David Doubilet's Image

A swaying colony of garden eels vanished into their burrows as soon as David arrived at this underwater scene. So as not to disturb them again, he set up his camera and hid behind a shipwreck where he could trigger the system remotely. It was several hours before the eels re-emerged and several days before David got his perfect shot.

The eels were feeding on plankton drifting in the current and were undisturbed by a wrasse and a cornetfish swimming by. If threatened, garden eels retreat into their burrows. Like many other fish, they detect movement through their lateral line, a sensory organ that runs the length of their bodies.