Articles

A boxer crab poses on a sea star, Lembeh, Indonesia
 

This week, we showcase the work of macro master Stefano Scortegagna from Italy. Stefano has made a successful career as a car salesman, but his real passion is scuba diving and underwater photography. He started diving 20 years ago, and first learned how to shoot underwater using a Canon PowerShot G11 compact camera before eventually upgrading to a Nikon D850 DSLR and adding two strobes and a variety of accessories such as wet lenses and snoots to enhance his work.

Judging by his portfolio, Stefano clearly prefers macro photography, and has visited many famous dive destinations around the world to capture images of small critters such as shrimps, gobies and a variety of colorful nudibranchs. As you can see, he is an expert at making his chosen subject stand out from its background, and often utilizes fast shutter speeds, high apertures and bokeh techniques to do so with great results.

Since realizing the potential of his new DSLR camera rig, Stefano began to enter and place in a variety of international underwater photography contests, and he has organized exhibits of his work in Italy and lectures in schools, which have proven to be a big success. In the future, he hopes to continue to travel and capture more awesome underwater images, and most importantly use his photography to inspire others to respect the marine environment and conserve it for future generations.
 

A pink eyed goby, Puerto Galera, Philippines
 

Mating mandarinfish, Lembeh, Indonesia
 

A green eyed goby captured with impressive bokeh, Lembeh, Indonesia
 

Trinchesia sibogae nudibranch shot with a snoot, Lembeh, Indonesia
 

Harlequin shrimp, Moalboal, Philippines
 

A ribbon eel poses for the camera, Anilao, Philippines
 

A colorful anemonefish with a tongue parasite, Lembeh, Indonesia
 

Phyllodesmium koehleri nudibranch, Lembeh, Indonesia
 

Bargibanti pygmy seahorse, Puerto Galera, Philippines
 

An emperor shrimp riding a Ceratosoma nudibranch, Lembeh, Indonesia
 

Thecacera nudibranch, Lembeh, Indonesia
 

A pink eyed goby super macro portrait, Anilao, Philippines
 

Another colorful nudibranch with a hitchhiking emperor shrimp, Anilao, Philippines
 

Stefano and his camera rig ready for action
 

To see more of Stefano’s award-winning underwater images, check out his Instagram page.