The Toby and I

I‘m captured and held in place… a small, yet dazzling black saddle toby juxtaposed against a backdrop of unpolished coral. The ocean’s offering at the tail end of an adventurous drift dive off the coast of Bagamoyo. Africa’s rainy season generated heavy surges underwater, causing the ocean to pull me in every which direction, without much choice in the matter. I could only allow, and drift, and move with the sea, like fluff in the wind, through a forest under the sea. Low visibility conditions authorized few windows for photography, so I celebrate this very moment, awestruck by the contrasting beauty of mother nature. The miniature, colorful puffer floats in place for an instant and beckons invitingly, and I realize, how truly alike we are, how we’re both just very small parts of a very large whole. I aim, and shoot, capturing the moment, burning the colors and shapes into my memory.