Drawing Flying Fish

Drawing flying fish would be very difficult if we don't see it from closer distance. I often see flying fish when I travel by PELNI pasenger ship. I don't give particular attention because the fish looks very small seen from the main deck of the ship.
Years ago when I visited a small village in Ambon island, I had the opportunity to eat this fish. I could inspect detailed forms of the water animal that can fly.

Some of my drawings

I used charcoal pencil to draw the fish. Then I apply blue color to make my drawing looks better. Before posting the artwork on this blog, I sharpened the dark lines of the fish applying black ink on the drawing. Flying fish has got streamed line body. It can move faster in the water to escape from predator.
Because I was planning to use these flying fish in my Redbubble T-shirt design, I cut them out of this picture and added some blue wave illustation below the fish. I used Adobe Photoshop 7 and Inkscape to do the job. Here is the result:

Exocet - The Flying Fish

I hope that you will like it.

Illustration for T-Shirt Design

Today I created another digital drawing using Macromedia Freehand MX. The following image is a group of Convict Surgeonfish (Acanthurus triostegus). These fish usually move and feed in large groups in tropical waters that have coral reef.

I saw these fish when I was snorkeling at Abasi beach. My friend used Canon Powershot G1X to shoot them. The camera is a powerful photographic device to capture underwater subjects.  There are a lot of other fishes that I saw at that time including various damselfish, and striped surgeonfish.
I offer snorkeling and birdwatching trips to people who come to Manokwari as tourists. Traveling is my job and also may way to make photographs that I need as inspirations to created artworks. If you are interested in hiring me as digital illustrator for your projects, please, do not hesitate to contact me by e-mail to peace4wp@gmail.com

Charcoal drawing of Striped Surgeonfish

While snorkeling in the waters of Abasi beach near Manokwari city, I saw various species of reef fish. One of them was Striped Surgeonfish (Acanthurus lineatus). My friend, Henoch, took some underwater pictures using Canon Powershot G1X. It is a powerful digital camera that can capture subjects in low light condition. Using one of his photographs, I created a sketch of the fish. I drew it with a Woodless Charcoal Xpression 8803 Medium. I have been sketching several artworks using this drawing material.

Charcoal gives strong black lines for the sketch of the fish that I made on my drawing book. Sometimes we don't need to present the whole color of a fish. Lines drawing is good for designs that can be used for T-shirt or calendar prints. I hope that I can make more drawings with this robust tool. by Charles Roring

Snorkeling in Tropical Island of Manem in Indonesia

Coral reefs in the tropical island of Numfor and Manem in the Republic of Indonesia are good destination for snorkeling. As a tourist guide, I accompanied two Finish tourists to Numfor island from 30 June to 4 July 2011 on a birdwatching and snorkeling trip to Numfor island and its adjacent satellite islet called Manem. The underwater world of the marine environment in Manem was really wonderful. Numfor is a twenty minute flight from Manokwari city - the capital of West Papua province. I have snorkeled in tropical island of Manem several times. Yet I have never been feeling bored with it. Various types of corals including table coral, brain coral, and staghorn thrive at depths of 1 to 10 meters below sea level. In these corals, snorkelers can see large and small marine fish such as the eel, surgeon fish, clown fish and barracuda.

When we wanted to go by an outrigger wooden boat to Manem islet, the weather actually was not friendly at all. In addition, the low tide in the lagoon of Warido village made it difficult for us to leave the Numfor island for Manem islet. Usually people only need one hour boat ride but it took us more than two hours to reach Manem.
Marko and Rita did not bring waterproof case for their camera. So I lent them my Dicapac flexible waterhousing that is suitable for most pocket cameras. With this simple but robust waterproof case, they were able to shoot various species of tropical fish and coral reef that thrive off the shore of Manem islet.
Compared to my usual snorkeling trips in Manokwari bay, this snorkeling experience in Manem islet was more challenging. But it was worth it. We saw more fish and more marine life. The corals there are also more various.
Manem is not well promoted in the marine tourism industry across the globe but it is a potential place for snorkeling and even scuba diving. Unfortunately, there are no diving centers in Numfor that provide snorkeling or diving packages to tourists. Anybody who wants to go to Numfor and Manem must bring their own gears.

Travelers who snorkeled over the coral reef of Manem islet knew that it was one of the best tropical islands in Geelvink bay of New Guinea. However, it is not suitable for beginning snorkelers due to sea current and waves. For taking underwater picture, snorkelers must move slowly over the coral reef to keep the fish calm. With slow movement, tropical reef fish can be photographed more easily. To give you an idea of how beautiful the coral reef of Manem islet is, just see the underwater pictures that I have added in this post. They are beautiful, aren't they? Dives to deeper water can be done at the walls that are also covered with coral reef. If you are interested in taking an adventure trip to Numfor island and snorkeling in Manem islet, and need me as your guide or travel companion, please contact me at charlesroring@gmail.com

Striped Surgionfish from the Coral Reef of Manem islet in Indonesia

As a tourist guide, I often go snorkeling with tourists over the coral reef areas in the bay of Manokwari or off the shore of Manem - a satellite islet of Numfor island. Numfor is a nice tropical island located in the Cendrawasih bay of New Guinea. During the Dutch time, it was called Geelvink bay. Numfor has been my favorite destination for snorkeling and birdwatching. The surrounding water of Numfor, particularly coral reef in Manem islet, is still in pristine condition and provides plenty of tropical fish for the islanders. Today, the coral reef of the island is not only the source of food but also the destination for snorkelers from around the world. Tourists like to take pictures of the reef fish using their camera that has been protected with waterproof case. After taking the underwater pictures, they often ask me the names of fish species. To help them identify the species of the fish, I use a book entitled Reef Fish Identification Tropical Pacific which was written by Gerald Allen and his friends. The book was given to me as a gift by an American biologist Bert Harris.

