Thailand’s Surin Islands

The Kingdom of Thailand, a sprawling Southeast Asian country slightly larger than California, shares land borders with four countries and neighbors a fifth by sea.

A pair of cleaner wrasses remove parasites from a longfin batfish

Getting Centered

With the COVID-19 pandemic curbing international travel, divers can still choose to dive locally. Andy and Allison Sallmon take us along on their road trip to Central California dive sites, where we can discover macro subjects in Morro Bay and bountiful marine life at the well-protected sites at Carmel and Monterey Bay.

California’s Big Sur coastline

Fakfak

Just before sunrise I make a cup of strong Indonesian tea and feel the familiar rush of anticipation that always builds when I dive where no one else has. From the liveaboard’s top deck I squint at a string of islands— just green dots from here — that stretch offshore from the Fakfak Regency …

Belize

Our explorations of Belize’s equally biodiverse jungles and reef systems some 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) south repeatedly reminded me of that endless summer afternoon in Alaska.

The Great Blue Hole on the northern end of Lighthouse Reef Atoll

A Quest for Life

Seemingly crafted for photographers, nudibranchs are slow-moving and vibrant and have adapted to curious shapes and sizes.

The Miamira tenue sea slug often has a partner shrimp riding along its back and sides.

La Paz Photo Gallery

After reading Tanya Burnett’s feature about La Paz, see more of her amazing images in this photo gallery.

blenny

Triton Bay

TRITON BAY, INDONESIA, was one of the last places I visited before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Looking back, part of me wishes I would have been there instead of at home when the world turned upside down and international dive travel became almost impossible. An extended sabbatical in the middle of bustling hordes of fish […]

Misool Foundation

The spectacular ecosystem of Indonesia’s Raja Ampat offers ample opportunities for fish portraits and macro shots with a 100mm lens, but the broad expanses of pristine hard corals punctuated with colorful soft corals and sea fans made it difficult for me to forego using my wide-angle lens during a recent liveaboard trip.

A drone’s view of Batbitim Island and the surrounding waters of Misool

Dominica

When people ask me to describe my favorite ocean experiences, I think of my first trip to Dominica in 2020. My goal was to photograph sperm whales underwater, but I kept my expectations low, having heard that quality interactions with sperm whales often require a lot of luck.

A group of sperm whales comes together to socialize

La Paz

La Paz, on Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, has always been connected to the sea, from its indigenous pre-Columbian people and a history of sea explorers, pearl divers and fishers to a modern destination attracting ocean-inspired tourists to interact with the abundant marine treasures of this region.

school of bigeye jacks