Robert's Ramblings

As the sun sets with certainly, as another day passes on, as clarity is lost and memory fades, holding onto the rail will not save you.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Holding On To The Rail' 1/100 f/4.0 ISO160 182mm

Beachside Glenelg and most people are looking at the gorgeous sunset, snapping away at the horizon or at themselves as it the current trend.

I looked up and saw a different ocean.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Surfing a Celestial Wave' 1/2500 f/2.8 ISO160 102mm

This little guy the size of my thumbnail was happy to cruise around hunting for food on the reef quite unnoticed as I sat patiently waiting for the perfect angle on some other less interesting creature.

While peering through the viewfinder this lump of moon rock literally slid into the frame.

I still do not know what kind of nudibranch this little guy is but I affectionately named it based on the crater pocked surface of its skin.

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Moonbug’ 1/100 f/14 ISO320 100mm

I first encountered hermit crabs many years ago on the muddy tidal flats around Darwin well before I began diving.

Since then I've learned they are everywhere and more than happy to take residence in someone else's abandoned home.

This Hermit Crab (Paguristes frontalisi) at Port Noarlunga is both common and comical. This one's shell is fitting perfectly so not so many stumbles to laugh at but if you find a hermit crab that has taken up residence in some palatial new oversized shell it is hilarious watching the ensuing antics.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Hermit Crab' 1/100 f/20 ISO320 100mm

I've said before that Port Noarlunga is underrated as an amazing diving location and last night's dive proved again the beauty here.

We got in the water around 11pm but with the 40 degC hot days we have been having it was just like jumping into a warm bath. Feeling pretty relaxed and pretty lazy we dived a very small area below the end of Port Noarlunga Jetty and as it turned out we did not have to go far for all the critter action.

This image shows a juvenile Southern Calamari, Sepioteuthis australis, out hunting, one of many we encountered.

We found nudibranchs, bobtail squid, headshield slugs, blue ring octopus, scorpion fish as well as many of the local reef inhabitants in their nocturnal state.

The secret to an awesome Port Noarlunga night dive is to come back off from the reef and dive the sand and sea-grass beds. That's where the really interesting critters will be.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Baby's Gone a Hunting' 1/100 f/20 ISO320 100mm

Biscuit Stars (Tosia australis) abound under Edithburgh Jetty.

They are so common and so generally stationary they are often overlooked by divers for the intricate beauty in their last (note the term 'last' is used to describe the hard structure making up the shape of the starfish).

This pair side by side highlight differences in colour but note how the actual structure is the same.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Sea 'n' Biscuits' 1/125 f/14 ISO320 40mm

I normally associate a name like 'The Pit' with some lair filled with foul beasts but this place could not be further from that idea.

This special location only a short swim from the Edithburgh Jetty never fails to enthrall me with its beautiful white sandy bottom rimmed inside a low circular reef.

Schools of Old Wives and Bullseyes swim with their undersides aglow by the reflecting sand-light while Cuttlefish and Rockling hide under ledges with Snook hovering in ambush in the macro algae above.

The Pit really is a gentle and beautiful place to dive.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'The Pit' 1/125 f/11 ISO640 15mm

I love firsts! I especially love finding a critter for the first time under Edithburgh Jetty where I have dived hundreds of times over many years.

Actually the credit goes to my dive buddy Raymond for finding this rarely seen Southern Crested Weedfish Christiceps australis

From any other angle it looked like another piece of kelp frond until recognition those gorgeous mottled eyes became the giveaway.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'A Different Kind of Weed' 1/100 f/11 ISO320 100mm

As I have said before, one of the most amazing sea creatures to inhabit our coastal waters is the Australian giant cuttlefish, Sepia apama.

Aside from being the world's largest cuttlefish species, it is also one of the most curious and engaging and will interact for ages if you want to play. This one occupying a small reefy ledge off the end of Edithburgh Jetty was curious enough to let me get close though it had its limits and retreated back under its ledge before coming back out to pose for more photos.

Cuttlefish are known to be quite intelligent but there is something about those eyes which carries a sense of timeless wisdom. An anthropomorphism which endears this create even more.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Wise Old Cuttlefish' 1/80 f/11 ISO320 40mm

Another image maker captures the twilight in their own vision.

Whenever I see another photographer on the beach looking at the same sunset as myself, aiming their camera and capturing the scene I wonder how their vision differs from mine. I wonder if they see anything I do not and I wonder what the result of their work will be like.

It would be kind of neat to meet up, compare images and swap notes but most of the time they are people I've never met and probably never will and the moment will only ever be theirs.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Someone Else's Moment' 4s f/16 ISO100 15mm

I used to take great delight in scaring myself witless.

I used to go from ride to ride to ride leaving no experience left wanting.

I'd probably still do it with the right motivation but for now I am just as happy to look up and capture the look of terror on someone else's face.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Twin Terror' 1/125s f/2.8 ISO800 102mm

A couple share a quiet moment in the Garden of Unearthly Delights while all around people are coming and going and kicking back and chatting and enjoying a balmy 36°C Adelaide evening.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'The Garden of Unearthly Delights' 1/15s f/4 ISO1600 70mm

Last night we hit the Adelaide Fringe and the Garden of Unearthly Delights for Camille O'Sullivan's show 'Changeling'.

