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Libby Sterling Photography

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Nature doesn't need a design brief. This coral tro

Nature doesn't need a design brief. This coral trout is swimming around with a pattern most designers would spend weeks trying to perfect — every spot with its own little red outline, no two placed quite the same.

No, the colours aren't edited. That's genuinely what they look like underwater (with strobes).

Honest question — did you know fish could look like this, or is this your first time seeing one this close up?

Every one of those spots has its own little red ring around it. I could look at this pattern all day.

Taken on Cracker Jack with @mikeballdive

📸 taken with a @canonanz EOS R, 100mm lens, in a @scubapixaustralia Nauticam housing, and two @backscattervideophoto strobes

#coraltrout #coralgrouper #scubadiving #uwphoto #canonphotography #ocean #uwphotography #photooftheday #underwaterpics #padipro #natgeoyourshot #libbysterlingphotography #sterlingimagery #instafish #girlsthatscuba #scubatravel #orcatorch #reeflife #greatbarrierreef

Meet the titan triggerfish — unofficially known

Meet the titan triggerfish — unofficially known as the most feared fish on the reef, and not without reason. These guys will absolutely charge a diver who gets too close to their nest, no hesitation.

This one, thankfully, was just going about its business and let me get close enough for this level of detail. Still kept one eye on me the whole time though — you can see it in that gaze.

Ever had a run-in with a triggerfish on a dive, or heard the horror stories before you'd even seen one? 😅

📸 taken with a @canonanz EOS R, 100mm lens, in a @scubapixaustralia Nauticam housing, and two @backscattervideophoto strobes

#titantriggerfish #scubadiving #uwphoto #canonphotography #ocean #uwphotography #photooftheday #underwaterpics #padipro #natgeoyourshot #libbysterlingphotography #sterlingimagery #instafish #girlsthatscuba #scubatravel #orcatorch #reeflife #greatbarrierreef

#greenturtle , coming up for air at Saxon Reef.

#greenturtle , coming up for air at Saxon Reef.

There's something almost weightless about how they move through the water — makes the whole dive feel calmer just watching them glide by.

Happy #turtletuesday! 🐢

What's your favourite marine animal to encounter on a dive?

#2017archive

#scubadiving #uwphoto #diving #photography #canonphotography #ocean #uwphotography #photooftheday #uwphotos #travel #underwaterpics #padipro #natgeoyourshot #libbysterlingphotography #sterlingimagery #instafish #girlsthatscuba #fotografiasubmarina #fotografia #scubatravel #orcatorch

📸 Taken with Canon G7X mkii in a Recsea housing, AOI wet lens and 2 @seaandseaimaging strobes (YS-03 mkii)
5w

Meet the guardians of the reef. 🐠 #hawkfish do

Meet the guardians of the reef. 🐠

#hawkfish don't dart around like most reef fish — they pick a perch and just sit, watching the world go by. Which makes them one of my favourite subjects to photograph; you actually get time to compose the shot instead of chasing something that's already gone.

Swipe through — same two little guardians, three different moments of them just... watching.

Do you have a favourite "watcher" species, one that always seems to be keeping an eye on things rather than darting about?

📸 taken with a Canon EOS R, 100mm lens, in a @scubapixaustralia Nauticam housing, and two @seaandseaimaging strobes

#hawkfish #scubadiving #uwphoto #canonphotography #ocean #uwphotography #photooftheday #underwaterpics #padipro #natgeoyourshot #libbysterlingphotography #sterlingimagery #instafish #girlsthatscuba #scubatravel #orcatorch #reeflife #macrophotography

This is a nudibranch — a sea slug, believe it or

This is a nudibranch — a sea slug, believe it or not — and they come in more colour combinations than you'd ever expect. This little one was barely bigger than my thumbnail.

If you didn't already know nudibranchs existed, welcome to one of the best-kept secrets of muck diving. 🐌💙

Ever seen one of these in person, or is this a first?

