Robert’s Ramblings

This stunning image is something nearly every South Australian diver has seen, especially in and around our local jetties. Have you guessed yet what it is? Meet Coscinasterias muricata.

The Eleven-armed Sea Star is the largest sea star you will find in South Australian coastal waters and is very common. The next time you come across one, take a close look and you will find the upper surface of this sea star is covered in small spines. These spines are called pedicellariae and they can be manipulated like tiny claws to either catch food or ward off predators.

Pretty scary from this vantage point!

Until the next post, take care out there and keep diving ( if that’s what you do! ) …Robert 🙂

Photo: Robert Rath C5060 1/60s at f/8 ISO100, Lens Inon UCL165AD Macro Lens, Inon D2000 Strobe

Think very, very carefully before you sign up to Facebook, to MySpace or to LinkedIn. Oops … too late is it?

I recently wrote a short article on your ‘digital footprint’. That trail of information you create out there on the internet that tells anybody who cares to look, all about you. Or, does it?

Intrigued? You should be! Read my full article at http://www.innovation-mentor.com

Until the next post, take care out there and keep diving ( if that’s what you do! ) …Robert 🙂

Well spring may be here but the water is still as chilly as ever. Give it a month and we will start to see it begin to warm up.

Going through some old photos and found one I’d never published before. I can’t tell you much about this photo other than I took it with one of my student’s cameras on a recent Advanced Open Water course. I think it was a Canon Exelim (thanks Kirstin) but that’s all I have to go on. This gorgeous leafy Seadragon posed beautifully with just enough grass and algae for interest and just enough blue water for the dramatic.

You do not need to spend a lot on an underwater camera to get some stunning photos. This photo, taken with a point-and-shoot camera, demonstrates that being close, composing well (this photo is un-cropped) and taking plenty of photos will result in photos any new underwater photographer can be proud of.

Until the next post, take care out there and keep diving ( if that’s what you do! ) …Robert 🙂

Sorry disappoint any of you waiting for my next great shot. I have been busy working on my latest project, a new website for www.innovation-mentor.com.

Ok, yes this is work so it will not be everyone’s favourite hangout. You might however find some interesting thoughts and ideas there so maybe visit at least once or twice. 🙂

I have created Innovation Mentor as a place to start a regular series of articles about creativity and innovation. It will be mostly business focussed but will also explore innovation in other aspects of our lives.

The site is ‘Blog” based which means you can all participate so please feel free to make comments, suggestions or just say hello! If all you want are more great underwater photos, you will not have to wait to long for the next installment!


Until the next post, take care out there and keep being creative, innovative, oh and also diving ( if that’s what you do! ) …Robert 🙂

Last weekend I was teaching again over in Edithburgh and as usual the camera comes along for that ‘after the course’ photography dive. Despite the chilly 12 degrees, this little guy just made my weekend! Oh, and the Title ‘Speak To The Hand’ … need I say more!

I have not yet been able to identify this species of Anglerfish, or Frogfish but I suspect it may be a Cryptic Anglerfish Histiophryne cryptacanthus. I will post back with more info when I have learned more. For some great information on Anglerfish in South Australia please read Janine Baker’s on-line reference at http://www.reefwatch.asn.au/pages/bin/view/Publications/SamsccANTENNARIIDAE

Yes the water is cold but I have to say diving in a drysuit makes an enormous difference. A good semi-dry wetsuit is still quite usable at 12 degrees but usually leaves you so chilled that one dive is all you are up for. This is our second year of teaching open water divers in drysuits. Even after 3 teaching dives I could not wait to get back in the water again for some fun with the camera.

So if you are keen to keep diving all year round here in South Australia, the investment in a drysuit may be just what’s needed to keep you in the water!

Until the next post, take care out there and keep diving ( if that’s what you do! ) …Robert 🙂

Photo: Robert Rath C7070 1/60s at f/4.5 ISO80 Inon UCL165AD Macro Lens and D2000 Strobe

I’m delighted to report that many people have expressed interest in seeing more of my underwater images. At last I have been able to spend some time getting my new image gallery up and running.

