honorable mention
Tom Shlesinger israel
title
Underwater nocturnal adventures
All photos in this portfolio were taken in the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba, Red Sea.
Today, I am a marine biologist, underwater photographer, and a naturalist. Most of my photographic and scientific journeys focus on capturing unique moments of unseen behavioral and reproductive phenomena of coral reef inhabitants.
In many cases, underwater photographers are drawn to big fish and other animals due to their interesting behavior, abundance, brilliant colorations, or sheer size. In my photography, I try to bring into the spotlight the backbone of the fascinating underwater tropical world: stony corals. They are the engineers, architects, and the artists that build and maintain the complex reef structures, and breathe life into them.
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entry description
What happens at a coral reef after sunset? Fish go to sleep, squids wake up, and many animals come out of their dens to forage. The seemingly busy underwater life during sunlight hours continues; just with different actors. My research on coral reproduction – a fascinating phenomenon that also happens after sunset – has taken me in the last few years underwater every night for three months in the summer when corals in the Red Sea are spawning. During some of these nights, I spend as much as six hours per night, silently waiting for, and observing the unique and unfamiliar life around me. After my fourth night season and 225 nights underwater, I put together this portfolio in which I aim to capture the “night portraits” of the less familiar nocturnal inhabitants of a coral reef.All photos in this portfolio were taken in the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba, Red Sea.
about the photographer
Since I can remember myself, I was attracted to the sea and its mysteries. My first dive took place in the Red Sea when I was only six years old, and since then I have been fascinated with the diversity of life forms and their behavior, colors, shapes, and patterns.Today, I am a marine biologist, underwater photographer, and a naturalist. Most of my photographic and scientific journeys focus on capturing unique moments of unseen behavioral and reproductive phenomena of coral reef inhabitants.
In many cases, underwater photographers are drawn to big fish and other animals due to their interesting behavior, abundance, brilliant colorations, or sheer size. In my photography, I try to bring into the spotlight the backbone of the fascinating underwater tropical world: stony corals. They are the engineers, architects, and the artists that build and maintain the complex reef structures, and breathe life into them.
back to gallery