WEDNESDAY 27th November 2024
On this Wednesday, we welcomed Penny and Spike Piddock (both DPAGB & EFIAP). They hail from Wyke Regis, between Weymouth and Portland. Both are members of Dorchester Camera Club and the British Society of Underwater Photographers.Â
It was an evening where I can safely say that members joining us on Zoom enjoyed an amazing range of colours and various sea life.
Whilst Spike is the diver, Penny enjoys a more sedate pace as a snorkeller but clearly both have honed their eye for capturing sea life and behaviour.
Penny and Spike literally fell for each other as they met on a judo mat. Suffice it to say they obviously had far more in common than martial arts and soon they were travelling not just across the world but down into the depths of the seas and oceans.
It is difficult to write a blog when so much of the evening was a celebration of what lies under the sea. Nature has decided to create creatures that are both small yet have an amazing array of colours. All the stranger when Spike told us that, below 20 metres, it starts to get dark. So, who are all the colours for? What do the creatures themselves see?
Penny and Spike found the time and skills to create their own camera housing, which allowed Spike to take their Halina camera down to the depths. A tin box, strong glue, and some weights—plus a rubber glove as a float—were put together and seemingly worked. I don’t recall that episode of Blue Peter myself!
Whilst at RAF Cyprus, they had many opportunities to enjoy life underwater and capture many aspects of life in the depths.
Further travels have seen them visit the Maldives, Indonesia and the Philippines. But they are still discovering what lies under the Channel just off Portland as we saw in many of the images they shared.
Their equipment has moved with the times – onto Canon and Nikon – and the housing used for going deep is getting better all the time as materials are developed to withstand greater pressures; Spike explained that he can now access all the buttons on his camera. Penny meanwhile has settled on an Olympus Tough camera and enjoys its lightness and robust protection.
All present enjoyed an array of creatures, from sea slugs to manta rays and shrimps to sharks. Spike gave us many interesting insights, e.g. when trying to take a photo of a Giant Barracuda it is best not to wear anything shiny (such as a diving mask) as they think it is an edible fish!
Sharing their knowledge of the creatures, their habitats and purposes, Spike told of the symbiotic relationship of shrimps whose job it is to clean the teeth of the Honeycomb Moray Eel, and the fearless Remora fish who regularly take local trips on passing Hawksbill Turtles.
From Indonesia, we were given images of long-nosed Hawkfish, having the same colour as the coral they live on, together with brightly-coloured and patterned Mandarin fish, but the most unusual by some way was the Frogfish, which measures three inches long, scuttles along on its flippers and uses a fishing rod-like antennae growing from its head to lure other fish.
A close second is the mantis shrimp; it can alter its eye shape depending on what means it is using to lure its prey.
Another popular underwater activity is wreck diving. We saw images of motorcycles, winches, propellors and toilets that have been on the seabed for many years.
Penny meanwhile was content with life on the surface of the water and how things change as the day progresses, especially as night falls and the behaviours of those living in the sea change. Using her skills and knowledge, Penny can also get those great moments both above and below the waves.
It was a night that again left us in awe of nature and the variety of life beneath the waves. Thank you Penny and Spike.
Title Image – Moray Eel with Open Mouth – © Spike Piddock
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