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A very young paddleflap scorpionfish, still nearly entirely transparent, Bali, Indonesia
If you are into Indo-Pacific macro critters, you’ll want to check out the work of our latest Photographer of the Week, Michael Martin. While hailing originally from the United States, Michael has called Jakarta, Indonesia, his adopted home since 2012. As you’ll likely notice, Michael’s favorite subjects to photograph underwater are nudibranchs and sea slugs. A browse through his social media will also quickly make this evident. Indonesia is, of course, a fantastic place to pursue his crittery passions. With relatively close proximity to world-class muck dive locations like Bali, Lembeh, and Ambon, Michael really could not have picked a better spot.
Michael spends as much of his free time as possible exploring Indonesia’s seemingly endless, vibrant underwater world. His macro photography skills are honed in this wonderfully diverse corner of the globe. From frogfish to nudis to Rhinopias and cephalopods, the number of subjects is inexhaustible.
It is absolutely worth your time to check out Michael’s full portfolio, especially if you are a fan of clean portraits of beautiful macro critters. Each subject is photographed beautifully and in a style that is designed to show off the animal as cleanly as possible. Do yourselves a favor and cruise through Michael’s Instagram page and you’ll get a pretty good idea of Indonesia’s diverse marine macro life.
A gorgeous nudibranch devours hydroids and will store the toxins in its own skin, Bali, Indonesia
A classic Indo-Pacific muck sight, a pair of beautiful emperor shrimp, hitching a ride on a slug, Bali, Indonesia
A stunning Shawn the Sheep variation rearing up for the camera, Bali, Indonesia
Everybody’s favorite seahorse, the enigmatic and charismatic pygmy seahorse, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
A beautiful Marionia species, looking like some sort of living lettuce, Bali, Indonesia
A gorgeous ornate ghost pipefish hovers in front of its crinoid home, Bali, Indonesia
A classic looking variation of the Shawn the Sheep slug, Bali, Indonesia
Cyerce elegans, a slug that looks to be made of delicately blown glass, Bangka, Indonesia
Bornella anguilla, a spectacular nudibranch, seems to be posing for the camera—even its eye spot is visible, Bali, Indonesia
A wonderful little Cuthona species perched on the tip of a stalk of a marine plant, Bali, Indonesia
A very hairy hairy frogfish, Bali, Indonesia
An incredibly diminutive Ercolania slug crawls over a seemingly enormous bubble of algae, Bali, Indonesia
To see more of Michael’s fantastic macro work, please give him a follow on Instagram.