A beautiful Port Jackson shark nestled into the reef keeping a close eye on me at Wynyard Tasmania. Taken with canon g7xii in wd-dc55 housing

A toothbrush leather jacket curiously checking out the reef. These leather jackets are aptly named for the bristles either side of the fish resembling a toothbrush

A sparsely spotted stingaree I found at boat harbour Tasmania. These small rays are common here and always inquisitive! I love spending time floating around with these stingaree and watching what they get up to!

This lionfish was resting at the brim of Seventh heaven Thila's reef. Located in the South Ari Atoll of the Maldives, it usually features strong currents and so lionfish sometimes perch between the rocks and corals to hide from the current.

grouper

Peek-a-boo. Grundy's Reef on Little Cayman Island. Olympus EM-5.

Fishportret taken in the 'Grevelingenmeer' in the Netherlands.

Parablennius pilicornis (variable blenny) peeping out of its hole. (f/8, 1/100, ISO-100, 50mm, UCL-165). - Erik

Sea squirt taken in the Oosterschelde in the Netherlands. You see a lot in these waters here.

Hippocampus guttulatus (long-snouted seahorse) at Torredembarra. (f/8, 1/80, ISO-200, 42mm). - Els

Taken in 'Zeeland' in the Netherlands.

Small fish in the green waters of the Netherlands.
Shortlisted!

Necora puber (velvet crab). In the North Sea most creatures try to blend in with their environment rather than stand out. I guess investing in bright colours is less rewarding in environments with lower visibility. (f/5, 1/250, ISO-200, 14mm). - Els

Hippocampus hippocampus (short-snouted seahorse). The visibility in the estuary of the river Scheldt ranges from 0 to max. 6 meters. Finding beautiful creatures like this makes it rewarding. (f/8, 1/80, ISO-250, 50mm). - Erik

Calico portraits are my favorite and as a relatively skittish fish I had been trying for so long to get one in a faceoff with my camera!

Gobius geniporus (slender goby) at the Medes islands. (f/8, 1/100, ISO-100, 50mm). - Erik

Calcinus tubularis (hermit crab) hiding in a small hole at the Medes Islands, Spain. (f/8, 1/100, ISO-100, 50mm, UCL-165). - Erik

Riverdiving in Switzerland. River Verzasca.

Marble mine in Belgium.

Cratena peregrina laying eggs at the Medes islands, Spain. (f/32, 1/160, ISO-100, 30mm, UCL-165 wet lens). - Erik
Shortlisted!

A pike in a lake in the Netherlands. In summer we can spot a lot of pikes. I still like that fish.

Seasquirts (Ascidiacea) in the 'Veerse Meer' in the Netherlands. Not the most impressive animals, but sometimes they are nice to take pictures of.

Pterois volitans (common lionfish) in action at Hurghada, Egypt the last week of October '21. (f/8, 1/30, ISO-200, 14mm). - Els

My favorite type of photographing under water is wide angle with model(s). This time we found a ball under water and that ball was not floating and not really heavy. Exactly fitting for some fun under water. It ended in trying to play volleyball.

Palaemon serratus (common prawn) seeking refuge in an empty oyster in the Scheldt estuary. Torch pointed from the left on the light background behind the oyster, leaving the prawn a bit in the shadow; no strobe. (f/4, 1/60, ISO-125, 16mm) - Erik

The famous bridge, ponte dei Salti above the Verzasca river in Lavertezzo in Switzerland. Sadly we had not the viz as it could be and a lot of current.
Shortlisted!

Small fireworks to end the year : Metridium senile (frilled anemone) at Scapa Flow, Orkney islands, Scotland. (f/5.6, 1/80, ISO-250, 42mm, no flash only strobe). Best wishes for 2023 to everyone ! - Erik & Els