In the middle of the ocean, in the middle of the night — this little one had a lot to say.
A juvenile pufferfish on a blackwater dive in the Philippines.
#uwphotography #scuba #scubadiving #underwaterlife #canonr5 #ikelite #paditv #uwpic #uwphoto #anilao #philippines #underwatermacro #underwatermacrophotography #macrophotography #ralphpaprzycki #anilaophotoacademy #blackwater
Our March Dive Team meeting is coming up—and this one’s going to be a showstopper 🌊✨
We’ll be diving into stunning photos from Ralph’s trip to the Philippines (get ready for some serious wanderlust 🐠🏝️). You won’t want to miss this one!
RSVP in our calendar via the link in bio 👆
At Anilao Photo Academy I also did my first blackwater dives ever.
Blackwater diving is a type of night diving where bright lights are used to attract plankton and pelagic animals up into the water column. You hover around these suspended lights in mid‑water, over very deep water, to observe and photograph larval and juvenile stages of reef animals as well as permanently pelagic species that migrate upward at night.
I was very lucky and on my very first dive saw this wunderpus photogenicus.
#uwphotography #scuba #scubadiving #underwaterlife #canonr5 #ikelite #paditv #uwpic #uwphoto #anilao #philippines #underwatermacro #underwatermacrophotography #macrophotography #ralphpaprzycki #anilaophotoacademy #wunderpus #blackwater
Hypselodoris bullockii nudibranch
Fun facts: Nudibranchs are essentially "naked" sea slugs that have evolved to trade their heavy shells for brilliant, warning colors and chemical defenses. Their name literally means "naked gill," which refers to the exposed, flower-like breathing plumes you see on their backs. These tiny creatures are also biological "thieves"; many species eat toxic sponges or stinging jellyfish and then repurpose those toxins or stinging cells into their own bodies to use against predators. Additionally, they are simultaneous hermaphrodites, meaning every individual has both male and female organs, allowing any two adults of the same species to mate whenever they meet.
#uwphotography #ralphpaprzycki #scuba #scubadiving #underwaterlife #canonr5 #ikelite #paditv #uwpic #uwphoto #nudibranch #anilao #philippines #underwatermacro #underwatermacrophotography #macrophotography #seaslug #anilaophotoacademy
The great thing about Anilao Photo Academy - apart from the amazing guides and inspiration provided by other photographers - is that you can borrow some gadgets for experimentation, so I tried using diopters (which I sucked at) and some backlighting (with slightly more success). Still, getting results that are subtle rather than gaudy is pretty difficult. Which of the three photos do you like best?
Chromodoris
(Loch's or Willian's Chromodoris, I think.)
#uwphotography #ralphpaprzycki #scuba #scubadiving #underwaterlife #canonr5 #ikelite #paditv #uwpic #uwphoto #nudibranch #anilao #philippines #underwatermacro #underwatermacrophotography #macrophotography #seaslug #anilaophotoacademy
