Hannes Klostermann Underwater Photography

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  • This is my take on the famous Cenote "El Pit" in Quinatana Roo, Mexico. It has been photographed countless times, and I think it's pretty obvious why! Because the whole cavern dive is conducted in only one room, getting a clear image without an armada of divers is the main concern, so thanks to Marcelin of Under The Jungle for timing our dive perfectly! The other concern is making the sunrays stand out. To get a decent amount of light I took this image at 1/15 sec - handheld! Fortunately underwater we can get away with shutterspeeds much lower than what we would use on dry land!
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  • 1st place winner in the macro category of Underwater Photographer of the Year 2020.
    Goby Goodness
  • Winner of the Underwater Seascapes category of the United Nations World Oceans Day 2020 Photo Competition.
    Cold Water Colours
  • It's not all about the seals at the Farne Islands! There are also some amazing walls to discover with tons of cold-water coral, crabs and lobsters.
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  • A Grey Seal hovering above the kelp in the Farne Islands.
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  • Some of the sharks of Isla Mujeres are very friendly! This guy for example became my BFFLTMOS (Best Friend For Like Ten Minutes Or So :) ) swimming very slowly in tight circles around me. Without any movement on my part he came in very close several times. This was probably the best moment of this trip! Share your favourite underwater moments in the comments :)
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  • This pod of Bottlenose Dolphins stayed with me and my buddy for more than 15 minutes as we were drifting in the blue just off of Wolf Island in the Galapagos. Certainly one of the best moments of my underwater life!
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  • Cormorant hunting sardine. <br />
<br />
Awarded Best In Show in the Beneath the Sea Imaging Competition and recipient of the David Doubilet Award for Excellence in Underwater Photography.<br />
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Awarded Best of Show and 1st place in the wide angle category in Deep Visions 2019 UPY Awards.<br />
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Awarded Runner Up of the Seascapes category and winner of the Seascapes Public Choice Award in Ocean Geographic Pictures of the Year 2020.
    Strange Encounters
  • Last week, I finally got to tick off one of my favourite sharks from my "animals I want to see" list, the shortfin mako! These are believed to be the fastest sharks (although now, some claim it might be the salmon shark) and their big, black eyes and crazy-looking jaws certainly add to their appeal. Here, one can be seen sharing the water, and the afternoon sun, with photographer extraordinaire Fabrice Guerin!<br />
That day, we saw three different individuals in the water (including a tiny baby, maybe 70cm long, but just as confident as the larger ones), and many more breaching!<br />
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Image taken with a Nikon D500 and Tokina 10-17mm fisheye in a Nauticam housing. Natural light only.<br />
<br />
Check out my other images on www.hk-underwater.com
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  • Image taken with a Nikon D500 and Tokina 10-17mm fisheye in a Nauticam housing. Illuminated using two Inon Z-240 strobes.<br />
<br />
Check out my other images on www.hk-underwater.com
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  • Two striped marlin herd a sardine baitball. Seeing these guys hunt in the dozens has been the highlight of my week in Bahía Magdalena, Mexico. We also saw whales, makos, breaching threshers, dolphins, mahi mahi, countless turtles and lots and lots of sea lions. More pics to follow!
    hk_baja_california_27-11-2018_036.jpg
  • Blacktip reef sharks patrolling the shallow areas of a reef in French Polynesia.
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  • This California sea lion chose a particularly photogenic spot for his morning playtime. In some languages, sea lions are called "sea dogs" and when watching them play it's not hard to see why! They pick up rocks, shells, starfish or anything else they can find, take their new toy to the surface and drop it, chasing it on the way down and sometimes encouraging divers to join in on the fun by "passing" their toy!
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  • Vincent Canabal interacting with Rodeo, one of the resident ladies at Tiger Beach.
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  • A sabre squirrelfish hides under coral from a pack of grey reef sharks
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  • This is my 1st place winning image in the Wide Angle Unrestricted category of the Digital Shootout 2019.  The groupers in the Cayman Islands are famous for being extra friendly. They regularly approach divers and pose for photographers which makes for good opportunities to get the creative juices flowing!
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  • To answer yesterday's little quiz, that aerial shot was of USS Kittiwake, a former submarine rescue vessel for the US Navy. After being decommissioned in 1994 it was sunk as an attraction for scuba divers off Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman in 2011. It's pretty amazing to see just how much it has changed in only 8 years. Check out earlier pictures on the web and you'll find that it used to be white! What's even more impressive is that it was sunk upright, but strong surges from tropical storm Nate pushed the wreck closer to the reef and tipped it over on its port side.
