Articles

Condensing an entire year’s worth of compelling stories, insights, and imagery into just 10 articles is no small undertaking. Yet, as we do each year at DPG, we’ve curated a selection of our 10 most popular feature articles from the past 12 months. This collection offers an opportunity to reflect on the year that was while also looking ahead to 2026 with fresh perspective and renewed inspiration. Spanning freshwater adventures, in-depth technique guides, gear highlights, and even a history lesson, this year’s top features reflect the remarkable diversity that define both the underwater photography community and the underwater world itself.
 

1. Photographing an Appalachian Icon: The Brook Trout

By Andrew Zimmerman

High in the Great Smokey Mountains, in the frigid creeks that score the ridgelines, swims a beautiful and iconic fish: the southern brook trout. This stunning freshwater species inhabits pristine, fast-flowing creeks along the southern Appalachian Mountain chain—and take real effort to find and photograph. Andrew Zimmerman details what makes this fish special and what makes them worth the effort to track down. Beautiful fish in a beautiful setting; what more could you want?
 

2. Dive in with SEACAM: How a Shared Passion for a WWII Fighter Plane Sparked Underwater Image-Making in Papua

By Anita Verde

While the title of this article might lead to some immediate head scratching, Anita Verde explores how a shared fascination with a lost World War II Spitfire fighter plane brought together SEACAM founder Harald Hordosch and Papua diving pioneer Max Ammer, ultimately leading to the creation of the world’s first SEACAM Center at Sorido Bay Resort in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Anita’s article explores the stunning underwater environment of the Dampier Strait and the unique opportunity the SEACAM Center offers divers and shooters to try cutting-edge gear in one of the most biodiverse seas on the planet.
 

3. Microcosm: Underwater Photography in a UK Tide Pool

By Liv Barnett

In a humble tide pool along the coast of the United Kingdom, Liv Barnett discovered a bustling ecosystem all to itself. It is remarkable the diversity of life to be found in such a small blip of ocean. Liv’s words and images wax poetic about a tide pool that became important to her, while also inspiring others to move a bit slower, and look a bit closer to home, for their next underwater photographic endeavor. It may be much nearer, and smaller, than one would think!
 

4. Photographing Mexico’s Cenotes

By Shawn Murphy

Beneath the rainforests of southeast Mexico, the otherworldy cenotes are a playground for adventure seekers, cave divers, and underwater photographers. Shawn Murphy, an instructor and professional cave diver, spends the majority of his days guiding and photographing in these subterranean labyrinths. Shawn’s article guides you through how best to make pictures in the cenotes, what gear and techniques will work best, and how you can maximize your opportunities to come home with world-class images of an ecosystem that very few people will ever experience.
 

5. Making the Case for Small-in-Frame Subjects

By Matthew Sullivan

One of the first “rules” of underwater photography is the old adage “get close, get closer, and when you’re think you’re close enough... get closer!” The goal is often to fill as much of the frame as possible with your subject. Although there is certainly some value in that, DPG Photo Editor Matthew Sullivan makes the case for why and how you can create images that are just as impactful by taking the opposite approach: backing up a bit and making your subject a small percentage of the frame—while still being the focal point. Putting a subject in context can help a viewer understand the subject more, and get an understanding for how that creature fits into its environment.
 

6. Capturing Camouflage: Hidden Critters

By Matthew Sullivan

Among evolutionary adaptations for survival, one of the most fascinating is camouflage. Be it to evade predators or to do the predating, there is no shortage of spectacular marine camouflage. A particular challenge for photographers is how to capture the essence of the camouflaged creatures, showing off the remarkable adaptations, while not “losing” the subject in the picture. Matthew Sullivan suggests some approaches to toe that fine line. A well-executed image of a well-camouflaged creature can be wonderful for giving land-lubbers or those unfamiliar with your subject an idea of what that critter is like and how it lives its life.
 

7. The Cunning Cutties of South Australia

By Mike Bartick

Each winter, at the bottom of Australia, the world’s largest cuttlefish, the aptly-named giant cuttlefish, aggregates en masse to fight, procreate, and release the next generation of cephalopods. For divers and photographers, witnessing these spectacular and intelligent creatures go about their business—unbothered by voyeurs—is an experience that is difficult to top. Mike Bartick, normally found in the warm waters of the Philippines, made the journey to Whylla to witness the spectacle for himself. Mike provides a bit of a natural history lesson and of course some tips and tricks to best photograph the giants.
 

8. Crafting a Winning Portfolio

By Matthew Sullivan

Drawing on his experience as the 2025 Ocean Photographer of the Year Portfolio winner, Matthew Sullivan breaks down his thoughts on what separates a good underwater competition portfolio from an award-winning one, focusing on selecting images that are not only technically strong, but also cohesive and perhaps even emotionally compelling. His portfolio focuses on portraits, and connecting the viewer directly to a specific subject. He encourages photographers to think beyond individual “hero shots” and instead tell a clear visual story that reflects their personal vision, while also acknowledging the subjective nature of judging. As such, take all competition advice with a husky grain of salt and don’t forget at the end of the day, we are all just out there taking pictures of fish!
 

9. Filming Blackwater in Siladen

By Ian Bongso-Seldrup

As blackwater diving becomes ever more popular, dive operators around the world are taking a crack at this endeavor, dropping divers into the deep to search for rare marine aliens. Siladen Resort, nestled in the heart of Sulawesi, Indonesia’s Bunaken Marine Park, began blackwater diving in 2020. Domenico Martino visited Siladen and spent countless hours shooting video during numerous blackwater dives. Domenico provides some tips and tricks on making the most of your nighttime jaunts into the pelagic realm.
 

10. External Monitors for Underwater Photography

By Matthew Sullivan

In a world dominated by mirrorless cameras, underwater photographers now have a new option for their image-making experience. External monitors, essentially useless in the DSLR era, are becoming increasingly popular. Matthew Sullivan exalts the virtues of the external monitor and why it can be a genuine game-changer for many underwater still shooters. Monitors open up new compositional opportunities, increased quality of life while shooting, and an easier overall photographic experience. Read on and see if an external underwater monitor may just deserve a spot in your gear bag!