Weiwei Zeng
China
Weiwei specialises in underwater photography in southeast Asia. She has been diving for more than 10 years and is fascinated by the incredible variety of underwater critters, especially macro and super macro critters.
Weiwei Zeng's Image
Diving off the remote island of Romblon, eagle-eyed Weiwei spotted two tiny shrimp, each just five millimetres long. Blending in with the stony colours of a large, round brain coral, so-called because of its appearance, the shrimp travelled along the tight passages of their home. Fighting to keep still against the current, Weiwei framed the shrimp in single file.
These shrimp depend on coral for shelter, sometimes hooking soft coral tissue with their legs and drawing it over their backs like curtains. Yet their fragile dwelling is now threatened. Overfishing can damage the coral habitat by depleting the species that help maintain it, and climate change warms seas, causing coral to bleach from heat stress.
Behind the lens
Image details
- Canon EOS 5DS
- 100mm f2.8 lens
- 1/200 sec at f25 • ISO 100 • Nauticam housing • INON Z-240 strobe
- Romblon, Mimaropa, Philippines
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