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  • A large female tiger shark called Emma swimming through a group of divers at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas. These are very confident animals that know they don't have to fear anyone that's down there with them. This however doesn't mean that they are aggressive in any way. They will expect you to make way for them and will run you over if you don't, but there are hardly any serious incidents involving divers and it is surprisingly easy to steer them away should they get a bit too close for comfort!
    hk_bahamas_2018_049.jpg
  • Even though the lovely ladies at Tiger Beach usually move quite slowly, they do expect divers to move out of their way. After all, they're the biggest fish in that particular part of the sea. This can cause some confusion, especially when divers don't keep an eye on the sharks that surround them. Notice the diver that got knocked over by the tigress in this picture? Notice the lemon shark just next to him? No reaction. Despite what the media would like you to believe, even a diver losing control and falling over right next to a shark doesn't just end up as shark food, let alone someone that remains in charge of the situation. Sharks are used to other animals trying to get away from them, so people standing their ground (or swimming towards them even!) actually confuse and intimidate them quite a bit. Every species is different though. Tiger sharks for example are too curious and confident to care much about what other animals or people do or don't do, whereas hammerheads get spooked very easily. Remaining passive while keeping an eye on the shark is usually the best way to get a good, safe interaction.
    hk_bahamas_2018_055.jpg
  • A school of snapper hang out underneath a pier in French Polynesia. I spent an entire dive with these guys - maximum depth: 3.4m! I tried many different ways to light them, but ended up liking this traditional shot the most!
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  • Similar to what happens in our eyes, shark pupils dilate in the dark to allow more light to enter the eye and therefore improve night vision. While the eye of a grey reef shark (like the one in this picture) looks like a cat eye during the day, you can see in this picture that the pupil is dilated and almost round. These sharks hunt mainly at night, using a whole array of superior senses to detect and track their prey. Go compare the eyes to my last post to see the difference a few hours can make!
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  • A diver heads deeper into a flooded cavern in Mexico. Despite what it looks like, guided cavern dives are actually very safe. Even though there is no immediate access to the surface, it's in fact closer than on a deep dive and always just a short swim away! That being said, it's of course not recommended to venture into any cavern without somebody that is already familiar with the area and trained in cave diving procedures!
    The Tunnel
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  • An early morning dive on a tropical reef is always something special. Sunrays dancing on the surface cast the coral in an eerie light as a large Napoleon wrasse passes by in the distance.
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  • Not the usual blue shark picture, but I quite like the depth and eye contact on this one. What do you think? <br />
For me it's always fun to experiment with different angles and techniques, even though this dramatically decreases the number of keepers! This is something I should do a lot more often, and in fact it's kind of a new year's resolution for me.
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  • Everybody that goes to Bimini will want to see Great Hammerheads. During those dives, most other fish can be quite distracting as they constantly "photo bomb" otherwise great pictures. These remoras however, dancing underneath the boat in the afternoon sun, offered a truly special moment. One of my favourite pictures of this trip to the Bahamas!
    hk_bahamas_2018_010.jpg
  • There's nothing quite like having a tiger shark swim just over your head!
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  • A school of small barracuda makes way for a passing grey reef shark.
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  • A grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) with potential prey. You can see the right pectoral fin pointing down instead of to the side, which is how they execute tight turns. I witnessed this fascinating behaviour during a night dive in French Polynesia.<br />
The end? What do you think happened next?
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  • Another macro gem from Grand Cayman! This is a fairy basslet (also called royal gramma - Gramma loreto), and probably one of the prettiest fish I've seen anywhere. Thankfully, finding them is fair(l)y easy, as they are rather common on the reefs around the island.
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  • This cenote is named very appropriately! The structures are the stuff of dreams and crystal clear water makes you feel like you're flying! Thanks to my guide and model Marcelin of Under The Jungle!
    hk_cenotes_2019_1291.jpg
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  • Nick and Chris of Pro Photo Baja sharing this moment with a beautiful male bull shark.
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  • Every winter, the grey whales of the eastern Pacific gather in the sheltered bays of the Californian peninsula. They make the long trip down from the cold and rich waters off Alaska to give birth to their calves, nurse them and mate. This annual migration is believed to be the longest annual migration of any mammal! What makes this species so interesting to the layman is not just their prehistoric look (let's be honest, they're not exactly the most photogenic whale...), but most of all their amazing curiosity. They regularly approach whale watching boats, and often even establish physical contact. The whales seem in no way bothered by the boats and will sometimes even atempt to play with them. This particular individual stayed with us for more than 15 minutes, slowly spinning underneath the boat, gently bumping it with its mouth and tail, and even showing us its belly a few times!
    hk_bahia_magdalena_feb_2019_1847.jpg
  • You might miss something, like this pregnant lady
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  • A blacktip reef shark patrolling the shallow area of a reef in French Polynesia. Here, an abundance of hard coral and marine life makes for astonishing views. Sharks are often shy and as a photographer, you need a lot of patience to get the images you're after.
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  • Night dives in French Polynesia can be a huge thrill! In some places, you can dive with hundreds of grey reef sharks and feel like you're part of the pack! Can you spot a different species?
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