Articles

Despite their common name, coconut octopuses will turn just about any bit of discarded junk or shells into a home. This one lives in a glass bottle, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

Tamara Christian’s love for ocean life began as a child growing up in South Florida. Many days were spent on or around the ocean. Underwater photography felt like a natural fit for her after she became a certified scuba diver during a trip to Tobago in 2018. With a GoPro in hand from her first dive, she was hooked. Eventually, she became a scuba instructor, with an emphasis on underwater photography shortly thereafter. Of course, as many an underwater shooter can relate to, Tamara's GoPro quickly evolved into bigger and more capable rigs.

Tamara enjoys sharing the enchanting world beneath the waves, capturing the vivid colors and dynamic life of coral reefs. She focuses on everything from her love of creative macro details to wide-angle seascapes. She also takes pleasure in helping emerging photographers, offering guidance to help them perfect their craft. Her love of travel and diving has brought her around the world, both leading trips and for her own enjoyment, to some of the most spectacular marine ecosystems on the planet—all while promoting a community dedicated to ocean conservation. Of course, South Florida and its world-class macro dive, the Blue Heron Bridge, will always have a special place in her heart and are constantly calling her back, as she now resides in Dallas, Texas.

Tamara’s underwater camera system has come a long way from that GoPro. She currently shoots a Canon EOS R5 in a Marelux housing with dual Retra Flash Pro Max strobes, and says she greatly enjoys experimenting with fun underwater lighting techniques for creative macro photography—clearly emphasized in her portfolio here!
 

A small goby guards a clutch of miniscule eggs, laid on the side of a tunicate, Anilao, Philippines
 

Highlighting the rhinophores and face of a small Flabellina nudibranch, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

A wonderfully patterned donut nudibranch feasting on hydroids, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

Cleaner shrimps often form commensal relationships with snake eels, getting a free meal by ridding the eel of parasites, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

Painted frogfish sometimes develop a sponge’s “pore” pattern to further disguise themselves, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

A male sailfin blenny pauses at the mouth of his burrow, checking if the coast is clear, Florida, USA
 

A colorful polkadot batfish, a bottom dwelling anglerfish (related-ish to frogfish), waddles along the rubble, Florida, USA
 

A beautiful pair of French angelfish search for microscopic morsels on the reef, Florida, USA
 

The most complex eyes in the entire animal kingdom belong to the peacock mantis shrimp, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

Juvenile emperor angelfish must be one of the most striking fish in the oceans, Dumaguete, Philippines
 

Juvenile skeleton shrimp often cling to their mothers as they develop before embarking on their own liliputian journeys, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

A beautiful, coral-mimicking Phyllodesmium nudibranch, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

One of the tropical Pacific’s most sought-after macro subjects, the characterful flamboyant cuttlefish, Lembeh Strait
 

Healthy coral and sponge growth top a small outcrop on the reef, Florida, USA
 

To see more of Tamara’s lovely work, please give her a follow on Instagram.