My Underwater Macro Photography - Pygmy Seahorses

Hippocampus Bargibanti (Cabilao, Philippines)

Underwater macro photography is one of the most popular disciplines of underwater photography. The fascination for the marine macro life is shared among people all over the world.

Macro images can give a completely new view on reef life. It makes visible surprising details of nature which otherwise remain hidden in overlooked areas in the oceans.

Hippocampus Denise (Cabilao, Philippines)

One species which every underwater photographer is searching for are pigmy seahorses.

The first species discovered in 1969 of pygmy seahorse was named hippocampus bargibanti. A number of approximately six more species has been discovered after year 2000.

Hippocampus Pontohi (Bangka, North-Sulawesi Indonesia)

The challenge in shooting pygmy seahorses is first to find them. They are extremely well camouflaged and perfectly adapted to their habitat.

While hippocampus bargibanti and hippocampus denise - they can be found in different color depending on the surrounding - lives in gorgonian sea fans, there are other species which are moving through the reef and hence much more difficult to spot.

Once they are found the second challenge is to find them through the viewfinder of the camera without damage to the coral reef.

Pygmy seahorses are well know to be found on dives in south east Asia. It is one of the most typical species for Coral Triangle.

Hippocampus Bargibanti (Lembeh Strait)

My newest shots of pygmy seahorses I got recently when diving on Cabilao Island on the Philippines (see on top of the page).

One of the shots where I am specially proud of is the one of the Hippocampus Pontohi shot on Bangka Island in North-Sulawesi, Indonesia (see above). If you look carefully you can even see a second exemplar in the background. This spot was amazing. At some point there were five Hippocampus Pontohi holding on the same coral branch. Unfortunately I was not able to capture that picture with my camera. As mentioned this species is very mobile and this exceptional situation of pygmys grouping in one spot was quicker over than I could setup my camera.

Microscopic Photography

Nature is all around us. - However, in nature photography we focus mostly on what can be seen by human eye. If we want to go for exceptional nature pictures we might mount a macro lens or a diopter onto our camera. Very rarely we go beyond the optical resolution power of the human eye.

Michael Peres posted an article on the Popular Photography Blog on Microscopic Photography.

The article features examples of stunning microscopic images of snow flakes, microscopic organisms, material surfaces, and scientifically prepared samples of nature samples.

Microscopic photography is truly a special and a niche discipline of nature photography. It goes much beyond macro and super macro imaging techniques. It is a whole new world by means of imaging, exposure, image composition, and light guidance.

It is definitely not only a special imaging but also a sample preparation and lighting technique.

Feel encouraged to have a look at the original post:

Tips From a Pro: An Introduction to Microscopic Photography | Popular Photography