Miles Below

Neck-and-Neck in the Nursery: White-Tips in a Three-Way Tango

Rarely seen shark courtship: two white-tip reef sharks mating beside a busy manta cleaning station in the Maldives.

Some encounters don’t feel like wildlife sightings — they feel like a ceremony.

In the Maldives, manta rays gather at cleaning stations, where tiny cleaner fish (like wrasse) pick parasites and dead skin off their bodies. The mantas don’t just “pass through” — they queue up, hover, and circle back like regulars at their favorite spa.

One of my favorite details: mantas are incredibly curious, but they’re also easily disturbed — so the best moments happen when we stay calm, give them space, and let them choose the distance.
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Location: Maldives
Size: Oceanic Mantas up to 8M wingspan, Reef Manta Up to 5M
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Exposure: ISO 1600 • 1/50 • f8-11⠀⁣⠀⁠
Camera: Canon R5MKII + 28-70mm
Housing: Nauticam R5MKII⁣⠀⁠
Lighting: Ambient
Accessories: Nauticam WACP⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀⠀⁠
Conditions: Heavy Particulate, Haze⁣⠀⠀⁠
Visibility: 10M / 30’⠀⁠
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.magazin

A couple of shots from . An anemone crab catching some dinner and a pair of popcorn shrimp. Both of this shorts are straight out of the camera. Shot with Retra L*D. Only adjustments were a small amount of white balance (for some reason with L*D and TTL it shoots a little warm)

“Bad Hair Day”⠀⠀⁣⠀⠀⁠
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Achaeus japonicus, sometimes known as the orang-utan crab needs his bangs cut as the current was making it hard to see
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Location: Bunaken National Marine Park
Species: ⁠ Achaeus japonicus
Size: 3cm⁠
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Exposure: ISO 100 • 1/125 • f25⠀⁣⠀⁠
Camera: Canon R5MKII +100mm Macro⁣⠀⁠
Housing: Nauticam R5MKII⁣⠀⁠
Lighting: Single Retra Strobe
Accessories: Retra Light Shaping Device(L*D)⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀⠀⁠
Conditions: Particulate & Haze⁣⠀⠀⁠
Visibility: 18M / 60’⠀⁠
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Technique: L*D large aperture set at 80 degree angle.
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#スキューバダイビング #水肺潜水 ⁠⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀⠀⁠
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“Bad Hair Day”⠀⠀⁣⠀⠀⁠
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Achaeus japonicus, sometimes known as the orang-utan crab needs his bangs cut as the current was making it hard to see
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Location: Bunaken National Marine Park
Species: ⁠ Achaeus japonicus
Size: 3cm⁠
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Exposure: ISO 100 • 1/125 • f25⠀⁣⠀⁠
Camera: Canon R5MKII +100mm Macro⁣⠀⁠
Housing: Nauticam R5MKII⁣⠀⁠
Lighting: Single Retra Strobe
Accessories: Retra Light Shaping Device(L*D)⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀⠀⁠
Conditions: Particulate & Haze⁣⠀⠀⁠
Visibility: 18M / 60’⠀⁠
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Technique: L*D large aperture set at 80 degree angle.
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#スキューバダイビング # 水肺潜水 ⁠⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀⠀⁠
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"Double Dose"⠀⠀⁣⠀
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A a couple sea turtle in the beautiful underwater landscape in Raja Ampat. ⠀⁣⠀
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Location: Raja Ampat, Indonesia⁣⠀
Species: Sea Turtle⁣⠀
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Exposure: ISO 100 • 1/100 • f8⁣⠀
Camera: Canon 1DXMKII +8-15mm Canon⁣⠀
UW Accessories: Zen Fish Eye Dome⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀
Lighting: Dual Retra Strobes (+1)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀
Conditions: Particulate & Haze⁣⠀
Visibility: 20M⁣⠀
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“Grumpy"
A few different shots controlling the light to capture all the details of these wolf eels faces _______________________________________________________⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀⠀⁠
Location: Gods Pocket Marine Reserve
Species: Wolf eels
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Housing: Nauticam 1DXMKII⁣⠀⁠
Lighting: Dual Retra Strobe
Accessories: Nauticam WACP
Conditions: Particulate & Haze⁣
Visibility: 8M / 25’ _______________________________________________________⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁠⁣⠀⠀⁠⁣⠀⠀⁠⁣⠀⠀⁠⁣⠀⠀⁠⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀⠀⁠

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́e #スキューバダイビング ̈tetauchen

"Rainbow Ridge"⠀
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The beautiful emerald sea has more than 20 species of Anemones. _______________________________________________________⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Location:
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Exposure: ISO 200-400 • 1/30- 1/160• f8-f14
Camera: Canon 1DXMKII +28-70mm Canon ⠀⠀
UW Accessories: Nauticam WACP⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Lighting: Dual Retra Strobes ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Conditions: Particulate & Haze⠀⠀⠀
Visibility: 8-10M / 25-30’ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Get photo tips, or sign up for an upcoming underwater photography workshop at milesbelow.com⠀⠀⠀
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“Gods Pocket 19"
Big thanks to Lizzy, Alex, Ralph ( hope the spelling is correct) for taking all the precautions and keeping us safe and fed, in the worlds best cold water destination. Scuba diving in the new normal is especially challenging, but your efforts and enthusiasm made the trip a memorable one. 🙏_______________________________________________________⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀⠀⁠
Location: Gods Pocket Marine Reserve
Species: Shrimp, Anemone, Wolf eels, Giant Pacific Octopus, Rockfish, sculpins, red Irish lord,
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Housing: Nauticam 1DXMKII⁣⠀⁠
Lighting: Dual Retra Strobe
Accessories: Nauticam WACP
Conditions: Particulate & Haze⁣
Visibility: 8M / 25’_______________________________________________________⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁠⁣⠀⠀⁠⁣⠀⠀⁠⁣⠀⠀⁠⁣⠀⠀⁠⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀⠀⁠

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́e #スキューバダイビング ̈tetauchen