I’d be blatantly lying if I said most know me for my macro photography. Since my first days of picking up a camera, I’ve always been chasing the big stuff. Massive schools of mobula rays in Baja, sperm whales in Dominica, tiger sharks in the Bahamas, crocodiles in Chinchorro, the list just goes on and on. Still to this day, it is primarily what magazines will contact me for and probably why most divers join our trips and expeditions at Dive Ninja. My macro lens spends most of the year wrapped in a soft blanket, napping in its comfy little drawer. Even when it does make the rare appearance, it’s never for a macro-specific trip. In thousands of dives over the years, I can honestly count on a few fingers the number of trips I’ve taken that were specifically for macro. I’m always a bit hesitant to jump on a trip mainly dedicated to macro, worried I might get bored or not find it interesting after a couple of days. But my recent time with Atlantis has somehow made this lover of megafauna truly appreciate the small things in life.
Exploring the Diversity of Marine Life
Splitting my time between Atlantis’ Puerto Galera and Dumaguete resorts allowed me to really explore the diversity of marine life they have to offer. Starting in Galera, I was a bit hesitant to take the macro lens out right away, worried I might get bored with it if I started too early in the trip. So I opted first to shoot some awesome reefscapes at the local sites. The highlight here was visiting Verde Island. It was unlike any other dive I have done to date. I’d heard stories, but always felt they were like most fish stories – a little exaggerated. Diving there was like being in a rainstorm of endless reef fish. Just 360 degrees of small colorful fish everywhere you looked. There were so many that at times it was difficult to see the other divers just a few feet away through the fish. It was incredible.
Once I arrived at the black sands of Dumaguete, I quickly found myself feeling like I was exploring a new planet. The amount of incredibly weird and beautiful creatures living along those sands is jaw-dropping. Every day, we were discovering new little creatures to photograph and witnessing interesting behaviors. The ocean nerd in me was in hyperdrive, trying to learn everything I could from their experienced guides as well as spending nights diving down rabbitholes on Google search about the crazy creatures and wild behaviors of the day. One moment we’re watching a wunderpus crawl along the bottom searching for snacks, when out of nowhere a second wunderpuss jumps onto the scene. A battle of tentacles and flashing colors erupts before our eyes. Two seconds later, we’re looking at a juvenile painted frogfish that is half the size of a pea. The diving here is unreal.
In just a few short days, I had ticked off more of a macro lover’s bucket list than I could imagine a lifetime of travel elsewhere would. It was mindblowing. Halfway into the first day, I completely forgot about wide angle or that I even promised Atlantis I’d grab some cool wide-angle shots of their coral restoration trees. By the end of the trip, I didn’t even want to give up a macro dive to shoot wide-angle conservation shots. For those who know my love for conservation storytelling, you can imagine how big of a deal this was for me! I was honestly blown away. I would have never expected a big animal lover like myself to become so interested in macro life, let alone muck diving.
Discovering the Heart of Atlantis
However, what makes Atlantis so special isn’t just having all this remarkable marine life on its doorstep. It’s the incredibly warm and passionate people who genuinely make you feel like you are staying with family. I wish I could give a one-by-one shout-out to each and every one of them in this article, but it would quickly turn into a full-length novel. Since I was there to photograph the resorts, I got to see behind the curtain and interact with their teams on a level most guests probably won’t get to see. It was beautiful to recognize how much they all genuinely love what they do. From the intricate details the chefs pour into every delicious meal, to the love the servers and resort staff have for seeing their guests smile, or the passion and knowledge their guides have for taking you to explore their waters. It all comes together to create this really unique experience that I won’t soon forget. To the point, this isn’t a paid-for article or some fluff piece by a travel journalist. I actually asked Atlantis if I could write a blog for them about my time there, because I was that impressed. So if you love the big stuff and are on the fence, I’d definitely recommend taking some time to appreciate the small things with Atlantis.
Author bio:
Jay Clue is an award-winning commercial photographer, educator, and conservationist whose work has appeared in Discovery, National Geographic, Time Magazine and numerous other publications. To learn more about Jay, visit www.jayclue.com.
