Underwater Photography by Thomas Ozanne

Return to the Similans...

Thomas Ozanne October 19, 2013

I'm heading back to Khaolak on the west coast of Thailand in a week or so. Khaolak is the starting off point for many divers making Liveaboard and speedboat day-trips to the Similan Islands... It's the place where I really kicked off my photography, many hundreds of dives on a wide range of sites gave me the time to build up my understanding of diving and underwater photography... Over countless trips I encountered a huge variety of marine life, large and small, Whalesharks and Mantas to Nudis and Cowries. I have also had the pleasure of sharing these moments and experiences with hundreds of divers first hand, underwater and through my images and videos.

Here is a small selection of some of my Similan collection. With thanks to Similan Diving Safaris

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Hello!

Yawn. Juvenile shortfin lionfish (Dendrochirus brachypterus) in Lembeh strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. This fish was about 2cm long, and sat among the muck waiting for a snack to stray too close occasionally working out its jaw like this, perhaps yawning or maybe preparing to try and eat something bigger that itself.

Pop. Exploding #miflex high pressure hose selfie. It felt like I’d been hit in the back with a massive spade the size of a car made of lead that was wrapped in rubber. Having a hose burst is obviously a massive problem when diving and the noise and sensation of it bursting scared the hell out of me. Obviously this meant it was time to abort the dive. Once I understood what was happening and checked my pressure gauge I was reassured that the pressure was dropping fairly slowly. Low pressure hoses bursting are a far more serious problem as you lose your air a hell of a lot faster, contrary to what you might assume. So, knowing I had time and gas to safely ascend, l took the opportunity to take his shot over my shoulder as a memento.

Hairy frogfish (Antennarius striatus) also known as Striated frogfish taking a swim through the night. This was shot on a 140 minute long dive in the shallow waters near Anilao pier in the Philippines. I was looking through the muck for critters and then this blob came swimming along.

Supper time. A Lizard fish (Synodus variegatus) chomping down on a small surgeon fish in Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Lizard fish sit and wait for unsuspecting reef fish to swim to Ko close. Once in their mouth it’s often a waiting game to let the unfortunate fish tire and expire before swallowing them down. If the Lizard fish doesn’t wait long enough their dinner can and sometimes do get away.

Trumpet fish are stalkers. They creep up slowly on their prey often using another fish for cover. They regularly swim just behind and above medium sized reef fish such as coral groupers and when they have an opportunity they will strike on other smaller fish. This trumpet fish in the Philippines was using me as cover for its hunting antics during a wreck dive. I had a feeling something was watching me over my shoulder, and when I turned over and upside down I was greeted by this sight. I took the opportunity to get this shot. The diver in the background was a nice little bonus. In summary, if you feel like someone or something is watching you you are probably right, and your first action should be to check all around you for sneaky fish.

Show the reef some love. Give it a hug. Blue Starfish (Linckia laevigata) on a coral outcrop on Verde Island in the Philippines.

Boy, was my face red. Giant Frogfish (Antennarius commerson) in Anilao, Philippines.

Peekaboo. Octopus sticking their head out from their bottle home... Follow up to post before last which showed the octopus hiding within, if you wait peacefully their confidence will grow and they will come out of their shell, or bottle in this case.

My two favourite kinds of star In one shot. A Feather Star and a G-type main-sequence star, aka Crinoid and The Sun respectively... Taken under the sea somewhere on Earth in orbit around Sol, at about 3.30 on a Tuesday. I think.

Octopus 🐙 at home in a discarded bottle. Octopus seek shelter when not out hunting. Sometimes an unusual object can make a fine home. Shot in #anilao , #philippines.

Bottlebrush Ascidian (Nephtheis fascicularis) a type of Tunicate or Sea Squirt that grow in a cluster colony on a stem that stands out off the reef. These weird little marine invertebrates filter plankton and other organic matter that happens to drift past and get drawn in to one of their two siphons. This colony was found on a shallow reef in the Philippines, but there are thousands of species found all over the world in cold and warm waters. Chances are if you are by the sea these animals or their cousins are not far away.

Octopodiddlydoo. Young Mimic Octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) in Lembeh strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia 🇮🇩

Unicorn Leatherjacket (Aluterus monoceros) pecking away at a Jellyfish while divers make a safety stop in the background. Taken off Western Rocky a dive site in Mergui Archipelago, Myanmar

Passing through. Entrance to the swimthrough at Shark Cave a dive site at Three Islets in Mergui Archipelago, Myanmar. Dived this site in rough weather and seen people dragged through the cave and spat out the other side. A fun dive for sure, if the conditions are right.

Fan coral and Wreck at 40m in Similan National Park, Phang Nga, Thailand.

Deep at dusk, Oceanic Manta (Manta birostris) and accompanying Giant trevallys (Caranx ignoblis) cruising around the plateau at Koh Tachai, Thailand 🇹🇭

Adult male Ribbon eel (Rhinomuraena quaesita). Ribbon eels are born male and whilst juvenile are black in colour with a yellow dorsal fin, on reaching adult hood males become blue and yellow as this image shows, and upon changing to female they take on an entirely/mostly yellow colouration.

Freediver (Homo sapiens) ascending through a school of Bigeye Jacks (Caranx sexfasciatus). Bali, Indonesia

As a kid I always wondered where the anchor went when we dropped it in to the deep dark green water and what scary stuff was down there with it. The other day I went to have a look. Stupid imagination.