Articles

Underwater snowstorm, Gulf of Aqaba and Eilat, Red Sea, Eilat, Israel
 

A marine ecologist, underwater photographer, and naturalist, Tom Shlesinger grew up on the shores of the Red Sea, in Israel. In 1988, he participated in his first dive at only six years old! Since then, he has been fascinated with the diversity of life forms in the sea and their function, behavior, colors, shapes, and patterns. His photographic and scientific journeys are intertwined and focus on capturing moments of little-known behavioral and reproductive phenomena of corals and coral reef dwellers.

Most of Tom’s work focuses on the backbone of the underwater tropical world: stony corals. They are the engineers, architects, and the artists that build and maintain complex reef structures and breathe life into them. He uses his underwater photography skills to tell some of their stories and expose their incredible beauty alongside their conflicting fragility and resilience.

Together with his many amazing images of spawning coral reefs, Tom includes some great wide-angle shots of sea turtles, goliath grouper and sea lions; some nicely composed over-unders; and a few awesome night diving macro portraits framed against black backgrounds. These images are part of an ongoing scientific-documentary project looking at the nightlife and unique reproductive phenomena of corals and other inhabitants of the coral reef in the Red Sea. He has spent over 300 nights underwater over the last few years during the major reproduction season of corals and other reef-associated animals to document nocturnal behavior and build a calendar of the reproduction of corals and other reef dwellers. I’m sure you will agree the results are well worth the effort!
 

Squids at night, Gulf of Aqaba and Eilat, Red Sea, Eilat, Israel
 

Goliath grouper, Palm Beach, Florida, USA
 

A moray eel shelters inside what used to be a giant clam, Gulf of Aqaba and Eilat, Red Sea, Eilat, Israel
 

Local kids go fishing, Ambitle Island, Papua New Guinea
 

Coral spawning, Gulf of Aqaba and Eilat, Red Sea, Eilat, Israel
 

Bluetail trunkfish courtship, Gulf of Aqaba and Eilat, Red Sea, Eilat, Israel
 

The crayfish and the snake, Silver Glen Springs, Ocala National Forest, Florida, USA
 

Reef fish feasting on coral eggs, Gulf of Aqaba and Eilat, Red Sea, Eilat, Israel
 

Inquisitive sea lions, Champion Islet, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
 

Green sea turtle, San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
 

Jellyfish hitchhiker, Palm Beach, Florida, USA
 

Sea snail spawning, Gulf of Aqaba and Eilat, Red Sea, Eilat, Israel
 

Coral ready to spawn, Gulf of Aqaba and Eilat, Red Sea, Eilat, Israel
 

Tom Shlesinger
 

Check out more of Tom’s spawning coral action shots and his other underwater adventures on his Instagram page.