Articles

A colorful peacock mantis shrimp holding on tight to a clutch of bright pink eggs, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

It isn't everybody who can say they were scuba certified by an ex Navy Seal! This week’s featured photographer, however, certainly can. Daniel Nathanson was certified at the age of 14, and considering his instructor, also had some military style scuba training included. Around the time he began diving, Dan also took up photography, shooting pictures for his high-school yearbook. During college, life got in the way and he took a break from both diving and photography. Eventually, he came back to it after his schooling, and it wasn’t long until he began his underwater photography journey, as it combined his two passions.

Daniel started off with a rented Nikonos V, a camera familiar to many. While on a trip to Palau in 2003, he was introduced to digital photography. A long series of upgrades later and Dan now shoots with a Canon EOS R5 in a Nauticam housing.

Dan’s enthusiasm for underwater photography has been contagious and both his wife Dora and son Zax have taken up the hobby as well—Zax with an Olympus TG-5 and Dora with a GoPro. Of course, the bucket list of dive destinations is never ending, but they have been fortunate enough to already explore some fantastic diving destinations, including the Galápagos Islands, and muck diving destinations in both the Philippines and Indonesia.
 

A “dragon” wire coral shrimp, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

Full frontal eye contact with an anemonefish, Anilao, Philippines
 

A spectacular zebra patterned crinoid shrimp, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

A nocturnal prawn with oversized eyeballs to see better at night, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

The world’s most venomous octopus and one of the most beautiful, the blue ringed, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

A common but stunning porcelain crab on its anemone, Anilao, Philippines
 

A scalloped hammerhead makes a close pass in to a cleaning station, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
 

A beautiful painted frogfish contrasting strongly against the black sand, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

A freshly hatched and fantastically colored flamboyant cuttlefish, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

A coconut octopus folded up inside its mobile shell home, Anilao, Philippines
 

One of the world’s most fantastic octopuses, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

Often accompanied by hitchhiking shrimp, this nudibranch is solo, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

Some fish are too friendly! This Nassau grouper filled the frame with its face and characterful eye, Little Cayman, Cayman Islands