Introducing www.wetshutter.com

This new site is a ‘Beta’ standard preview. It is a ‘first look’ for comments and suggestions. It is also my first attempt at flash programming, so please don’t be too harsh!

For testing I’ve uploaded only a small number of images from a recent trip to Edithburgh. Of course I will add many more when I’m happy that the site is operating without any technical issues.

Please feel free to make comments, suggestions or just say hello!

Until the next post, take care out there and keep diving ( if that’s what you do! ) …Robert 🙂

The Blue Ringed Octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa, is one of the deadliest creatures in the sea! Its powerful venom can easily kill a human despite its diminutive size of less than 12cm.

Although these creatures are a relatively common inhabitant here at Edithburgh, they’re not often seen as they hide during the day and come out at night to hunt. This guy seemed only slightly annoyed as the bright strobe captured this image before crawling away at a leisurely pace to hide under a nearby rock.

The weekend was great with the water temperature still at 19 even though the days were a chilly 15! A good friend Paul joined us for one of the days and he made quite a find too…, but I’ll leave that for another post! 😉

Due to repeated requests I have upped the resolution of my photos but am using more compression to keep the size down. Please let me know what you think.

Until the next post, take care out there and keep diving ( if that’s what you do! ) …Robert 🙂


Photo: Robert Rath C5060 1/60s at f/4.0 ISO100 Inon UCL165AD Macro Lens and D2000 Strobe

Edithburgh is famous as a jetty dive of unsurpassed diversity and beauty. However, all of Edithburgh’s coast is just as beautiful and often overlooked. The ‘Swimming Pool’ is one such area.

Edithburgh’s ‘Swimming Pool’ is a tide filled seawater pool offering a safe place for families to enjoy a lazy afternoon by the sea just a few meters short of the unknown. But slip out of the pool and into the ocean you find yourself in a snorkeller’s paradise.

Dusky Morwongs, Old Wives, Leatherjackets, Cuttlefish, Stingrays, Sweep, Moonlighters, Whiting, Mulloway, Magpie Perch, Zebra Fish, Talmas, Blennys, Starfish, Urchines, Abalone, Scallops, Blue Grouper and Wrasse dance among the rocks and kelp in less than 2m of water. Many of the species seen will be juveniles as this rocky coastal area is a nursery for many of the bigger off-shore reef fish.

So next time you find yourself at Edithburgh with a potential future diver take them for a snorkel in the Swimming Pool.

Until the next post, take care out there and keep diving ( if that’s what you do! ) …Robert

Photo: Robert Rath C5060 1/125s at f/6.7 ISO100 Inon UWL100-28AD Lens

Seahorse is the boat I seem to spend most of my time on, shore dives come second, and somewhere down the list I actually get to dive from my own boat every now and then.

This photo was taken just before descending onto the Hobart a couple of weeks ago. The conditons were so good you could snorkel over to any part of the ship for a free descent. Usually, strong currents limit access to and from the ship on lines, so this day was a rare treat.

Until the next post, take care out there and keep diving ( if that’s what you do! ) …Robert

Photo: Robert Rath

Last week a lucky few of us had the chance to dive the AV Ulonga.

The AV Ulonga was a Murray River paddle steamer converted to be an ocean-going cargo vessel. She sank in 1976 in around 38m of water about 10 nautical miles off the coast of South Australian’s Fleurieu Peninsula. At over 33m in length with some penetration, she makes for a fantastic dive.

Pictured above on the descent are Alexius, with camera at the ready, and Ken. Notice the extra tanks we all took down for the dive. I’ll let you guess what’s in them! 😉

For more information on the history of the AV Ulonga checkout Steve Reynold’s article at http://www.mlssa.asn.au/nletters/march2005.htm

Until the next post, take care out there and keep diving ( if that’s what you do! ) …Robert

Photo: Robert Rath C5060 1/500s at f/4 ISO200 Inon UWL100-28AD Lens