Snorkeling uber fishy eastern Indonesia

I really enjoy the challenge of trying to take photos of colorful tropical fishes while snorkeling and free-diving. It began in 2012 when I started writing my first book on marine life that can be seen while snorkeling in the Philippines and continues to this day. Even years after finishing my second book, I still find myself challenged by capturing the ‘perfect’ image of some of the more colorful (and elusive) tropical fishes that inhabit diverse coral reefs.

The best places in the world to find these dazzling residents of the reef are, of course, in uber fishy eastern Indonesia where locations such as Alor, the Banda Islands, and Raja Ampat exist. Well over 1600 species of tropical marine fishes can be found in these regions, making them my favorite places to go to ‘shoot fish’. Below are just some of the photos I managed to capture while visiting these magnificent destinations.

Zebra Dartfish

A juvenile yellowtail wrasse

Yellowtail Damsel

Yellow-spotted scorpion fish

Trumpetfish

Threadfin Anthias (female)

Tailspot Blenny

Spinecheek anemonefish

Regal Damoiselle

Robust ghost pipefish

Regal Angelfish

Reef pipefish

Orange stripe Goby

Pinktail triggerfish

Orange shoulder surgeonfish

Maked dottyback

Mandarinfish

Longnose filefish

Longnose butterflyfish

Juvenile star pufferfish

Juvenile black snapper

Flying gurnard

Flagfin Goby

Emperor angelfish

Copper-banded coralfish

Clown triggerfish

Blue devil (female)

Clown blenny

Blue girdled angelfish

Blue devil (male)

We plan to offer another Heart of the Coral Triangle snorkeling adventure in the near future, but in the meantime, we have full departures dedicated to just each specific location, their links are here: Alor, Banda Islands, and Raja Ampat.