Photographer of the Week – Daan Kleinbussink

The unbelievable face and beard of the shortnose batfish, a uncommon sight alongside the coast of Bonaire

 

Daan Kleinbussink is a Dutch underwater photographer based mostly in “Diver’s Paradise”—the attractive island of Bonaire within the Dutch Caribbean. Over 15 years in the past, he started diving on Aruba and was immediately hooked. In no time, he turned a divemaster, and never lengthy after that, a dive teacher. Just a few years and roughly 3,000 dives later, he picked up an underwater digicam for the primary time. You might say he was a bit late to the celebration—however from that second on, each dive turned centered round pictures!

Like many an underwater photographer, Daan started with a compact Olympus TG-5 and shortly thereafter upgraded to a Nikon D500. After a number of years ripping round with the D500, he most not too long ago moved to a Nikon Z6III. In 2022, he entered a photograph competitors organized by Duiken journal—the biggest diving publication within the Netherlands and Belgium. Following the competitors, the journal’s Chief Editor approached him, and for over three years now, he has been writing a month-to-month column titled Photoschool, wherein he shares the data and abilities he has picked up through the years. In addition to the column, he additionally contributes journey articles to the journal.

Daan describes his photographic type as easy and easy. He goals to showcase the fantastic thing about the underwater world in an trustworthy and genuine manner. This can be why he has a selected fondness for ambient gentle pictures. For him, it’s about capturing marine life in a respectful method—whereas additionally, when attainable, highlighting components of the animal’s pure atmosphere.

 

An enormous faculty of scad swarms over a shallow reef, Bonaire

 

A college of spadefish hang around simply off the facet of the SS Thistlegorm, Egypt

 

Straight down the barrel of a Red Sea anemonefish, Egypt

 

An expertly camouflaged crinoid shrimp hides within the recesses of its host, Indonesia

 

A diver inspects one of many well-known motorbikes on the wreck of the SS Thistlegorm, Egypt

 

A porcelain crab shelters in its stingy anemone house, Indonesia

 

An itty bitty Bargibanti pygmy seahorse, Halmahera, Indonesia

 

A supremely well-camouflaged Denise’s pygmy seahorse, Halmahera, Indonesia

 

Anthias swarm round a coral outcrop in Ras Muhammad National Park, Egypt

 

A stupendous nudibranch with a flashy yellow skirt scoots alongside the underside, Indonesia

 

An extremely uncommon sighting round a lot of the Caribbean, a striated frogfish lit moodily, Bonaire

 

A cut up shot of Curaçao’s most well-known wreck, the Tugboat, Curaçao

 

To see extra of Dan’s underwater work from Bonaire to the Red Sea, and locations in between, please give him a observe on Instagram.