Macro Photography and Video

From small to even smaller

Take a closer look during dives... there's a lot to see. The magic words are macro photography and macro video.

The fascination begins with larger creatures. Things get magnificent with the smallest creatures, as long as you know where and how to find them.

Dumaguete 2025

Here's an example. The video was taken during my dives in January 2025 in the Philippines near Dumaguete.

The video

You can watch the video in full screen. To do this, you have to click on the bottom right of the video:

The Limits

With my camera, I can only capture a few millimeters. Not just because of the technical image resolution. It's much more difficult because I'm a free swimmer. The current moves not only me, but also the small creatures. A tripod would sometimes be helpful. I don't have one because my diving gear is already heavy enough.

It's a bit easier with pure photography using a flash. A higher resolution than with video is also easier to achieve.

With video, it's more difficult because the tiny creatures have to be in focus for a longer period of time.

But there are more actions to see!

Some excerpts from the video

Costasiella kuroshimae
Also known as the "leaf sheep", it reaches a body length of approximately 5 to 10 millimeters. The snails are very small and difficult to spot due to their delicate size.

Costasiella kuroshimae
Here is a size comparison. This is the unenlarged image from the video. The leaf is about 5 centimeters wide.

Partner Shrimp - Periclimenes amboinensis
The visual match to the habitat couldn't be better.

Sponge Sea Iodide - Santia sp.01
This isn't a shot from the kitchen cupboard, but from a depth of about 6 to 8 meters, taken towards the end of the dive. The isopods are about 5 millimeters in size.

Common Cuttlefish - Sepia officinalis
It is currently hunting. Its size is about 5 centimeters.

Sarasvati Anemone Shrimp - Ancylomenes sarasvatii

Blue-ringed Octopus - Genus Hapalochlaena
They are among the most venomous marine animals. They have a potent toxin, which they release upon bite and which can be fatal to humans. This is a neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin (TTX).

My Photographic Equipment

I've been using a Sony A1 camera for a while in dry conditions. Now it's also been fitted with a Nauticam underwater housing. For the lens, I use a 60 mm zoom and two macro attachment lenses, which I can attach underwater as needed. I also use two X-Adventurer lights. They are suitable for video and flash.

For post-production of videos, I use DaVinci Resolve from Blackmagic. For photos, I use Lightroom and Photoshop from Adobe.