Photographer of the Week – Valerie Cornet

A well-camouflaged orangutan crab friends out from its anemone residence, Raja Ampat, Indonesia

 

This week’s Photographer of the Week is Valerie Cornet, a marine scientist, conservation photographer, and underwater naturalist whose work explores the intersection between science and visible storytelling. Not solely is Valerie gifted with a digicam, however she holds a PhD in marine biology centered on coral bleaching and reef resilience, the place her analysis investigates how environmental circumstances affect coral sensitivity to rising ocean temperatures.

Alongside her scientific profession, Valerie makes use of pictures as a device to speak the sweetness and vulnerability of the ocean. Her photographs concentrate on species and ecosystems which might be typically beneath stress. From whale sharks and manta rays to intricate reef ecosystems, her work goals to spotlight each the biodiversity of the oceans and the pressing want to guard them.

Having spent years working and diving throughout the Indo-Pacific, Valerie approaches underwater pictures with the curiosity of a researcher and the endurance of a naturalist. She is especially drawn to documenting animal conduct and the human tales behind marine conservation efforts.

When she’s not underwater with a digicam, Valerie works on the intersection of marine science, knowledge evaluation, and conservation outreach, persevering with to discover new methods to attach folks with the ocean and encourage its safety.

 

Sand tiger sharks, surrounded by baitfish, hand around in an underwater cavern, Australia

 

A trio of mantas circle overhead, Palau, Micronesia

 

A nurse shark seems tired of its companion, Maldives

 

A pair of psychedelically-colored mandarinfish put together to spawn, Palau, Micronesia

 

Eye to eye with a small model of the most important fish within the sea, the whale shark, Thailand

 

A inexperienced turtle heads in the direction of the floor to breathe, Thailand

 

A manta passes by, partially obscured by a cloud of fish, Palau, Micronesia

 

A squadron of eagle rays move overhead close to Wolf Island, Galápagos, Ecuador

 

A younger whale shark with an entourage of remoras, Thailand

 

A duality of Mola mola cruise by deep water, Galápagos, Ecuador

 

A fowl’s-eye view of a manta ray cruising over a reef, Palau, Micronesia

 

To see extra of Valerie’s underwater work, please give her a comply with on Instagram.