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California’s state fish, the Garibaldi, admiring its reflection in Doug’s dome, Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA. This image was recently awarded in the Underwater Photographer of the Year 2023
 

Our latest Photographer of the Week, Douglas Klug, is a scuba instructor, underwater photographer, and diving writer based in Santa Barbara, California. Since taking his first underwater breaths on certification dives at the Monterey breakwater over 35 years ago, Doug has continued to explore California’s waters as well as many tropical destinations. He fell in love with the Channel Islands when he moved to Santa Barbara for college, and many years later, he has never left. His favorite diving destination is Southern California’s Channel Islands, where he enjoys photographing the majestic kelp forests, curious marine mammals, and tiny, colorful nudibranchs.

While his portfolio here is largely focused on the Channel Islands, Doug’s underwater adventures have taken him abroad to numerous far-flung locations. From the sea turtles of the Hawaiian Islands and the great white sharks of Guadalupe Island, to the stunning walls of the Cayman Islands, the coral reefs of Fiji, and even the humpback whales of French Polynesia, Doug has images from all over the world.

Doug’s photo essays have been published in print worldwide, while his images have been used in numerous print and digital formats by the likes of the US National Park Service, US National Marine Sanctuary, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Google, and Microsoft. You can also see Doug present live talks on underwater photography for dive clubs and museums in Southern California. When he’s not taking underwater photos, Doug is still active as an underwater guide for divers not familiar with Southern California diving. He also still teaches private scuba lessons, underwater photography skills, and even wrote a NAUI certification course for divers on Southern California nudibranch identification. If you want to take images like these, you know who to get in touch with!
 

Hermissenda nudibranch, Monterey Bay, California, USA
 

A pair of green sea turtles hanging out in the blue waters of Hawaii, USA
 

A Garibaldi framed by kelp and sun rays, Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
 

A charismatic little yellowfin fringehead, Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
 

Normally quite shy, this harbor seal came right up to inspect the photographer, Anacapa, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
 

California sealion trio at play, Santa Barbara Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
 

A Garibaldi cruising over the rocky reef, Anacapa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
 

A male orangethroat pikeblenny displaying, Anacapa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
 

A mother humpback and her calf slowly cruise the shallow waters off Moorea, French Polynesia
 

An oceanic whitetip in the foreground and pilot whales behind, Hawaii, USA
 

California’s most iconic nudibranch, the Spanish shawl, about to chow down on some hydroids, Anacapa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
 

Two male orangethroat pikeblennies battle it out for territory, Anacapa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
 

To see more of Douglas’s wonderful work, visit his Instagram page and his website, www.rightplacetime.com.