Articles
A hairy frogfish shot with a snoot on a night dive in Lembeh, Indonesia
We all love a good story. And we particularly love the ones where the protagonist leaves the “corporate world” (ugh!) for a life pursuing their dreams and traveling the world. In the case of our Photographer of the Week, Nadia Aly, the dream is happening now and the travel, well, that was always part of the plan.
As CEO of dive travel company Scuba Diver Life Expeditions, Nadia has translated all that hard work as a social media guru at companies like Microsoft and Google into a profitable business of her own that also happens to allow her to keep coming back to her favorite underwater places. Lembeh’s gloriously strange critter universe, South Africa’s adrenalin-pumping Sardine Run, and the breathtaking realm of humpback whales off Vava‘u, Tonga all qualify.
In the stunning images from Nadia’s portfolio shown here, you can see why all this makes sense. Somehow she’s also found the time to perfect an impressive range of skills as an underwater shooter, from masterful use of a snoot and delicate backlighting to carefully crafted wide-angle compositions that draw the viewer in. It all just makes you want to stop what you’re doing and start following your dreams.
The famous residents of Palau’s Jellyfish Lake
Backlighting creates a powerful seahorse portrait, Lembeh, Indonesia
A baitball dwarfs a colorful reef off Port Elizabeth, South Africa
A freediver interacts with a huge humpback whale off Vava‘u, Tonga
A shark attacks a baitball during the Sardine Run off Port St. Johns, South Africa
The wreck of the Umbria, Sudan
An octopus investigates the reef off Port Elizabeth, South Africa
The amazing close-up detail of a blue-ring octopus, Lembeh, Indonesia
A tropical bobtail squid gets comfortable in the muck, Lembeh, Indonesia
A backlit snake eel with cleaner shrimp, photographed with a snoot, Lembeh, Indonesia
Nadia Aly
For more of Nadia’s beautiful work, check out her website, www.NadiaAly.com, or follow her on Instagram. You can dive with Nadia by joining one of her trips; check out Scuba Diver Life Expeditions and Humpback Swims.