Runner-up - Travel Photographer of the Year 2022.

Green Planet, Blue Planet Portfolio Category

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Underwater, the colours, shapes and patterns of invertebrate life are extraordinary. Ocean critters often live symbiotically in, on and among other marine animals. My portfolio is a celebration of these beguiling relationships. I wanted to portray the host animal in an Abstract sense, as a stunning backdrop. It’s how I imagine the headlining critter experiences their vibrant habitat.

Hiding within a brilliantly-coloured Azure vase sponge, a Yellowline arrow crab makes itself at home. The soft-bodied sponge is embedded firmly within its coral reef environment, unable to move. An unmissable, neon-hued sanctuary. Spreading out its long spider-like legs, the crab has claimed its daytime territory. Once night falls, the delicate critter will head off to forage.

Camera: Canon EOS 800D
Lens: Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
f/stop: f/4
Shutter speed: 1/200
ISO: 100

Location: Bonaire, Leeward Antilles, Caribbean Sea

Photographer: Laura Storm