This photograph was taken in Costa Rica during one of my daily snorkeling sessions. I didn't set out with a specific shot in mind; instead, I ventured out to capture whatever surprises nature had in store. On this particular day, I stumbled upon a baitball of lanternfish with Chilean devil rays hunting—a rare and mesmerizing sight. Although I had hoped to witness such behavior, I couldn't have planned for the perfect conditions that greeted me: crystal-clear water, sunlight filtering through the surface, and the baitball forming a nearly perfect circle. The synchronized hunting of the devil rays was a moment where reality far surpassed my dreams.
Photographing this scene presented its challenges. I was snorkeling without strobes, relying solely on natural light and timing. The devil rays moved unpredictably, so patience was key. I positioned myself at the surface, sometimes freediving slightly to anticipate their movements. This particular shot was taken from the surface, where I could capture the sun’s rays symmetrically radiating through the water. The composition was largely instinctive, shaped by the natural choreography of the rays and the baitball. The challenge was balancing movement, light, and positioning while holding my breath and managing buoyancy. I’m pleased with the result, but in hindsight, I sometimes wonder if I could have experimented more with angles or timing.
Post-processing is an integral part of my creative process, enhancing the story and emotion behind the image. For this photo, I began in Lightroom, where I adjusted the tones to reduce the overwhelming blue and bring warmth to the image. I enhanced contrast and clarity, removed haze, and worked to bring out the details of the baitball and the rays. I then moved to Photoshop for finer adjustments, applying dodge and burn techniques to highlight the interplay of light and shadow, cleaning up water particles, and using Topaz Sharpen AI for noise reduction and detail enhancement. I experimented with a black-and-white conversion and quickly realized it transformed the photo. The lanternfish, almost lost against the blue, became more defined, as did the sun's rays, giving the image a timeless, dramatic feel. I save my edits as TIFF files with layers to maintain flexibility for future tweaks or contest requirements, ensuring nothing is permanently removed or altered in ways that violate rules.
