Articles

A small goby seems stunned to have been captured on camera, Denmark
 

Many of our Photographer of the Week participants tell us that from an early age they’d always been drawn to the water. Lisa Svensen, however, grew up afraid of it! Despite spending three weeks each summer sailing with her parents, it wasn’t until a snorkeling trip near Goat Island in New Zealand in 1995 that her fascination with the underwater world began—and her fear began to dissipate. That weekend led to a scuba certification, she began diving the waters around New Zealand, and upon returning to her home country of Denmark the following year, she joined a local dive club.

With a long-standing interest in photography, Lisa began experimenting with underwater photography in the early 2000s, which sparked an interest in marine biology. Her passion fully developed in 2010 when she entered her first underwater photography competition—the Danish National Championship—armed with a new DSLR and absolutely no prior training. In 2013, she became the Danish national champion and competed in her first CMAS World Championship in 2015. In the years since, Lisa has won the Danish National Championship seven times and represented Denmark in six CMAS World and European Championships.

Lisa specializes in macro photography, and says she is driven by her fascination with marine biodiversity, especially among the marine world’s smaller denizens. Still based in Denmark, where visibility and underwater landscapes are limited, she has focused on developing a creative and artistic macro style. Her work aims to showcase the richness of marine life and inspire others to care for and protect the ocean.
 

A gorgeous diamond squid strikes a photogenic pose on a blackwater dive, Bali, Indonesia
 

A moray eel shot with multicolored backlight, Bali, Indonesia
 

Some sunlit seaweed growing in the shallows, Denmark
 

 A weaverfish, a type of bottom-dwelling ambush predator, Denmark
 

Divers explore a fish-swarmed wreck off Porto Santo, Portugal
 

A coconut octopus peers out at the camera from the mouth of its clam-shell home, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

Perhaps the world’s most famous (and certainly smallest) seahorse, the pygmy! Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

A photographer lines up a shot on a manta ray, Bali, Indonesia
 

A pair of lemon gobies shelter in a discarded glass bottle, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

A disco party coconut octopus, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

A beautiful nudibranch, selectively lit by snoot, Albania
 

A thorny seahorse with a twist, photographed using a vortex filter, Bali, Indonesia
 

To see more of Lisa’s wonderful underwater work, please give her a follow on Instagram.