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A vibrant and bustling coral reef in Puerto Galera, Philippines
 

PJ Aristorenas is a dive guide with deep roots in the vibrant diving communities of one of the world’s macro meccas, Anilao, Philippines. Although PJ initially disliked diving due to a fear of sharks, everything changed the moment he encountered his first nudibranch. From then on, he developed a passion for exploring the underwater world and the never-ending search for strange and unusual macro critters.

While he has been diving and guiding since 2007, it wasn’t until 2013 that PJ began his journey in underwater photography. His first camera was a Canon PowerShot G15, and by 2016 he had upgraded to a Canon PowerShot G16 paired with two Inon S2000 strobes. Around that time, he joined his first competition—the 2nd Anilao Underwater Shootout. A few short years later, during the 5th Anilao Underwater Shootout, he earned the title of Photographer of the Year in the compact class! This achievement motivated him to upgrade once more, this time to a Canon EOS 7D Mark II. In the years since, PJ has continued to compete in events across the Philippines as well as online competitions, earning several awards along the way.

Today, PJ leads a group of divers dubbed “The Lucky Team,” who share a passion for underwater photography. He openly shares his knowledge with them, and over time, they have grown not only as photographers but also as friends. They compete together in various competitions—both local and online—and he takes pride in seeing them win awards.
 

A driftfish, drifting on a piece of discarded plastic, Anilao, Philippines
 

A small triplefin yawns towards the camera, Puerto Galera, Philippines
 

A massive, beautiful sea fan beneath the tropical sun, Philippines
 

A cardinalfish, meeting an unfortunate end in the toothy maw of a lizardfish, Anilao, Philippines
 

A pair of boxfish cast the next generation off into the night, Anilao, Philippines
 

A truly spectacular little sapsucking slug, Cyerce nigra, Puerto Galera, Philippines
 

A slow-shutter image of a reef squid at night, Puerto Galera, Philippines
 

A white-eyed moray and its shocked looking twin, Puerto Galera, Philippines
 

A donut doto, perfectly posed on the end of a hydroid, Bali, Indonesia
 

A stunning juvenile emperor angelfish strikes a pose for the camera, Bali, Indonesia
 

A fantastically hairy, hairy shrimp, carrying a clutch of eggs, Anilao, Philippines
 

A cleaner shrimp diligently works on cleaning the face of a small grouper, Bali, Indonesia
 

A perfectly positioned whip coral goby, Bali, Indonesia
 

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