By Mark Coles Header Photo by Mark Coles. Location – Koala, Anilao, Batangas, Philippines Photo Details – Nikon D7200, 105mm, ISO160, F14, 1/250, no strobe, snoot lighting Subject – Thecacera Picta, Painted thecacera doridina suborder of nudibranch. Generaly spongivores but some can be cannibalistic. Used a snoot (narrow focussed beam of light) with no strobes to light the nudibranch, leading to a dramatic effect.
Forty-year-old Mark Coles is a Finance Leader focused on asset management for the UK Electricity Transmission Network and is based near Warwick, England. His passion? Underwater photography. “It’s a way to escape the pressure of day to day work life,” he explained.
Coles’ first exposure to diving was on a Discover Scuba experience in 1998 during a Caribbean cruise ship vacation with his family. He was hooked. He got open-water certified in Grand Cayman that same year and continued with his training while making dive trips around the world. He is currently a PADI Master Scuba Diver. InDepth caught up with Coles during a recent liveaboard trip to Papua New Guinea.
Coles began making underwater photos in Hawaii with his iPhone eight years ago. Then in 2016 in between dive trips from Raja Ampat to Cairns, AUS, he made an “impulse” buy and sprang for a Nikon D7200 SLR and Nauticam housing. He’s been slowly building his system ever since and found himself focusing on macro-photography. According to Coles, “When I have my camera underwater and find a subject to focus on, everything else in my mind fades away; all that exists is the subject and my camera. I find it peaceful,” he said.
Below you can see a selection of Coles’ macros. You can find more of his photos here.