final print, the world is too complex to be put in that little box. Years ago, I asked John Sexton, one of the principal proponents and teachers of pre-visualized photography, how he knew when a project was over. He told me, "When I don't have an intense hunger to develop the images and see how they came out."

Nikon D100, 60mm f/2.8 AF Auto Micro Nikkor, Subal D-10 Housing, 2 Sea and Sea 90 strobes, f/32, ISO 200.