It just so happens that my camera is waterproof and pretty much bombproof too. I bought this particular model knowing that any camera I owned was destined to suffer physics abuse of the kind which, doled out on another human being, could well result in a lengthy prison sentence. What´s more it was only a matter of time before I dropped the damn thing in the river. If you are interested in this kind of thing, the model I chose was a Fujifilm finepix XP55 and it has served me very well.

Unfortunately I am so thick that it took me more than at a year to figure that I could use this camera to take underwater pictures of fish. It was only yesterday morning that the penny finally dropped and yesterday afternoon I went to the river looking for subjects to photograph.

It is the time of year now when the local barbel are thinking about spawning and the males develop prominent growths on their heads called tubercles which disappear soon after the spawning season. It is really only now that the sexes can be clearly distinguished.

These breeding tubercles are keratin-based epidermal nodules are found in at least 15 families of fish. They are particularly common among the cyprinids and so many of the species familiar to fishermen including carp and roach.

I felt a bit bad about disturbing the fish at this time of the year but none of the fish I took were in the act of spawning. I think I will leave them alone for a couple of weeks so they can take care of the vital business of reproducing without me spoiling the party.

I attach below my first efforts as an “underwater” photographer which are not altogether disastrous. The tubercles of the male gypsy barbel are clearly visible. The river is just beautiful now with healthy flows and so I hope the fish reproduce successfully.

This is a male fish. The breeding tubercles are quite clearly visible. They will disappear after the spawning season.

This is a male fish. The breeding tubercles are quite clearly visible. They will disappear after the spawning season. You can just about make out the little red nymph which it took.

They are even more prominent here. It is also interesting to see the raised nostril of the fish.

The tubercles are even more prominent here. It is also interesting to see the raised nostril of the fish and the characteristic barbels used in feeding.

softly after this picture was taken the fish was unhooked and swam away strongly.

Shortly after this picture was taken the fish was unhooked and swam away strongly. I will not disturb the fish again until the spawning season has ended.