Wild Spinner Dolphins Pass by Mantas!

So many times on wild dolphin swims we have seen manta rays hovering over the reef at a fish cleaning station or skimming the surface feeding on plankton.  When we're lucky, in the water watching the mantas, spinners will come by.  Over and over I have tried to get photos of the two very different species together.  The dolphins dont seem as fascinated and entranced by the majestic giant manta rays as we are; they swim around them in the deeper water or keep to the very shallow reef closer to shore.  When a dolphin swims at the surface above the manta at the bottom, it is too distant to get both in the same frame.
Dolphins from a remarkable day with my sister's neighbor separated into two pods, one turning south and the other headed north.  We followed the dolphins south, and then turned to find mantas at the manta cleaning station. There were 5 huge manta rays on the deeper sandy bottom.  Two of them glided over the shallow reef to be cleaned, hovering like a small plane practicing 360's around a wingtip. 
"Dolphins, headed right for you!  If you ever get a photo of dolphins and mantas, this is your chance!"  Kit yelled from the helm.
I waited over the mantas.   The mantas never reacted as 88 or so dolphins streamed by on either side of us.  I was frantic, trying to fit both into one frame, turning the camera longways, watching for the dolphins closest to any of the five mantas.  Particularly, I waited by the mantas over the reef.  The video shows my frustration, my frantic pans from mantas to dolphins, as I hoped for the two to converge.

You can hear my surprise and triumph as the dolphins come between me floating at the surface and the mantas right on top of the reef.

Dolphin Dreams,
Roberta Goodman
Wild Dolphin Swims Hawaii
Kailua Kona