Now for a real #tbt post, here’s a throwback to one of the first underwater photos I ever took, at the Cedar Pride shipwreck in the Red Sea!

I had just invested in a pair of strobes prior to this trip in 2019, and, though I had watched a lot of online videos on strobe placement theory, these dives marked my first time actually using strobes and attempting to figure out how they worked. Needless to say, I’ve thrown out the majority of my photos from that trip, but this remains one of the few that wasn’t horrendous 😅
I still use my trusty Inon Z330s today!

The mamushi is one of the most venomous snakes in Japan! Due to its common distribution, mamushis are responsible for 2000-3000 snake bites every year in Japan, though only about 10 are lethal.

I found this beauty resting on a bridge while I was out hiking in a forest, looking for new insects to photograph. Remember to hike with sturdy boots and full length clothing and to be on the lookout to reduce your risk of accidental attacks!

#mamushi #snake #snakes #herpetology #herping #herpphotography #snakephotography #pitviper

A few more snaps of one of my faaaaavorite big fishies 🥰

Every year I’ve dove with these goliath groupers has given me different interactions and photo opportunities, and I love how there’s always new compositions to work with and ways to improve on my old shots. It’s part of what keeps me coming back every year!

Shot diving with @jupiterdive

#goliathgrouper #goliathgroupers #florida #floridadiving #jupiterdivecenter #jupiterdiving #myocean #paditv #nauticam

Welp I've definitely been slacking on the milky way photography trips this year, with too many other things getting in the way 🥲

Think I have time to sneak in one more milk-chasing trip before the season ends? 🤔

While I ponder that, here's an old blue hour blend from the eastern sierras, home of the brightest night skies I've seen in the US!

#milkywaychasers #milkywayphotography #landscapephotography #nightscapes #nightscapephotography #milkywaygalaxy #milkywayshooters

These little loggerhead turtle hatchlings have a long journey ahead of them! They’ve just entered the ocean for the first time, and they may drift to feeding grounds over 3000 miles away. It’s estimated that only 1 out of every 1000 will survive to reach adulthood, and we unfortunately saw quite a few hatchlings get picked out of the water by seagulls 😢

Unfortunately the poor visibility on this day left a lot to be desired photography-wise, but it was still an amazing experience to witness the beginning of this journey for these turtles. If I get the chance to see this again someday hopefully I’ll capture it better!

#turtle #loggerhead #loggerheadturtle #seaturtle #turtlehatchling #turtlehatchlings #discoverocean

Is that fish in your pocket or are you happy to see me? 🐟

My first time meeting the famous, ultra-friendly, always-smiling @snooty_the_lemon_shark!

#lemonshark #snooty #shark #sharks #sharkphotography #sharkphoto #sharkdiving #savethesharks

This year's goliath grouper season was definitely one for the books! Last week, we got some of the craziest baitfish action that I've ever seen, and these ended up being some of my favorite goliath dives that I've done over the past 4 years!

South Florida is like a second home to me, and I can't believe it's actually been a whole year since I've done a dive trip to the area 😱
It was so great to catch up with friends and meet new people - I hope to be back much sooner!

Photos taken diving with @jupiterdive

#tbt to this sperm whale mother and her calf cruising by 🏄🏻‍♀️

Notice how the mother here is swimming upside-down, which actually gives her a better view of the scene above her…such as us snorkelers!

Photo taken under permit

#spermwhale #spermwhales #whale #whales #whalephotography #cetacean #wildlife #wildlifephotography #paditv #discoverocean #animalphotography #animalphoto #snorkel #snorkeling #yourshotphotographer #bbcwildlifepotd

The Japanese giant salamander is one of the largest salamander species in the world, growing up to 5ft long! Unlike other pond-breeding salamanders, they do not migrate to land after losing their larval gills; they remain aquatic, raising their heads to the surface when they need to breathe. They can also absorb oxygen through their skin!

#giantsalamander #japan #japanesegiantsalamander #salamander #wildlife #animalphotography #yourshotphotographer #wildlifephotography #nauticam

Throwback to one of my favorite photography playgrounds in the world! Exploring the stunning remains of a former mining town in Namibia, abandoned when richer diamond fields were discovered to its south.  Luckily, much of its infrastructure is still left sanding. 😉

#namibia #ghosttown #abandonedplaces #abandoned #ghosttowns #africa #travel #traveling #infrastructure #buildingphotography #kolmanskop #sand #desert #miningtown

Final approach ✈️ 

There are more bald eagles in Alaska than in all the other states combined! They thrive in Alaska due to abundant food, plentiful habitat, and sparse human population. Throwback to fun times in Alaska in 2021 🦅

#eagle #eagles #baldeagle #baldeagles #alaska #birdphotography #wildlifeplane #birdwatching #wildlifephotographer #alaskaadventure #alaskalife

Hidden in plain light 💡 

I usually don’t like to shoot wildlife in bright sunny conditions, but sometimes you gotta work with what you get!  When we took a little day excursion to a puffin colony, I looked for opportunities to use the harsh midday sun and shadows to my advantage to photograph puffins in a dark key style. Luckily this one stayed in the right spot for long enough to get a shot!

