Glass Jars

Technique: Macro Photography is how this picture was taken. A 35MM lense attached to a 1:2 extension tube attached to a Nikonis III body. Strobe was positioned directly above the subject approximately 8" away on low power. Film was Kodak Kodachrome 64 ASA.

Summary: These "glass jars" in reality are tunicates and are about the diameter of a pencil, no more than a half inch high. These animals siphon water through the hole on their side and pass it back into the ocean through the top hole. They filter out the edible nutrients before returning the water to the sea. Picture was taken in the US Virgin Islands.

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Tunicates | St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Tunicates are a species of invertebrate, no…vertebrae. Confused? So was science. This species resembles a sponge in shape (much, much smaller) and how they eat planktonic matter and filter the water back to the ocean. Look closely and you will see a faint skeletal-like rib sections and a backbone. This is what has had biologist confused as to how to classify them. At least when this picture was taken.

As you are cruising along a reef, if you are distracted by the big stuff, you will never notice these. They are very small, about the size of the eraser on a pencil. They do live in clusters which makes them a bit more visible. When I took this picture, I had no clue as to what I was shooting. Honestly! They looked very interesting and it was only when I got back on the boat, I asked the guide and he gave me “the lowdown”.

This is why I am a firm believer in “shoot everything”. No one has written a rule that you have to know what is before you shoot it. Take the picture and do the homework later.

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