Matt Bagley, Ocean Chameleons (ANIMAL 2023)

Ocean Chameleons I am unsure about this dive. The water was teaming with life as the sun set below the horizon. We watch a pod of dolphins swim past and the flash of unknown white water splashes as something tears up the ocean surface. Knowing thousands of cuttlefish are congregating under the waters, we had to experience them in the black of the night. As the torch beams hit the ocean floor, everything lit up. Surging with colour, these ocean chameleons flashed with blues, purples and greens as they attempted to mimic their surroundings and impress their potential mates. Seeing is believing. Watching this Cephalopoda (Cuttlefish) change shape, texture and colour in front of my very eyes, it's mesmerising. This form looking back at me is something I have never seen, so different from what it was only seconds before. Colour-changing, shape-shifting wonders. All are shot on a single-breath dive with natural light and a hand-held dive torch. Whyalla, South Australia, Australia

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