Favorite photos from Atlantis Dumaguete and Atlantis Azores, dives on June 17 - July 4, 2025

Below are some of my favorite diving photos from Atlantis Dumaguete, dives from June 17 - June 21, and Atlantis Azores, dives from June 22 - July 4, 2025. I came to Atlantis Dumagette having made 834 dives since I retired November 1, 2011, faithfully executing my retirement plan, which is to go diving. I finished the trip with 886 post retirement dives, so I made 52 dives in 18 glorious days of diving in the Philippines. I call these my favorite pictures, not necessarily the technically best pictures. For me a favorite diving picture is 65% subject, 35% picture quality (lighting, exposure, backscatter, framing) though focus is very important. First are some of my favorites from Atlantis Dumaguete, to see the rest of my favorites from these dives, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3LLG2aPYh9npTiyV8 Many, no, most, of the pictures from Atlantis Dumaguete are from muck diving and the search for exotic critters. Our incredibly sharp eyed guide Wing far and away found most of the subjects. Below: Capturing behavior and new subjects weigh heavily in my choice of favorite photos for this blog entry. Here is a tiny pymy squid guarding its eggs on an algae plant.

I love this pair of photographs with a beautiful dark green Nebrotha Nudibranch next to a Y shaped plant with a Skeleton Shrimp (remember the aliens in the office in "Men in Black"?) standing in the Y, followed by a closeup of the Skeleton Shrimp.

This is perhaps my favorite ever Clownfish/Anemonefish photo, of a False Clownfish. As Tom Campbell, a professional underwater photographer/high definition videographer explains, the best photographs are when the subject appears to be having a conversation with the photographer. Below:

Spiny Sea Horse, below:

A beautiful Finescale Razorfish, aka Collared Knifefish, the first I've ever seen and photographed. Below:

Fields of Garden Eels are frequently to be seen when diving in tropical coral seas but they are infamously shy and they slowly shrink down into their burrows even when you make a very slow, careful approach attempting to get a picture. I finally got a good Garden Eel closeup, below:

A beautiful small goby matching the color of the Whip Coral he is parked on. Below:

I always hope to see octopus, they are amazing, intelligent, creatures. One of the coolest Octopus is the Wonderpus, below:

The best picture of a Peacock Wrasse, aka Blue Razorfish, I've ever been able to take. Below:

Beautiful Ornate Ghost Pipefish followed by a face closeup. Below:

I love this series of three photographs. A Saddleback Clownfish, Saddleback Clownfish with their anemone and their carefully tended eggs beside it, and a closeup of the about to hatch eggs with the babies eyes very prominent. Below:

An exotic Bubble Coral Shrimp with its goby neighbor, below:

A False Clownfish tending his eggs and a closeup, clearly the about to hatch babies have their father's eyes! Below:

A Threadfin Sand Diver, a new fish for me, below:

Above: A pair of Amblon Scorpionfish with a translucent Sea Star Below: A Cockatoo Waspfish

Below are some of my favorite dive photos from diving with Atlantis Azores with dives from 6-22 through 7-4-2025. To see the rest of these favorites, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ED4q3WWpiD6PKe4p8 While diving the beautiful coral reefs of Apo Island we had encounters with several highly venemous but not aggressive Banded Krait sea snakes. Russ and Barbara, trying to video a Banded Sea Krait, found it too cooperative. Below:

The largest pufferfish I've ever seen, a Map Puffer, sheltering under a coral head with a beautiful small grouper. Below:

I enjoy capturing behavior, below is a Blue Edge Cleaner Wrasse attending to an Anemonefish.

A sample of the wonderful Whale Sharks of Oslob, below, strictly natural light photography, no video lights, no strobes. Starting with Barbara getting a visit from a curious juvenile Whale Shark. Below:

The first beautiful Linecheeked Wrasse, the first I've ever photo'd. Below:

Below: A difficult to capture Banded Pipefish face and, wonderfully, a Banded Pipefish carrying eggs on its belly.

I'm very happy with this capture of the very very shy, elusive, not commonly seen Comet, aka Marine Beta. Below:

Longjawed Mackeral filter feeding on plankton, below:

Below: A Giant Frogfish color matching the Gray Sponge he is sitting on.

A beautiful Scorpionfish perched on the wall. Below:

A Hairy Squat Lobster with its goby neighbor sheltering in a sponge. Below:

I love that I managed to capture, using relatively shallow depth of field, first, the Blue Edge Cleaner Wrasse hovering over its Moral customer and then a picture of the Cleaner wrasse cleaning the Moray. Below:

A beautiful Day Octopus we encountered repeatedly during our four dives on Kimud Shoal, diving to see Thresher Sharks. Below:

We had wonderful encounters with the big, beautiful, silver colored Thresher Sharks of Kimud shoal. Below:

Another first, as were the Thresher Sharks, an Urchin Clingfish, aka Longsnout Clingfish. Below:

My best picture ever of the ever moving, darting, fluttering juvenile Harlequin, aka Many Spotted, Sweetlips. Below:

A beautiful, deadly, predator, the Peacock Mantis Shrimp. Below:

Another first time fish species, the Pegasus Fish, aka Seamoth. Below:

A wonderful trip, Atlantis Dumaguete is wonderful and so is Atlantis Azores. Great staffs, great food, great diving.