I almost forgot about this encounter:

While my camera was firing away for the Banggai cardinalfish time-lapse sequence, I stayed nearby to watch over my equipment and make sure nothing went wrong.

Staring at camera equipment firing on autopilot is about as stimulating as watching air tanks get filled, but I made the best of the circumstances by lying perfectly still and eavesdropping on the marine life around me.

About a third of the way through my planned waiting time, a lizardfish (one that was right next to me, but I didn’t see because it was so well camouflaged) leapt into the water column and snatched a butterflyfish in a fraction of a blink-of-an-eye, then darted down to the sand.

I almost didn’t take a second camera with me on that dive, but a little voice inside my head made me change my mind at the last second (which goes to show…hearing voices isn’t always a bad thing).

It took a few minutes for the lizardfish to consume its meal, so I had a bit of time to fumble around in an agitated state and still manage to get some photos.