Last week, I guided two tourists from Finland for a snorkeling and birdwatching trip in Numfor island of Indonesia. We went snorkeling in the morning off the shore of Manem islet. I lent them my Dicapac watercase which they used for taking underwater pictures with their Canon pocket camera. They were able to shoot a beautiful coral reef fish whose name is Striped Surgeonfish (Acanthurus Leneatus). According to the book, the tail spine of the tropical fish is venomous. So, if you see the fish while snorkeling or scuba diving, don't try to touch its tail. Without the book that I mentioned above, it would be difficult for me to identify the fish. Marine lovers who like snorkeling or scuba diving in Indonesian archipelago and the Pacific region need the book to identify the fish which they have shot using their underwater cameras.

If you are interested in traveling to Manokwari regency or Numfor island of Indonesia for a snorkeling or bird watching trip, and need me as a guide to help you arrange your trip and accommodation, please, contact me via my email: charlesroring@gmail.com.

Coral reef fish - juvenile black damsel

The underwater picture of this juvenile black damsel (Neoglypphidodon melas) was taken in the bay of Manokwari city. This coral reef fish is unique because its colors will change to black when it becomes adult. The main characteristics of this fish is the yellow stripe that extends from snout to rear dorsal fin and the blue ventral and anal fins with black frontal margin. Mature black damsel is dark. If we do the snorkeling in the morning especially when the weather is clear with full sunlight, the yellow colors of this coral reef fish will look bright. Sighting of this unique damselfish occurred at around 4.30 p.m. At that time the weather was cloudy. Alex Sokolov who was a Russian snorkeler took the picture of this coral reef fish at the depth of around 3 meters below the surface of the sea.

In addition to the above black damsel, the coral reef in the Dorey bay of Manokwari is home to surgeon fish, lion fish, parrotfish, anemone fish and many others that I cannot mention one by one in this post.

As a tour guide, I provide snorkeling packages to tourists who want to explore the coral reef of Manokwari. I know places in the bay that has got abundant reef and marine life. In addition to snorkeling, visitors can also do other activities when traveling in Manokwari. They can go trekking in Arfak range to see the tropical rainforest and watch paradise birds. They can camp in the jungle accompanied by our local guides and they can have a picnic by a river.
This is my email: peace4wp@gmail.com. When you write an email, please, provide such information as the dates of your trip, the number of guests and what activities that you are interested in doing while in Manokwari. I will reply your email by providing detailed explanations for your trip in this tropical island. by Charles Roring.
Also read:
Coral reef fish in Mansinam island

Coral reef fish in the bay of Manokwari

There are hundreds of species of coral reef fish in the Dorey bay of Manokwari city. To watch them, we just need to wear snorkeling masks and swim over the coral reef in the morning or in the afternoon before sunset. To get to the place where the coral reefs are still in pristine condition, we hire a fisherman boat. The coral reef fish can easily be photographed by snorkelers at the depths of 1 to 3 meters. If the depth of the sea water is more than 3, snorkelers have to go down and take the pictures of the fish. Unfortunately the quality of the underwater pictures will not be so good because of the unstable position the snorkelers have in the water.

The bay in Manokwari city is a nice snorkeling site for tourists who want to see the beauty of the underwater world of coral reef in affordable cost. Just bring your snorkeling gear before flying to Manokwari. I will bring you to places where you can enjoy snorkeling as much as you like.

Coral reef is the tropical rainforest of the sea. It absorbs CO2 gases and release Oxygen during the photosynthesis.
Also read: Coral reef in Manem islet

Coral reef fish in Mansinam island

I have written many articles about the importance of coral reef preservation around the world particularly in the Dorey bay of Manokwari. But I still feel that they are not enough. This time, I want to show you the beauty of the underwater world of the corals and the fish that I recorded during my snorkeling trip in Mansinam island last October. I went there with the Schepers who came to Manokwari city on a one month holiday tour from the Netherlands. I could not identify the name of the coral reef fish because I haven't got any books about the coral fish. Through this video, I want to ask all of you to stop throwing your garbage or plastic wastes irresponsibly. Let's save the coral reef and the marine environment by living more friendly with our surrounding nature.

Interested in taking a winter or summer vacation in the tropical island of Mansinam? It's easy. Book a flight to one of major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Makassar and Manado. Then, take a domestic flight to Manokwari city. The city stretches along the Dorey bay and in the middle of the bay you'll find three tropical islands, i.e. Mansinam, Lemon and Raimuti. You can go to Mansinam by water taxi. It's not expensive to go there, you only need pay three thousand rupiahs (around 30 cents US dollars) for the boat ride.