As a young undergraduate ~ I used to love “in-class” practical study of Marine Fishes. Taxonomy at Bangor University ~ U.C.N.W. (North Wales ~ known for being a ‘School of Excellence’ Worldwide) was a serious study and many students were ‘a-gasp’ at the sheer ‘diversity’ of different Fishes brought into class for undergrads to photograph, draw and identify.

To this day ~ I will never forget ~ the myriad of weird and wonderful creatures which we were presented with ~ to study…

Being a Diver ~ I can’t help but feel in awe of nature ~ under the waves ~ being able to see ~ the real thing ‘ALIVE’ and in situ!

It was a privilege to see such large fast moving ‘pelagic’ specimens ~ circling around my body in mid-water. I had to turn my body roughly at the same speed to be able to capture a few shots ~ visibility wasn’t too good due to ‘particulate organic matter’ and low light ~ so I have used ‘airbrushing’ techniques to very much clean up this image.

It is said that ‘Jesus’ placed his hand onto this fish and ‘left his fingerprints’ behind ~ hence I know it as “Prayer Fish” although it is also known as the Double Spotted Queenfish (Scomberoides sp.) (probably iysan, but bigger ~ approximately 1 metre).

I think it is a wonderful example of what can be achieved with “modern photography techniques” & “digital art.”

An excellent example of ‘marine taxonomy’ which I can’t seem to find on the net anywhere else…

I hope Bangor Alumni will be proud of such works :-)