Once I really got into underwater photography and scuba diving it opened up the ability to stay underwater for a long time (sometimes 2+ hours) and search for the small, hard to find creatures that otherwise go unnoticed. One of my favorite of these elusive creatures to find is the nudibranch.
Nudibranchs are sea slugs that are noted for their extraordinary colors and striking patterns. There are hundreds of different species, and they can be found in all the worlds oceans, from the Arctic, to the tropics, all the way to Antarctica. Most are quite small, although I have found one species the size of my forearm. And even though they have very vibrant, striking colors, nudibranchs are actually hard to find because they camouflage in with the colorful reefs where they live.
Like land slugs, they don't move very fast, making them a nice subject for underwater photography. It also allows you to play with your strobe lights a bit to get the perfect light balance.. almost like being in a studio. Except you might be 100ft underwater, in the dark, slowly running out of air.
Here are a few of my favorite nudibranch shots. You can check out even more nudibranch shots from my travels here: Nudibranchs
These are just a few of the amazing animals known as nudibranchs. You can see why I love taking photos of them so much. The colors and patterns really do make for a photographers dream.
-Dai Mar Tamarack