Turn left just after you leave Awakino in the 'Naki and you'll find yourself following the Manganui River. About fifteen km north is where I met up with Bruno David (Freshwater scientist, Waikato regional council) and his team. It's one of a great many locations regularly surveyed for water quality and the life it supports.
I'm privileged to be able to tag along as the team section off specific areas and start Electrofishing which is a common scientific survey method used to sample fish populations to determine abundance, density, and species composition. The method results in no permanent harm to fish, which after being caught counted and measured are returned to the river.
This is my first shoot on my freshwater fish project and I'm nervous about getting good shots of the specimens as Bruno's team supplies me fragile creature in a bucket of water.
I've filled the tank in the back of the CRV with water from the river but it's not as clear as I would like. I was warned that the fish would likely go to the back of the tank and sulk on the bottom but my movable baffle in the tank enabled me to trap them toward the front so that I had a better chance of a clear view.
My Elencrome portable flash system was invaluable for this kind of work, a lot of light very close meant that I had a relatively high shutter speed and a great depth of focus and it cut out all ambient light so there was no need to worry about what the weather was doing.
This location provided me with some beautiful Redfin bullies, Inanga and Torrent fish, a great start!
Redfin bully