DRIFTING IN THE WATER COLUMN

Tropical Sunrise, 6 x 8 oil

Swimming round a ridge of coral I come upon a large school of fish.  Black Durgeon are a common sight feeding in midwater above the reef, but here are more than fifty, along with Raccoon Butterflyfish and Threadfin Butterflyfish.  As I pause, drifting back and forth with the surge along with the whole column, I find that they allow me to come quite close.  I see color and patterns I have never noticed before.  The raccoons become backlit jewels, with glowing golden tails and a delicate margin of maroon along the tail and fins.  The Black Durgeon have brown tracery around the eyes and face.  Somehow my attention shifts focus, and I see what they are eating: Tiny creatures with two white wings, held together by something invisible and gelatinous.