A native of Sydney, Australia, Stephen Hopkins shares his thoughts and photos of the underwater life Bali has to offer. Be it an octopus or soft coral, Stephen leaves no detail behind and captures marine life at its most stunning. All photos taken in Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia using a Canon 5D Mark III and dual DS161 Strobes.
I loved the attitude of this clownfish. I had to be patient as initially it kept moving through the anemone. But finally it turned and with enormous courage just looked me eye to eye. © 2021 Stephen Hopkins
A small blue ribbon eel. I put the lens wide open at f2.8 with only the eyes in focus to try and capture the incessant movements of these eels. ©2021 Stephen Hopkins
This bait fish ball was being controlled by one Giant Trevally. It slowly circled the ball keeping it tight. © 2021 Stephen Hopkins
This skeleton shrimp (and friends) I found very hard to photograph. They are tiny and constantly moving. I finally captured one that appeared to have an almost devilish aspect. © 2021 Stephen Hopkins
This little fellow (about 1cm long) was walking along the bottom when I came across him. © 2021 Stephen Hopkins
This rare little scorpion fish wasn't going to be intimidated. It stood its ground as I took photos putting on a beautiful display. © 2021 Stephen Hopkins
The strength of extended families. Multiple generations of amphipods on an anemone. © 2021 Stephen Hopkins
I just love the colors and shapes of this soft coral. © 2021 Stephen Hopkins
A donut nudibranch combines my favorite food and favorite underwater animal. I like this photo as the nudibranch's seem to glow. I had to be patient as these are typically very stationary and to get one performing a gymnastic turn was very rewarding. © 2021 Stephen Hopkins
"My Octopus Teacher" on Netflix has made me much more aware of these creatures. This one stumbled across me on its morning walk. At first it hid behind a rock but its curiosity forced it to peak out to see what I was doing. © 2021 Stephen Hopkins
This mantis shrimp was in its burrow gazing out on the world. There are a number of things that stand out about mantis shrimp such as their bright colours and amazing striking force (the acceleration matches a bullet being fired from a gun). But for me it's their eyes. They have 16 colour receptors to our three. The eyes are compound and have tens of thousands of photo receptors. And each eye swivels independently. Possibly the most complex visual system in nature - just amazing. © 2021 Stephen Hopkins
Stephen Hopkins lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife, son and dog. On weekends he goes diving around Sydney, a beautiful city with an amazing underwater world on its doorstep. See more of his work on his website.
Additional Reading
An Insiders Guide to Diving Wakatobi Resort Indonesia
Super Macro Underwater Photography Techniques
An Insiders Guide to Blackwater Photography
