Jonathan Ross

 

Winning Photo: "Red Lionfish"

Taken while diving the shipwreck David Tucker off Nassau, Bahamas in May 2008. One of the most resplendent of all coral reef fishes, the red lionfish is a member of the scorpion fish family and is covered with venomous spines. While the “sting” of the red lionfish can be extremely painful, there have been no known human fatalities. Both underwater photographers keep their distance and use a wide angle lens to capture this very distinctive fish.

 

Accompanying Photo: "Grunts"

       

Above Left - Taken while diving Director’s Bay in Curacao. A school of smallmouth grunt fish (multiple yellow stripes) and yellow goatfish (single yellow stripe with chin barbels) team up in a tight formation while swimming through a natural sand channel separating coral structures. Although both species are common to the Caribbean, their cooperation provides a certain symmetrical design that may confuse potential predators.

 

Above Right - Ross is captured with his underwater photographic equipment remaining as stationary as possible while surrounded by a number of large reef and black tip sharks. Although the scene looks dangerous, the sharks are not very interested in Ross but they do stir up a strong current and are capable of knocking equipment askew.

 

Jonathan Ross's Biography:

Born and raised in South Florida, Jonathan Ross first began scuba diving in his early teens and experimented with one of the early Nikonos underwater cameras in 1968 that was based on a prototype designed by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Jean de Wouters. He is now a Divemaster and Digital Underwater Photographer certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). Jonathan’s passion is using the latest technology to capture the beauty and essence of the underwater world. He is also a member of the Project AWARE Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving underwater environments through education, advocacy and action. Jonathan is a graduate of Connecticut College with both his Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees and was a resident of Mystic for a decade after finishing his graduate studies. Jonathan currently resides in Austin, Texas but when having time off from the world of a corporate executive, he travels to dive sites across the globe to pursue his underwater photography. He most recently completed an extensive series of photographs on sharks in the Bahamas and is planning a series of night dives off the Big Island of Hawaii to capture images of Manta Rays.

 

Jonathan Ross

www.jrossunderwater.com

Don't forget to mention that you saw Jonathan in the 2009 Joseph Merritt & Company calendar!