Sea Squirt, White Beach, Russell Islands. The sea squirt is a kind of tunicate, and this particular variety is all over the Solomons. This is twice life-size on the negative; you don't usually get this perspective unless you're carrying a magnifying glass.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

Bubble Coral or Grape Coral, White Beach, Russell Islands. The magnification is about 1:1 on the film, and this image is uncropped. It was growing on a steel dock or bridge that was abandoned at the end of WW II, in about 25 feet of water.

I've received the following information about this coral from Keoki & Yuko Stender (Gary WIlliams confirms their identification):

The coral appears to be Physogyra lichtensteini, Family Caryophyllidae. It is related to the more familiar Bubble Coral and normally has smaller "bubbles" extended during the day until disturbed. It can sting. I didn't see this species in American Samoa, but did see Bubble Coral in the harbor at 50 feet in murky water along a reef wall.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

Featherduster Worm, Lumalile Island, Morova Lagoon. I've been fascinated by the intricate tracery of these worms. I thought I'd try some exposures with a fairly-wide aperture to limit the depth of field. Looks like a path worth pursuing.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/8, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

Crocodile Fish Eye, Karanjou Island, Morova Lagoon. When you start to look closely, crocodile fish eyes are as varied as fingerprints. Thanks to Scott, the Spirit Captain, for pointing out this great subject.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

When we got to Kokoana passage, we heard that Chris Newbert had seen a pygmy seahorse there in '97. Not have ever seen any kind of a seahorse, in spite of spending one whole night dive in the Red Sea sorting through a glade os sea grass one blade at a time, we were pretty stoked. Finding one was daunting: as you can see, they are very well camouflaged. What you can't see is that they're maybe 3/8 of an inch long when they unroll their tails, and they almost never unroll their tails.

On the first dive, Betty found a likely sea fan, and began to examine it one branch at a time, while I poked around the wall. After ten minutes, she came storming away from the fan, passed right by me, and found Scott, the captain of the Spirit. He got there with his camera, and pigged the sea horse while I skulked around fuming to myself about why Betty hadn't found me first. She later said she wasn't sure she'd found it, and wanted to make sure. Well, OK, I guess. After having her find confirmed, she rounded everybody up -- one person said she had "eyes like onions." Even when you know they're there, it's hard to spot these tiny animals. We made repeated dives on the same fan, and eventually found four seahorses.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

Cleaner Shrimp, Kokoana Passage, Morova Lagoon. He was a nice shrimp, but his location didn't encourage contemplative work: 95 feet down in a moderately-strong current. At the end of the dive, we saw an immense school of humphead parrotfish -- I counted 24! Unfortunately, the 2:1 setup didn't work very well on the parrotfish.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

Porcelain Crab, Malemale Island, Morova Lagoon. Betty pointed out this anemone to me. I found two crabs, including this ferocious-looking one. Betty had also found a shrimp, but I blew the whole roll on the crabs before I found saw him.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

Porcelain Crab under Carpet Anemone, Minjanga Island, Morova Lagoon. I saw this little guy out of the corner of my eye at the edge of a carpet anemone. He was shy, but I had plenty of air, and he finally came partway out.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

Feather Duster Worm, Freight Express, Sandfly Passage, Ngogelasule Island, Florida Islands.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

Long-nosed Hawkfish, Kokoana Passage, Morova Lagoon. On the way back from the pygmy seahorse, with only a few shots left, this hawkfish sat for a portrait.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

On the last dive of the trip, it just wasn't happening. The Branching anemone with the popcorn shrimp had sucked itself down into the hold, and the mantis shrimp was nowhere to be found. I had a deep suspicion that the fluorescence of the tube anemone would be overwhelmed by the strobe. There were a lot of pipefish on the deck of the Ann, though.

Nikon F4, 200mm f/4 AF Micro-Nikkor, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

This is cropped from a 2:1 negative. I am indebted to Gary Williams for the identification.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

Nikon F4, 200mm f/4 AF Micro-Nikkor, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/200, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

Mary Island used to be a magical place. You could go out to the point and find huge schools of barracudas and jacks, or you could poke around in the bay and see no end of little things. The point is still great, but the bay was trashed by a series of storms in '97, and there's not much left. This little clam saved a really dull dive. I hope the bay comes back, but it's going to take a while.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

Nikon F4, 200mm f/4 AF Micro-Nikkor, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

With flourescent animals, you never know what colors you'll get when the flash goes off. Usually, it's a big disappointment. This was an exception, but it still doesn't look much like it did to my eyes.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.

Mantis Shrimp, Wreck of the Ann, Russell Islands. Betty loves mantis shrimps and she found this one near the stern of the wreck. I really had the wrong setup for this one, since he was a little scared of the camera, but I got this. I went back later with the 200, but he was nowhere to be found.

Nikon F4, 105mm f/2.8 AF Micro-Nikkor, TC-14 converter, 14mm tube, 27.5 mm tube, Aquatica Housing, 2 Ikelite 200 strobes, f/32, Kodak Royal Gold 100.