On Thu, 4 Oct 2001 Kenneth Smith <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Viv,
>more than one fascinating tale here...but most interesting  is your
>final thoughts the real thing is a fascinating creature...I had not
thought about the EYES, but you are right. looking at my own photos
>and those of others, they seem large and focused... surrounded by
>such an ugly exterior.... what you suggest as a peaceful existence
>is what I suspect is the reality of this beast... they can easily
>become friendly and almost docile... and never dart off like a
>Moray will, simply exiting with calm if their home turf is
>compromised... Im my minds eye, I have never encountered a more
>calm and collected animal in the sea ...
>Ken

Isn't that funny. Whoever took that winning shot I saw in that worldwide
photo competition needs to be congratulated for more than just their
placing. They caught the ESSENCE of that creature & managed to get that
across to someone who has never seen one on a tv documentary or in the
wild .. well yet. Boy! Another one to add to my *must-see-b4-I-die* list.
Having the advantage of understanding the hassles of photographing uw the
picture was so good & so nicely lit up against a black background it seemed
to come alive. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

I attended a SPUMS conference in Fiji last year .. one of the topics was on
eyes. The speaker, from Perth but such a grave looking fella I could'nt get
a smile out of him later when chatting privately no matter how I tried ...
had the most fascinating series of fish eye pics.
Explained the differences between them all, why they were shaped that way,
what they (the fish) would see looking at us, etc, etc. It was so bloody
good I have been trying to weasle my way around him to put on the same talk
for our UW camera club. Im still *trying* .. got the "too busy now" line
last time .. but this gal is persistant & will wear him down eventually ;-))
Viv