#nudibranch #nudibranchphotography

#scubadiving #uwphoto #canonphotography #ocean #divermag #uwphotography #photooftheday #uwphotos #underwaterpics #padipro #paditv #natgeoyourshot #libbysterlingphotography #sterlingimagery #instafish #girlsthatscuba #scubatravel #orcatorch

📸 taken with a Canon EOS R, 100mm lens, in a @scubapixaustralia Nauticam housing, MFO-1 and two @backscattervideophoto strobes

Took me a good while searching to spot this one — squat lobsters are absolute masters of blending into their host coral.

Thanks to my fabulous dive guide or I would have missed it!

Anilao is one of the best places I've dived for finding critters like this that most people swim straight past.

Can you spot exactly where it's tucked in before reading the tag? 👀

#squatlobster

#scubadiving #uwphoto #canonphotography #ocean #divermag #uwphotography #photooftheday #uwphotos #underwaterpics #padipro #paditv #natgeoyourshot #libbysterlingphotography #sterlingimagery #instafish #girlsthatscuba #scubatravel #orcatorch

📸 taken with a Canon EOS R, 100mm lens, in a @scubapixaustralia Nauticam housing, MFO-1 and two @backscattervideophoto strobes

This little guy was giving full attitude in Anilao

This little guy was giving full attitude in Anilao — all those spines and not an ounce of shy. 🐚

Hermit crabs get overlooked next to the flashier reef critters, but up close they're some of the most characterful subjects out there.

Anyone else have a soft spot for the "ugly cute" ones over the classic reef beauties?

#hermitcrab

#scubadiving #uwphoto #canonphotography #ocean #divermag #uwphotography #photooftheday #uwphotos #underwaterpics #padipro #paditv #natgeoyourshot #libbysterlingphotography #sterlingimagery #instafish #girlsthatscuba #scubatravel #orcatorch

📸 taken with a Canon EOS R, 100mm lens, in a @scubapixaustralia Nauticam housing, MFO-1 and two @backscattervideophoto strobes

"5 placements, 2 firsts, 4th overall — 2026 Naut

"5 placements, 2 firsts, 4th overall — 2026 Nautilus Scuba Club Photo Competition. 🐢🦐🦈

Every shot in this reel was taken on the Great Barrier Reef or in the Philippines in the last 2 years, no studio, no AI, just hours in the water waiting for the right moment.

Which category do you think was the toughest to place in — Behaviour, Wide Angle, or Black & White? Genuinely curious what people think looks hardest to capture.

Learning to make reels - #itsajourney

📸 Canon EOS R, Nauticam housing

#scubadiving #uwphoto #underwaterphotography #greatbarrierreef #ocean #uwphotography #photooftheday #padipro #natgeoyourshot #libbysterlingphotography #sterlingimagery #instafish #girlsthatscuba #scubatravel #orcatorch #nautilusscubaclub #photocompetition"

Learning to make reels - #itsajourney

📸 Canon EOS R, Nauticam housing

#yellowgoby One of my favorite fish! #yellowfish

#yellowgoby One of my favorite fish! #yellowfish

#scubadiving #uwphoto #canonphotography #ocean #divermag #uwphotography #photooftheday #uwphotos #underwaterpics #padipro #paditv #natgeoyourshot #libbysterlingphotography #sterlingimagery #instafish #girlsthatscuba #scubatravel #orcatorch

📸 taken with a Canon EOS R, 100mm lens, in a @scubapixaustralia Nauticam housing, MFO-1 and two @backscattervideophoto strobes

#leopardflounder #curiouseyes Dreaming of going

#leopardflounder #curiouseyes

Dreaming of going back to the Philippines again...

#scubadiving #uwphoto #canonphotography #ocean #divermag #uwphotography #photooftheday #uwphotos #underwaterpics #padipro #paditv #natgeoyourshot #libbysterlingphotography #sterlingimagery #instafish #girlsthatscuba #scubatravel #orcatorch

📸 taken with a Canon EOS R, 100mm lens, in a @scubapixaustralia Nauticam housing, and two @backscattervideophoto strobes