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Once in a while, huge great hammerheads show up to the party at Tiger Beach, Grand Bahama, The Bahamas
 

Our latest DPG Photographer of the Week James Peddle fell in love with the ocean at a young age, captivated by its mystery and beauty. His introduction to marine life was the tide pools of Southern Maine and boating with his father and grandfather along the New England coast. This early exposure to the ocean sparked a lifelong passion. Based in Massachusetts, James was open-water certified off the coast of Cape Ann at just 12 years old and later reached his advanced certification in the cold, murky depths of Gloucester Harbor.

James’ first introduction to underwater photography came in 2016 at the Backscatter Digital Shootout, where he won first place in the Macro Unrestricted Category, a pivotal moment that set the course for his career as an underwater photographer. Since then, he has gained numerous awards for his images, which have earned him recognition in the underwater photography community. As you will see here, over the years, he has journeyed to some of the world’s most remote and stunning underwater locations, including the Revillagigedo Archipelago in Mexico and Lembeh Strait and Triton Bay in Indonesia, where he honed his diving and photography skills.

James works in early childhood education, finding great joy in sharing his underwater photography with his students. He loves telling them about his diving experiences and giving them a glimpse into the wonders of the deep. James says his students are especially captivated by his shark photos, but James himself has a deep affection for the weird and wonderful macro critters that inhabit the ocean’s hidden corners, particularly cephalopods, which continue to intrigue him with their complex behaviors and incredible beauty.
 

A coconut octopus peers out from the mouth of a discarded glass bottle that has become its home, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

Arrow crabs are common but wonderful subjects and this one appears to be eating a tasty morsel, Roatán, Honduras
 

A photographer is dwarfed by a giant oceanic manta in the Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico
 

Far off the coast of New England, a blue shark comes up to inspect the camera, Rhode Island, USA
 

Denise’s pygmy seahorse is one of the smallest seahorse species on Earth, only slightly larger than a grain of rice, Triton Bay, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
 

Tiger Beach’s namesake beast makes a pass by the camera, Grand Bahama, The Bahamas
 

A well-camouflaged pair of roughsnout ghost pipefish huddle near a sea pen, Triton Bay, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
 

The ocean’s most famous (though not top) predator, the great white shark, Guadalupe Island, Mexico
 

A close-focus wide-angle perspective on a diminutive but charismatic flamboyant cuttlefish, Triton Bay, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
 

A group of redspot cardinalfish schools around sea fans in the sun-lit shallows, Triton Bay, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
 

The famed “walking shark,” the epaulette, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
 

One of the world’s strangest but most beautiful eels, the ribbon eel, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

Straight down the gullet of a hairy frogfish, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

To see more of James’ wonderful underwater work, please give him a follow on Instagram.