A pair of colorful Cratena nudibranchs feeding on hydroids of the genus Eudendrium. Photo taken at the dive site La Formica (Casteldaccia_Sicily)_July 2023
(Canon100,1/200,f20,iso200)
Shortlisted!

Flabellina affinis_July2023
(Canon100,1/200,f20,iso200)

Flabellina affinis_July 2023
(Canon 100,1/200,f20,iso200)

Flabellina affinis. Although I photographed hundreds of them, it is always one of my favourites. She was struggling to hold on to her twig without being swept away by current. A pleasant underwater encounter!_July 2023
(Canon100,1/200,f18,i.200).

I almost always use 100 mm focal. Challenging especially at the beginning but surprising for the sharpness, the mass of colors & the gradualness with which it fades into blur, as for this Cratena of Mediterranean sea.
(Canon100,1/200,f18,iso200)

Beautiful eyes of Mediterranean Hermit crab_2023
(Canon60,1/200,f18,iso200)

Felimare tricolor are quite common in the Mediterranean Sea but difficult to photograph due to their small size. I like the contrast between strong yellow & electric blue that distinguishes this species of nudis_2023
(Canon100,1/200,f16,iso200)

Mediterranean Cratena Peregrina with typical intense orange colored cerata & blue tips_June 2023
(Canon100, 1/200,f18,iso200)

Small pilgrim Cratena found underwater in Cala Incina-Monopoli (BA)-Italy

A small,colorful, elegant & sinuous Cratena, tenaciously clinging to a rock, comes towards me resisting the current. I enjoy photographing it looking for the contrast with the intense red of the sponge behind it _2023
(Canon100,1/200,f20,i.200)

Mediterranean Cratena. With its colorful shades, it looks like the creation of a talented painter_2023
(Canon60,1/200,f20,iso200)

Close up photo of an Hermit Crab ( Dardanus arrosor) in its typical protective shell,taken a few meters deep in the Tyrrhenian Sea near Palermo_ June 2023 (Canon60,1/200,f16,iso200)

Cratena nudibranchs, fascinating creatures of Mediterranean sea .This is taken at La Formica dive site, in Sicily_August 2022.
(Canon100, 1/250,f18,iso200)

A blenny looks out of its burrow suspiciously. Note the fleshy branching appendages (named cirri) found above their eyes and nostrils. The biological role of cirri remains unclear but make them very nice!
(Canon60, 1/200,f18,iso200)

I took this photo one second before this Cratena nudibranch disappeared into the sea grass. I often enjoy waiting for them to emerge from some bush to photograph their big orange eyes!
(Canon100,1/200,f20,iso400)

That day the visibility was terrible, a meter or less .. at the end of the dive our guide pointed out these two Chromodoris trimarginata ,two white flames that emerge from fog ! Beautiful, colored with their red spots.
(Canon100,1/250,f20,iso200)

Flabellina of Mediterranean sea_2022
(Canon100,1/250,f22,iso400)

Flabellina affinis_2022
(Canon100,1/250,f22,iso400)

The underwater world becomes ever more fascinating when you learn to dive slowly, look closely and appreciate the little things like this beautiful Cratena nudibranch , photographed in the Sicilian sea, in 2022.
(Canon 100, 1/200,f20,iso100)

Mediterranean moray_Casteldaccia_Sicily-2021
(Canon60,1/125,f7.1,iso200)

A slow moving Cratena nudibranch,an ideal subject for photographs along with the bright, contrasting colours_Sicily-2022
(Canon100,1/200,f20,iso100)

Photographers love nudis because although they can be small, are slow moving, sometimes stationary which makes them ideal subjects along with the bright, contrasting colours. This is Flabellina of Mediterranean sea_2022
(Canon100,1/250,f20,iso400)

As you can see in this shot, C. peregrina orients head-first, with the head being the end with two orange horns, two white tusks, and two orange eye patches in between_La Formica_2022
(Canon100,1/200,f20,iso100)

The incredible evolution of nudibranchs always surprise me! I would stop and watch them for a long time to photograph them in the right position.. This is the iconic Cratena_La Formica dive site of Casteldaccia_Italy_2022
(Canon100,1/250,f22,iso400)

So much life, so many colors are hidden in the Mediterranean Sea. This is a specimen of Cratena peregrina nudibranch photographed at La Formica dive site,in 2022.
(Canon100,1/200,f20,iso400)

Intensely colorful Cratena nudibranch_2022
(Canon100,1/200,f20,iso250)

Iconic Cratena nudibranch of Mediterranean Sea_2022
(Canon100,1/200,f20,iso400)