#wildlife #puffins #puffin #puffinsofinstagram #wildlifephotography #wildlifeplanet #yourshotphotographer #scotland #birdphotography #birds #birdsimages

Keep your friends close but your anemonies closer 🤙

Fun fact: clownfish are "protandrous sequential hermaphrodites", which means that they are all born male but can develop into females.  Groups of clownfish are composed of one female with multiple males, but only the largest male breeds with the female.  When the female dies, the breeding male turns into the sole female, and the largest non-breeding male becomes the breeding male. 

It is thought that non-breeding males regulate their own size in order not to compete with the breeding male and risk getting evicted from the group.  The breeding female, on the other hand, is aggressive and maintains dominance, which prevents other males from becoming female and ensures no competition for mates.

One hypothesis for purpose behind this hierarchy is that, because the number of eggs a female produces depends on age, having only the largest (which is normally also the oldest) fish become female ensures the greatest chance of successful offspring.

#clownfish #anemonefish #nemo #paditv #nature #naturephotography #macro #macrophotography #underwaterphotography #redsea #egypt #scubaphotography #bbcwildlifepotd #yourshotphotographer

While I was on my way to do sunset photography, I was looking at the storms around this butte, and I thought, "Wouldn't it be dope if a rainbow showed up?" Lo and behold...one did!!

I jumped out of the car and sent up my drone to try to get a photo before it faded.  It didn't last as long as I hoped it would, but I'm glad I got one shot out of it! 🌈 

#dronephotography #drone #dronelife #rainbow #landscapephotography #utahlife #utahlandscape #aerialphotography #dji

A close pass by a large basking shark, about 23ft / 7m in length! Unfortunately this was the only basking shark we saw all week during our trip, and this was the only usable photo I managed to get out of the encounter, but that's nature for ya - at least we got to see one! 😅

Due to their once-abundant numbers and slow swimming speed, basking sharks were a staple catch for commercial fisheries around the world. It was only in 2008 that it became illegal to fish for them in the waters of the EU, and there are still legal fisheries elsewhere. Climate change and changing ocean currents have also affected the migration patterns of these sharks.

#shark #sharks #baskingshark #baskingsharks #savethesharks #sharksdaily #discoverocean #scotland #baskingsharkscotland

Throwback to one of the first (successful) blackwater photos I ever took, of one of the critters that initially sparked my love for blackwater photography - the sharpear enope squid! 🥰

I still have yet to run into one of these beauties again since this dive 3 years ago, but I hope to see one again soon!

Found on a blackwater dive off the coast of West Palm Beach, Florida

#photography #nature #naturephoto #naturephotography #squid #blackwater #blackwaterdive #blackwaterdiving #palmbeach #florida #scuba #scubadive #scubadiving #blackwaterphotography #underwaterphoto #underwaterphotography #marinelife #animal #animals #animalphoto #animalphotography #yourshotphotographer

Coming in hottt 🚀

A female orca stranding on a beach in Argentinian Patagonia.  Much like humans, different clans of orcas around the world speak different languages and have different cultures and traditions. This Patagonian clan of orcas has developed the unique tradition of stranding themselves on beaches to hunt sea lion pups, a technique that they pass down from generation to generation!

#patagonia #argentina #orca #orcas #orcawhale #sealions #discoverocean #yourshotphotographer #wildlifephotography #wildlifeplanet #bbcwildlifepotd #nature

As this grey seal demonstrates, sometimes it’s good to have a buddy to look up to 🙏😊

Though their Latin name translates to “hook-nosed sea pig”, grey seals are one of the cutest inhabitants of British waters!

#seal #seals #sealdiving #sealdive #greyseal #ukdiving #discoverocean #ukwildlife #uknature #ukphotography #yourshotphotographer #bbcwildlifepotd

Some silhouettes from Wolf Island in the Galapagos 👥

It's been a crazy El Niño year in the Galapagos, with water temps staying over 80F/26.7C at Wolf and Darwin islands, even at depth! 😱

Unfortunately, much of the life in the Galapagos depends on nutrients from the Humboldt Current, which does not reach the islands during the El Niño phenomenon. As a result, many animals will have a difficult time finding food or breeding, and it can take several years for animal populations to recover after a particularly bad El Niño. We were lucky to still get to see a wide variety of marine life on our dives while enjoying more comfortable water temperatures than expected, but, for the sake do the wildlife, let's hope the water cools down again soon!

