the cortez club
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Phyllodesmium briareum Mimicking Soft Coral on the Reef — Puerto Galera
Phyllodesmium briareum, or the Yellow-tipped Phyllodesmium, is a solar-powered nudibranch that mimics soft corals in the Philippines. With translucent bodies and elongated cerata, they blend into their environment, making them hard to spot. They utilize symbiotic algae for nutrients and can shed cerata to evade predators.
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Mexico Marine Life: Sharks, Mantas, Dolphins & Guitarfish
Mexico offers diverse diving experiences on two coasts: the Caribbean, known for warm waters, coral reefs, and distinct cenotes, and the Pacific, characterized by larger marine life and volcanic landscapes. While Caribbean dives focus on seasonal bull sharks, the Pacific features encounters with mantas and dolphins, requiring boats for remote trips.
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Chasing Clouds: Seychelles
This month’s Chasing Clouds explores the Seychelles, focusing on its dynamic skies over two weeks across Mahé, Praslin, and La Digue. With shifting light, rainbows, and vibrant sunsets, the journey captures the beauty of cloud formations and their storytelling power, set against the backdrop of this breathtaking archipelago.
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Predators: The Survivor — A Tiger Shark with a Broken Jaw (Maldives)
Most of us have a specific image of what defines an apex shark—speed, power, and dominance. But off the coast of Fuvahmulah, I spent time with Luana, a resident tiger shark navigating the blue with a severe, permanent jaw injury. This film is a study of her quiet resilience and how she has adapted to…
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Up Close with the Peacock-Tail Anemone Shrimp (Periclimenes brevicarpalis)
The Peacock-tail Anemone Shrimp (Periclimenes brevicarpalis) exemplifies the beauty of marine life in the Indo-Pacific, featuring a clear body, white patches, and blue-tipped limbs. This tiny shrimp thrives within anemones, benefiting from protection and cleaning others. Though small, it’s a sought-after macro photography subject, symbolizing Indonesia’s vibrant reef ecosystem.
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Chasing Clouds — Tubbataha
Sunsets at the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park offer a mesmerizing spectacle, with endless ocean and vibrant skies of gold, orange, and red. As evening approaches, a calm descends on the dive deck, allowing travelers to pause and appreciate the awe-inspiring beauty above, reminding them that nature’s wonders extend beyond the reefs.
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Light, Shadow and Sea – A Black and White Short Film
This month, I presented a short film titled “Light, Shadow and Sea” at the New York Underwater Photographic Society meeting. Focusing on black and white, the film explores underwater contrast and texture, capturing diverse marine environments and emphasizing mood over color. It serves as an exercise in illuminating the subtleties of underwater life.
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Juvenile Orange Frogfish (Painted Frogfish) Walking the Reef
The juvenile orange frogfish, or Antennarius pictus, is a unique ambush predator found in the Indo-Pacific. It employs mimicry to blend into its surroundings and walks across reefs using modified fins instead of swimming. Its stillness allows it to remain hidden while awaiting prey, making it a fascinating sight for divers.
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Ceratosoma trilobatum Laying Its Egg Ribbon in Lembeh Strait
The Tri-lobed Ceratosoma, or Ribbon Nudibranch, is a visually captivating marine species found in the Indo-Pacific. This salmon-pink slug exhibits unique egg-laying behavior, depositing a coiled ribbon while moving across the substrate. Filming these behaviors in Lembeh Strait requires patience, as natural movement is essential to capture these rare moments.
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Chasing Clouds — Heading to Durban
Framed by the oval window of a short flight, the sky shifts as the clouds roll past. This time, the journey is taking me to Durban, South Africa — a stretch of the KwaZulu-Natal coast known for warm currents, dramatic reefs, and shark encounters in the wild waters of the Indian Ocean. Durban sits where…