This red seahorse was out swimming freely along the sandy bottom in the Lembeh Strait (North Sulawesi, Indonesia). There was noplace nearby where he could cling with his prehensile tail. Seahorses without attachment in the wild don't appear to be swimming deliberately -- they seem to me to twist and roll apparently randomly in the current or wave surge. Yet however undirected it may appear, I found that somehow, the little creature always contrived to face away from my camera. Eventually,...
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This red seahorse was out swimming freely along the sandy bottom in the Lembeh Strait (North Sulawesi, Indonesia). There was noplace nearby where he could cling with his prehensile tail. Seahorses without attachment in the wild don't appear to be swimming deliberately -- they seem to me to twist and roll apparently randomly in the current or wave surge. Yet however undirected it may appear, I found that somehow, the little creature always contrived to face away from my camera. Eventually, I learned that with care and calm movements, I could use my bare hand to "herd" the horse; by extending my hand beyond the seahorse I could induce the little critter to turn itself back toward the camera for a nice profile shot. (It wasn't always easy to take the photo with one hand while the other was extended beyond the frame, being careful not to touch the seahorse, stir up sand, or interfere with my own shot.)
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