Hatching Market Squid: The Art of Photographing Supermacro Larvae

Every year, millions of market squid congregate in the shallow, cold waters of the Pacific Coast of North America to reproduce as water temperatures reach 54°F. Often their numbers are so thick, it can be difficult to see a few feet in front of you. Other times, the mating process is more orderly with only a few dozen individuals. Males will grab at females until they successfully “catch one” and quickly copulate, turning red in the process. As their color fades into a marble white, the female will lay an egg sac on the sandy bottom and slowly slink back to the depths to pass into the next world. The ocean becomes silent, and a carpet of egg sacs decorates the bottom for the next six months.

A market squid tends to its eggs before death takes it

Because mating events often happen in major cities like Monterey, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Seattle, this incredible natural phenomenon can be witnessed by dozens of divers when social media spreads the word in time. But very few divers consider what happens as the process progresses and the larval squid develop in their egg sacs. Even fewer have witnessed a hatching event. Thankfully, I have the pleasure of knowing Scuba Jess and Scuba Eric – intrepid Pacific Northwest divers who have the patience and drive to monitor squid eggs well after they are laid. They often post their findings on pnwdiving.com, an important resource for local divers.

Male market squid turn red when they copulate with females

From Eggs to Hatchlings

After one such mating event that we witnessed in September, Jess had been monitoring the “egg baskets.” The larval eyes were growing larger and more defined. Sure enough, on a cold January morning, Jess saw the tiniest of specks emerging from an egg! She emerged from the water shouting, “The eggs are hatching!” At first, I didn’t know what she was talking about. I had seen their mating parents months earlier, but the eggs’ existence had blended back into the landscape. After a quick briefing on where I might find the eggs, I made my way into the 46°F water, shivering in my 7mm Waterproof W8 wetsuit.

A tiny market squid hatchling, new born and ready to face the world. Photographed with a Nikon Z8, Nikon 105mm macro lens, and Kraken +13 diopter. f/25, 1/250, ISO 500

Finding the Larvae

As I approached, I could see that they were tattered and gray, having lost their shiny white coloration—a sign of maturity. For a while, my dive buddy David Hicks and I watched the egg mass in excited anticipation. But the minutes wore on with no hatchlings in sight. Suddenly, the current around the eggs picked up as the tide changed. I noticed an infinitesimally tiny speck jerking up and down counter to the current. It was clear and about half the size of a grain of rice—much smaller than anticipated. I quickly realized that I could not use my normal underwater photography kit for this encounter. I had my Kraken +13 macro lens with me, and I quickly screwed it on top of my Nikon 105mm Z macro lens.

Sometimes, squid larvae can easily blend into the sandy background. Photographed with the Nikon Z8 with a Nikon Z105mm macro lens, and a Kraken +13 diopter

Photographing Supermacro Hatchlings

Finding the Squid and Adjusting My Triangle of Exposure

The next few minutes became the most difficult photographic puzzle I had encountered in a long time. The first step was to use my Bluewater 1500 focus light to find the subject through the lens of my camera. I pointed it directly at the larva on full power (not too much to harm the critter but enough to create contrast for my camera’s autofocus system). Then I realized that I needed to have enough depth of field to see details on the larva—especially because diopters like the Kraken +13 will reduce the depth of field (amount of area in focus). I increased my f-stop to f/25. This is a good place to be with a longer macro lens as you do not have too much diffraction in your image caused by a small aperture, but you do have a deep depth of field. I increased my shutter speed to 1/250s—a fast shutter to freeze the motion. Finally, I increased my ISO to 500. This allowed me to reduce the power on my strobes slightly (with a more light-sensitive sensor), so that I could have a shorter recycle time and shoot quicker.

A white background help bring out the squid and is a little more interesting than popular black backgrounds. Photographed with the Nikon Z8. f/25, 1/250, ISO 500

Adjusting Autofocus Modes

After adjusting my triangle of exposure, getting the shot meant I had to focus on the larva! I switched my autofocus mode on my Nikon Z8 camera to autofocus continuous. This meant my camera would focus continuously without locking onto a single subject. It’s a great focus mode for quick-moving action. I also changed the autofocus area mode to “3D autofocus tracking.” This allowed me to position the focus box over the squid, and when I hit the AF-on button on the back of the camera, it would follow the squid around through the water column.

Finally, I changed the drive mode in my camera to low continuous. This allowed the camera to take multiple photos when I held down the shutter at three frames per second.

Getting the Shot

As the squid larvae approached my camera in the current, I looked not at my camera, but at my lens. When I saw that my lens and the subject had lined up, I hit my autofocus back button and checked the LCD to see if it had locked. Sure enough, the incredible autofocusing ability of the Nikon Z8 allowed it to lock onto the tiny squid and capture the shot. The result was a beautiful capture of the squid larva. In each shot, you can see a different mosaic of immature chromatophores. In some, you can even see the remaining yolk from the egg sac still attached to the squid.

Supermacro photography is no easy feat. When you pair it with a water column and no reference point, it can feel impossible. But trusting your equipment, learning the triangle of exposure, and understanding your camera’s autofocus settings will get you most of the way there. The rest is luck!

This baby market squid is still attached to its yolk. Photographed with the Nikon Z8 with a Nikon 105mm macro lens, and Kraken +13 diopter