Mimmo Roscigno: Gulf of Naples
Mimmo Roscigno, from Naples, Italy presents a collection of images from his home waters of the Gulf of Naples in the Mediterranean sea. The area was known and visited by naturalists since the eighteenth century, and it is still possible to experience amazing encounters. His images confirm that it can still deliver big surprises for the underwater photographer.
Mimmo has always shown a visceral interest in the sea and in all that it concerns, and this interest together with a passion for photography converge in what is still “his main occupation”. He started taking underwater pictures with a Kodak Instamatic in an underwater Mares case that he still owns, and now shoots with digital SLRs and medium format cameras.
To see more of Mimmo’s work, please visit his Facebook page or check out his site for his book: Into the Mirror.
Spotted bumblebee shrimps (Gnathophyllum elegans) walks on a sea star (Echinaster sepositus), Baia di Mitigliano, Massalubrense Sorrento, Napoli.
Seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus) swims in the shallows of the beach Caterina, Sorrento, Napoli.
An octopus (Octopus vulgaris) released by my friend from a fish trap, in mid water. Punta Campanella,Sorrento.
Night dives always guarantee surprises and interesting encounters. All of a sudden, the silhouette of a John Dory (Zeus faber) appeared in the thick darkness, right in front of me.
Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) in a fried egg jellyfish (Cotylorhiza tuberculata), Procida, Napoli.
A very young mauve stinger (Pelagia noctiluca) is accompanied by an equally young specimen of horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), Massalubrense, Sorrento.
A black Brotula (Oligopus ater), a primitive fish that lives only in the darkness of the caves or in deep waters, Mitigliano Cave, Sorrento, Gulf of Napoli.
A flame shell (Lima hyans) swims by pumping water with the movement of the valve, Puolo, Sorrento, Napoli.
A lifeline for the anchorage of vessels, completely colonized by a large colony of worms (Sabella spallanzanii), that with the oral appendages everted, feed on microscopic organisms transported by currents, Sorrento,Napoli.
A comb jelly (Leucothea multicornis) carried by the current, Baia di Mitigliano, Massalubrense, Sorrento.
A moray eel (Muraena helena) during a night dive. Puolo,Sorrento, Gulf of Napoli.
The rapid movement of an angler (Lophius piscatorius) who turns away from my goal, Puolo,Sorrento, Napoli.
A small (3 cm) hermit crab (Dardanus arrossor) laboriously scale the wall of a rusty scrap, Puolo, Sorrento, Napoli.
A striped red mullet (Mullus surmuletus), Puolo, Sorrento.
The godiva (Godiva quadricolor) is definitely one of the most beautiful nudibranchs of the Mediterranean Sea, photographed here on a colonial ascidian (Botrilloides violaceus), Baia, Napoli.
Male peacock blenny (Salaria pavo), Bacoli, Napoli.
A shrimp (Lysmata seticaudata) cleans the jaws of a moray eel Mediterranean (Muraena helena),Mitigliano, Sorrento, Gulf of Napoli.
The photo shows the two types of seahorses in the Mediterranean (Hippocampus hippocampus on the left and Hippocampus guttulatus on the right). I had never seen them together but a strong current brought them closer for a few seconds.
This aplisia (Aplisia dactylomela) is an alien species from the Atlantic is now very numerous in the Mediterranean Sea and is very large compared to the endemic species. Puolo, Sorrento, Gulf of Napoli.
A rocky outcrop colonized by yellow and red gorgonians juts into the waters of Punta Carena, Capri, Napoli.