The theme for Photography 101 today is “edge,” which immediately made me think of the under surface of the water and the aquatic insects that must visit the surface to breathe.  So, I give you a backswimmer getting air:

Backswimmers swim upside down and carry an air bubble with them underwater that they use to breathe (think scuba tank).  Most of their body is coated with a thin film of air as well, which you can see as the shiny, silvery spots in the photo.  All that air they carry with them only lasts so long, however, so they have to go to the surface now and again to get more.  They break through the surface with their butts and allow air to fill their storage space.  Sometimes they’ll sit at the surface for a little while, but most of the time they’ll dart back underwater where birds and other predators have a harder time getting to them.

I love the look of the water’s surface when photographing things underwater.  My kind of edge for sure!

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