On the afternoon of May 13th 2004, Melanie, Eric and I dove the Salt Pier in Bonaire. We opted for a simple dive profile - out from the shore to the central pier, then north to the neighboring pier, then back along the same route. The visibility was a little worse than usual, so extra care had to be taken with substrobe placement. The dive was fairly un-eventful, until we headed back to shore from the central pier...

Hanging-out close to the central pier were two very large squid. We breathed quietly, minimized our movements, and approached slowly. I chose one squid and started taking shots - adjusting camera and substrobe settings with slow and deliberate movements. Melanie and Eric, next to me, watched quietly. After a few shots, the squid changed from a light brown / beige color to the beautiful iridescent white / orange / purple color you see here. While I concentrated my attention on this squid, Melanie stretched out her hand and moved it slowly back and forth in a squid-like fashion. The second squid approached and gently brushed up against her hand with it's wings. According to Melanie, a squid is very smooth and soft to the touch. A few moments later, my squid maneuvered back to the other squid and quickly flashed through a series of color patterns. Since we didn't want to stress, alter or interfere with their natural behavior, we left them to continue their mating ritual in peace.