Top 10 Macro Photography Dive Sites

Top 10 Macro Photography Dive Sites

Macro diving is the practice of finding and photographing small subjects — nudibranchs, pygmy seahorses, frogfish, shrimps, crabs — typically in the 1cm to 10cm range. The sites that excel at it share common characteristics: silty or sandy substrate (which hides rather than displays, requiring careful searching), calm conditions (no surge), and an abundance of the small invertebrate life that macro subjects feed on and hide in.

Here are the ten dive sites that serious macro photographers consider essential.

1. Lembeh Strait, Indonesia

The global capital of muck diving, full stop. The Strait runs between North Sulawesi and Lembeh Island and the silty black-sand bottom is colonised by mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, hairy frogfish, coconut octopus, blue-ringed octopus, and more nudibranch species than most divers see in a lifetime of diving elsewhere. A well-guided three-tank day at Lembeh can produce 30 different nudibranch species.

2. Anilao, Philippines

Lembeh's closest rival. Located south of Manila on the Batangas coast, Anilao has been a macro-diving destination since the 1960s and has produced more first-documented critter species than perhaps any other site in the Philippines. The mix of hard and soft substrate suits both nudibranchs and crustaceans.

3. Richelieu Rock, Thailand

Most famous as a whale shark site, but the macro life at Richelieu is extraordinary for a pelagic pinnacle: harlequin shrimps on sea stars, Coleman's shrimps on fire urchins, ghost pipefish in crinoids, and seahorses year-round. The combination of wide-angle and macro potential on a single site is unusual.

4. Cannibal Rock, Komodo, Indonesia

A cold-water pinnacle in Horseshoe Bay on Komodo's southern coast. The soft corals are extraordinary, but the resident pygmy seahorses on the gorgonians and the dense nudibranch diversity make it one of Indonesia's best macro sites outside Lembeh.

5. Mabul Island, Malaysia

While Sipadan gets the attention, Mabul — where most Sipadan divers stay — is a world-class muck diving destination. The sandy slopes around the island's traditional stilted villages hold flamboyant cuttlefish, hairy frogfish, ghost pipefish, and Rhinopias scorpionfish.

6. Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia

The USAT Liberty wreck gets the dive traffic, but the black-sand slopes surrounding it, and the sites like Seraya Secrets further along the coast, are exceptional macro habitat. Pygmy seahorses on the wreck's gorgonians; mimic octopus on the open sand.

7. Puerto Galera, Philippines

Specifically the 'Sabang Wrecks' area and the 'Canyons' — a mix of artificial reef and natural muck that produces rare species on a regular basis. The Mandarin fish (synchiropus splendidus) breeding display at dusk at several sites here is one of the most photographed events in macro diving.

8. Dauin, Philippines

On the Negros Oriental coast, Dauin is a newer destination that has established itself as a serious rival to Anilao. The volcanic black sand slopes hold thorny seahorses, flamboyant cuttlefish, and a range of Periclimenes shrimps that test the identification skills of even experienced photographers.

9. Ambon, Indonesia

Ambon Bay's silty floor is where the psychedelic frogfish (Histiophryne psychedelica) — a species only described in 2009 — lives. The site is remote and requires significant logistical effort, which means it sees fewer divers than its macro quality deserves. Ambon also hosts the wunderpus octopus, various ghost pipefish, and an extraordinary range of flatworms.

10. Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea

Where muck diving was first described as a style by Bob Halstead in the 1980s. The black-sand slopes around Milne Bay hold blue-ringed octopus, Rhinopias frondosa, ribbon eels in their various colour phases, and the full range of PNG critter diversity in relatively accessible conditions.

The Essential Macro Kit

• 60mm or 90mm macro lens (for DSLR); +15 or +20 diopter wet lens (for compact cameras)
• Two video lights or strobes — single-light macro produces flat images; dual diffused lighting reveals texture
• Buoyancy control — hovering motionless over a subject without disturbing it or kicking up sediment is the limiting skill
• A local guide — the best macro photographers on Earth still hire local guides at every unfamiliar site. The guide finds 90% of the subjects.