Great voice, amazing presence and a wonderful show.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Camille O'Sullivan' 1/80s f/2.8 ISO1600 200mm


P.S. Sorry if you were expecting another fish!

It was one of those occasions where it was tempting to spend a night indoors rather than donning an already cold and wet wetsuit and heading back into the water.

The wind had come up to a good 15knots and visibility was rapidly disappearing but I decided that a macro dive should be possible even in these poor conditions. Once under all my concerns whether I would enjoy the dive disappeared. Yes the conditions were poor for photography but I saw plenty of interesting critters and got a couple good shots.

My favourite critter for the dive was this little nudibranch (Doriopsilla carneola) and its teeny weeny hitchhiking amphipod. At first I though the amphipod would not linger long but as I watched for quite some time the little hitchhiker stayed put intent on getting maximum mileage from its host.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Teeny Weeny Hitchhiker' 1/125s f/14 ISO320 100mm+20mmExt

Here I was going about my business exploring some of the sea-grass beds out from Edithburgh Jetty when down it swooped.

Like a magpie dive-bombing an unsuspecting cyclist my first reaction was to duck. Imagine how funny that would have appeared.

And like a magpie it indeed was also a bird, a Pied Cormorant on the hunt for an evening meal.

As I watched it disappear into the gloom chasing its unsuspecting prey I thought, 'now that really is an odd kind of fish'.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Odd Kind of Fish' 1/125s f/18 ISO640 15mm

Alexius on the photographic hunt but not all would be subjects are pleased about the diving paparazzi.

The game of hide and seek is always part of the game and this Magpie Perch has it down pat.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Hide and Seek' 1/200s f/7.1 ISO320 15mm

An amazing diving day at a location I've not dived for some time.

The Bluff, a prominent land feature at the western end of Encounter Bay is not the most pleasant place to dive. It demands a little bit of work with ocean swell coming on a rocky entry.

Once in there is the constant surge and visibility varying at time to less than one meter.

Today though we were treated to many Leafy Seadragons both adult and juvenile and a fleeting interlude from one sleek visitor


Australian Fur Seal (Pusillus doriferus) Photo: Robert Rath, 'Sleek Visitor' 1/400s f/7.1 ISO160 15mm

A family of four, two best friends, swimmers silhouetted and one lone aeroplane.

Another amazing Henley Beach sunset and some are still completely unaware of the extraordinary sky show unfolding.

Oh well, at least they are all doing something just as wonderful at the end of one very hot summer day


Photo: Robert Rath, 'What Sunset?', 1/60s f/16 ISO320 15mm

Scenes like this are one of Rapid Bay's major attractions and much easier to experience than finding Leafy Seadragons or nudibranchs.

Here in the 'T-Section' of the old jetty you can drift between the sponge encrusted tree-like pylons and look up at schools of Old Wives, Yellowtail, Bullseyes and Leatherjackets.

On a clear day like this there is no better shore dive within a couple hours drive of Adelaide.

On poor visibility days its best to just go hunting for Leafy Seadragons and Nudibranchs.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Sponge Trees', 1/125s f/7.1 ISO320 15mm

This school of Yellowtail at Rapid Bay are not the easiest to photograph with their super silvery reflective scales.

Fire a couple of strobes and be prepared for big bright overexposed blotches.

When you do get it right (and these guys are still overexposed) they look like swimming skeletons.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Skeleton School', 1/200s f/7.1 ISO640 15mm

The seaweed is always greener
in somebody else's lake
You've dreamed about going down there
What ever made you wait
Just look at the world around you
Right here on the ocean floor
Such wonderful things surround you
What more is you lookin' for?

Under the sea
Under the sea
Darling it's better
Down where it's wetter
Take it from me
Up on the shore they work all day
Stuck in the office they slave away
While I'm devotin'
Full time to floatin'
Under the sea

Inspired by The Little Mermaid and the Rapid Bay Leafy Sea Dragons.

Photo: Robert Rath, 'Under The Sea', 1/1000s f/7.1 ISO640 15mm

Did I happen to mention I love scuba diving and this little cutie under Rapid Bay Jetty is just one of the many reasons.

The Ornate Cowfish (Aracana ornata) would have to one of the cutest little critters swimming around our local coastline. This one is a female and quite plain while in contrast it is the males that have earned their 'Ornate' namesake.

Very often cowfish are flighty and do not like to have their photographs taken but I think this one took a shine to her own reflection in the camera lens and posed and posed and posed for as long as I wanted.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Moo Maid', 1/1600s f/7.1 ISO640 15mm

P.S. This is NOT an aquarium shot. Just Saying!

I could follow these Zebra Fish (Girella zebra) around all day as they cross from here to there.

Photographing them is easy. Just watch for a while as they traverse their circuitous route through pylons, reef and and bottom debris and they will eventually come round again. All you need to do is wait.

I chose this spot to wait near the old Rapid Bay Jetty and on their own schedule they crossed my path as planned.


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Zebra Crossing', 1/1600s f/7.1 ISO640 15mm

It is wonderful enough to dive Rapid Bay and see a Leafy Seadragon. It is simply magical to see a juvenile dragon.

Today's dive at Rapid Bay was like a busy mall as ideal conditions attracted many Adelaide and visiting international divers.

It was great to catch up with friends and dive among the old pylons with the Leafys again


Photo: Robert Rath, 'Baby Dragon', 1/250s f/7.1 ISO640 15mm