Critters are just so cool.
My guide Nonsix stumbled across this mantis shrimp early on during our afternoon dive. I have no clue what kind of mantis shrimp it is (can anyone help?), but how much more alien can a critter look?
I started with a few profile shots to make sure I had some photos of the entire animal for ID purposes:
Then I did my usual head-scratching to consider how I could express the "coolness" of this cryptic crustacean. Here's what I came up with...a head-on shot of the animal crouched back on its haunches just before it set its many pairs of legs into motion to zip off at high speed:
