Sony F-717 digital Sunpak MZ4400AF flash off-camera 9.7mm (Macro) at f8 1/125 at ISO 100

Blowing you a kiss

Near as I could tell, at only certain times of the year could northern pipefish (Syngnathus fuscus) be found in the lagoon, usually the spring and early summer. I never determined why this is, but it may be because they consider the lagoon their breeding ground. I know that I had caught several males with an extended breeding pouch – pipefish, like their close relatives the seahorses, have the male carrying the young during incubation, after the female deposits the eggs in his pouch.

They tend to be 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches) in length, which actually makes getting a full-body image rather hard, because at closeup magnifications, the depth-of-field doesn't extend even remotely that far. So it requires having them perfectly flat to the camera, perpendicular to the lens, and since they're squirmy little buggers, they won't hold a pose. In the above case, I simply opted for a cute look, and a good view of the tubelike mouth.