REPLAY: Marine Biology Crash-Course for Underwater Photographers, with Vincent Chalias
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Have you ever surfaced from a dive, only to realise you missed a perfect shot, or maybe the most fascinating behavior was happening just out of view? With the endless diversity of marine life on a healthy coral reef, it’s easy to feel a bit lost among the incredible photographic possibilities.
But what if you could go down knowing exactly where to look for the most captivating interactions and photogenic species? By understanding how different fish and invertebrates interact with corals, sponges, and algae—and where they like to feed or shelter—you can start to spot photo opportunities that others might swim right past.
That’s why we’ve invited Vincent Chalias as our guest speaker. With over 25 years of experience studying and restoring coral reefs, Vincent brings invaluable insights to help you better read the reef and find those elusive, awe-inspiring shots.
Meet your speaker
Vincent Chalias has been diving on Indonesian reefs for over 25 years. In 2000, he launched the first commercial coral farms in Indonesia, producing over a million corals throughout his career as a coral farmer. Since then, he has dedicated his life to coral reefs.
In 2016, he founded Ocean Gardener, a charity focused on educating people about coral reefs and training them in conservation and restoration. To date, Ocean Gardener has planted over 200,000 corals across Indonesia and is involved in numerous restoration projects throughout the region.
Vincent’s expertise isn’t limited to Indonesia—he has also led coral reef restoration projects in Australia and Saudi Arabia. As a seasoned educator, he runs multiple Coral Reef Restoration Courses throughout the yearand has authored numerous articles for dive and reef aquarium publications, often illustrated with his own underwater photographs.
To see more of Vincent’s work, visit oceangardener.org and check out his Instagram page.
Topics Covered
Participants enjoyed a 2-hour educational webinar, where Vincent shared critical knowledge which can help you make the most of your next tropical diving trip:
- Destination research
- Different types of symbiosis and examples of species.
- Establishing your “critters list”
- Understanding how to find your target critter, based on its behavior, biology and the local envrionment.
Each part of the presentation was illustrated with photographic examples from Vincent’s rich portfolio. Here are just a few of the gems he shared during the talk:
When to Spot Feeding & Predation Behavior: Certain times of the year actually make these moments more likely to photograph.
Cold Water Currents in the Tropics? Reasons why these sites are a must-visit for underwater image-makers.
Shawn the Sheep Nudibranch: Did you know it stores energy from algae and can use it to “sprint” at 10 cm/min?
Coral Spawning Events: Triggered by 2 factors: temperature and ambient light at night.
Macro Wins: A coral bommie full of glass fish while you’re with a macro lens? You’re actually in luck, there’s more than meet the eyes…
Safety-Stop Surprises: Discover photogenic, lesser-known subjects beyond the usual anemonefish.
As always, we concluded the webinar with a Q&A session.
What attendees said about the webinar
Participants had a great time! But don’t take our word for it, here are some of the comments typed in the meeting chat:
🔍 “Thank you for a great presentation! Will use the info I learned to look for new-to-me critters on my next trip.” – Ashley
📘 “Excellent presentation, thank you Vincent! Lots of great information to take away and apply to my next trip.” – Chris
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7 courses
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40 lessons
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16 hours of video
-
Private Club Forums
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Live Q&A Calls
-
Monthly webinar invitation
-
Replay all webinar recordings
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Member-only partner offers
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