#galapagos #scubaphoto #scubaphotography #galapagosislands #galapagosdiving #hammerheads #hammerheadshark #sharks #sharkdiving #yourshotphotographer #bbcwildlifepotd #sharkweek #paditv

#tfw you know it’s almost the weekend! 🤪

Galapagos land iguanas are also endemic to the Galapagos Islands, and they vary in morphology and in color between populations. Though they were described as Charles Darwin himself as being “ugly animals” with a “singularly stupid appearance”, they can still make great photography subjects!

#galapagos #galapagoslandiguana #landiguana #iguana #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #yourshotphotographer #galapagosislands

Fireflies, or "hotaru", are revered in Japan, where their lights are thought to hold the souls of fallen soldiers. At night during the mating season, hundreds of fireflies will flash together in a synchronous display, forming a glittering carpet over the forest floor. It's a stunning sight! Though there are about 2000 species of fireflies worldwide, only a handful of them synchronize their light patterns.

#japan #hotaru #fireflies #firefly #synchronousfireflies #reallyrightstuff #japantravel #japanphotography #naturephotography #naturephoto #travelphotography #beautifulearth #earthcapture #yourshotphotographer

Blue-footed boobies are also endemic to the Galapagos, and they get their signature blue foot color from pigments in the fish that they eat! This male booby here (on the left) is trying to impress the female on the right with a courtship dance, in which he flaunts how blue his feet are 🥿

The juvenile doesn’t seem to belong to them - in fact, they kept trying to get it to leave! 🙅🏻‍♀️

#bluefootedbooby #bluefootedboobies #galapagos #galapagoswildlife #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #birdphotography #birdlovers #yourshotphotographer #nikonusa

The marine iguana is the only lizard in the world that is able to live and forage at sea. They are endemic to the Galapagos, and there are 11 subspecies spread throughout the islands. They can dive more than 65ft underwater! 🤿

Though the visibility was less than ideal for photography, swimming with these little godzillas was so much fun that this ended up being my favorite dive of the trip!

#galapagos #galapagosislands #marineiguana #marineiguanas #iguanas #reptilesofinstagram #reptile #uwphotography  #nauticam #yourshotphotographer #bbcwildlifepotd

Every night tells a starry… ✨ 

Summertime nights in the Utah desert really are something 😍

#milkyway #milkywaychasers #milkywayphotography #landscapephotography #landscapephoto #milkywaygalaxy #nightscape

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble… 🫧🧙‍♀️

Like many other diving birds, gannets have tiny air sacs under their skin which both act like an airbag, protecting them from the impact of the water, and help them easily float back up to the surface!

#gannet #northerngannet #northerngannets #shetland #scotland #shetlandphotography #naturephotography #nauticam #nikoneurope #nikonusa #yourshotphotographer

Lil lemon shark pup cruising through red mangrove roots 🥹

Because they grow in soft muddy environments, red mangroves have spider-like “prop roots” that hold up the tree. These special roots also filter salt out of seawater to nourish the tree, and they have openings to let the tree breathe air!

I love the way they form web-like formations with their roots, and it’s even more exciting when a lil sharky swims through 🦈 

#mangrove #mangroves #redmangrove #lemonshark #babyshark #sharkpup #sharks #sharksdaily #bahamas #yourshotphotographer #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #nauticam

A leatherback sea turtle nesting under the full moon. Always such a treat to get to see these beauties!

Unfortunately, the biggest threat to leatherback turtles actually occur on nesting beaches. Development projects have reduced the areas where they can nest, and animals and humans often destroy their nests. Though many eggs are laid every year, very few actually make it to adulthood.

Image taken under permit

#leatherback #leatherbackturtle #seaturtle #turtles #seaturtles #wildlifephotography #wildlifeplanet #animalphotography #animalphotos #yourshotphotographer #bbcwildlifepotd

Maybe she was born with it, maybe it's seaweed... 💋

It was such a blast to play with these adorable chonks! My favorite part was watching them play in seaweed when they’d come over to observe what I was up to 👀 

The green water conditions were not the easiest to photograph in, and I certainly have a lot to improve on next time, but these dives were so much fun and I already can’t wait to go seal diving again!

#greyseal #greyseals #sealsofinstagram #seals #lundyisland #ukdiving #britishdiving #yourshotphotographer

Sunrises and sunsets with the lil sharky babies 🥰

#bahamas #lemonshark #lemonsharks #sharkpup #babyshark #underwaterphotography

Dawn but not forgotten 🔥 

These beautiful sandstone monoliths started forming back in the Jurassic period as part of the largest sand sea in earth’s history!

#sunrise #hike #hiking #outdoors #adventure #nature #utah #travel #explore #experience #hikingadventures #hikingtheglobe #hikingbangers #beautifulplaces #nationalparkgeek #capitolreefnationalpark #nationalparks #nationalparkservice

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Hi I'm Kat Zhou, and I'm a professional trip planner and underwater, landscape, and wildlife photographer.  Check meowt! 🐱

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