Articles

A small crab traverses the flanks of a sea cucumber, Ambon, Indonesia
 

Our Photographer of the Week, Weiwei Zeng, may be a long-time diver, but she still sees herself as a newcomer to the world of underwater photography. Her journey with a professional camera began as recently as 2019. Prior to that, she focused entirely on the pure joy of being in the water, finding critters, and observing their behavior in a relaxed environment.

Despite her relatively short career thus far, Weiwei's beautiful imagery has already been recognized in both the Underwater Photographer of the Year and the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competitions. Her eye for unusual compositions has no doubt contributed to that success, and you will see plenty of examples of that here. Weiwei considers her competition successes as a bridge between personal passion and the global stage of nature conservation.

For Weiwei, there is no such thing as a “common subject.” She says that while some creatures may be easy to find, she strives to discover the uncommon features within the common, as every inhabitant of the sea is unique and her images certainly exemplify this approach to underwater photography. Through her lens, she hope to foster a deeper connection to the aquatic world and encourage others to appreciate its delicate beauty.
 

A well-camouflaged ghost goby perched on soft coral, Romblon, Philippines
 

A whip coral goby posed head down on its namesake whip coral, Romblon, Philippines
 

Young clownfish develop under the watchful eye (fin) of dad, Romblon, Philippines
 

An abstract image of cardinalfish schooling around an anemone, Romblon, Philippines
 

A superbly camouflaged leopard shrimp on a branching anemone, Romblon, Philippines
 

A backlit scorpionfish, completely surrounded by mysid shrimp, Romblon, Philippines
 

A small Shawn the Sheep, backlit while climbing over its host algae, Bali, Indonesia
 

A small soft coral pipefish nicely posing in soft coral, Romblon, Philippines
 

A beautiful shallow depth of field portrait of a candy crab, Romblon, Philippines
 

A unique perspective on a fimbriated moray, Ambon, Indonesia
 

A pregnant Denise pygmy seahorse on a sea fan, Romblon, Philippines
 

A beautifully artistic image of a pair of ribbon eels, Romblon, Philippines
 

A backlit sawblade shrimp shows off the unique shape of this crustacean, Bali, Indonesia
 

An expertly-camouflaged scorpion shrimp, Romblon, Philippines
 

To see more of Weiwei’s award-winning images, please give her a follow on Instagram.