Bob (cybergoldfish)

Forum username: cybergoldfish
Real name: Bob
Location: UK / Seychelles / Singapore
Posts: 1,713
Threads started: 85
Active years: 2002–2005
Primary forums: Photo/Video Showcase (34%), Photography Gear and Technique (22%), General Chat (15%), Trip Reports and Travel (14%)
Specialization: Lembeh macro photography, shark conservation, trip organizing, early community building

Community Role

cybergoldfish was one of the most active early-era Wetpixel community members, joining in late 2002 and posting 1,713 times across 85 threads before departing in 2005. His real first name was Bob, as revealed in his trip reports and sign-offs (^[1]). His peak year of 2003 saw an extraordinary 1,187 posts — one of the highest single-year totals for any community member — reflecting intense engagement during Wetpixel’s formative period.

Based in the UK with connections to the Seychelles and Singapore, cybergoldfish was a well-traveled underwater photographer who shot both film and digital. His forum posts reveal he was active in both supermacro film photography (shooting up to 5.5:1 magnification) and the emerging digital compact camera era. He traveled with a group of regular dive companions including Craig, Herb, Todd, Stephane, and David, organizing multi-week expeditions to destinations across the Indo-Pacific, Caribbean, and cold-water Pacific (^[2]).

With 34% of his posts in Photo/Video Showcase and 14% in Trip Reports, cybergoldfish was primarily an image-sharing and travel-focused contributor who brought extensive field experience to the community during its earliest years.

Notable Contributions

Lembeh Strait Expeditions

cybergoldfish was a frequent visitor to Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi, sharing extensive photo galleries from multiple trips. His “Lembeh” trip report (68 total replies) documented a multi-week expedition to Northern Sulawesi, describing record frogfish finds — up to seven different species on a single dive — along with multiple types of ghost pipefish. He also documented a continuation to Sangalaki for manta encounters (^[3]). Follow-up galleries in “Lembeh again III part IVa gallery 9” (49 replies) and a Manado/Senghe Islands/Lembeh report (18 replies) further established his expertise in this region (^[4], ^[5]).

Shark Conservation Advocacy

cybergoldfish was a passionate shark conservation advocate. He started the “Shark depletion” thread (47 total replies, 19 of his own posts), calling the mass slaughter of sharks for the Hong Kong fin trade “a crime against nature” and urging community members to sign up at the Shark Trust and get involved (^[6]). He also actively contributed to the “Baiting/feeding sharks: the controversy” thread (39 replies), engaging in the ethical debate around shark interaction practices ([source from person_matrix.json, thread 1871]).

Trip Organizing

cybergoldfish organized community dive trips, notably a 10-day Cuba expedition with pricing around $2,400 per person, coordinating logistics for the group including discussions about American travel restrictions via Mexico and Canada (^[7]). He also participated in the Port Hardy, British Columbia cold-water diving trip (49 replies), expressing interest in documenting the trip for Sport Diver UK magazine — suggesting professional or semi-professional photography connections (^[8]).

Other Notable Threads

• Participated in the “Night Diving with a W/A lens?” technique discussion (14 replies), sharing wide-angle night diving approaches (^[9])
• Contributed to the Nikkor 12-24mm lens evaluation (49 replies), an important early wide-angle zoom for underwater DSLR work (^[10])
• Active in the “Beneath The Sea Photo Competition Winners” discussion (60 replies), engaging with the competition community (^[11])
• Early contributor to the lionfish invasion awareness thread “Pterois Volitans Floridian” (22 replies), commenting on lionfish appearing in Florida waters (^[12])
• Engaged in the “Accused of ‘manipulating’ your shot?” ethics debate (32 replies) (^[13])
• North Carolina trip photos gallery (28 replies) (^[14])
• Poseidon regulator discussion (31 replies), showing dive equipment expertise beyond photography (^[15])

Activity Profile

• Forum focus: Showcase (34%), Gear (22%), Chat (15%), Trips (14%), Lighting (3%), Technique (2%), Critter ID (1%), Conservation (1%)
• Thread participation: 85 threads started, active across ~750 threads
• Diving interests: Lembeh Strait, Manado/Sulawesi, Cuba, Port Hardy BC, North Carolina, Sangalaki
• Photography style: Both film supermacro and digital compact; wide-angle and macro

References