Photographer of the Week – Marco Schulze

A spectacularly coloured paper nautilus drifts by the open ocean blackness, Anilao, Philippines

 

Hailing from Germany and primarily based in Berlin because the late Nineteen Nineties, Marco Schulze found his fascination with the ocean as a baby, watching Jacques Cousteau’s underwater adventures on TV—although an early viewing of Jaws left him (and numerous others) with a long-lasting worry of sharks.

In 2002, a shock reward of an Open Water Diver course modified the trajectory of his life. His first dives have been within the Mediterranean off the coast of Tunisia and shortly after a go to to Bali. That journey was a turning level and Marco was hooked on the underwater world. Every trip turned dedicated to diving. When it got here time to decide on a route—instructing, wrecks or tech—Marco’s curiosity had already been captured by the ocean’s strangest inhabitants. Underwater pictures turned his ardour, and his first digicam, an Olympus DSLR, opened a window into one other world.

From the start, Marco was drawn to cephalopods, crustaceans, and any and all bizarre and distinctive beings—ones that appear to have advanced on one other planet. In 2022, destiny intervened: His previous digicam broke and the wind was taken out of his sails. Faced with the selection to give up underwater pictures or begin over, he selected the latter. Now armed with an OM System OM-1, Marco’s artistic spark was reignited. In the years since, muck and blackwater diving have change into his favourite realms, with every night time dive feeling like a voyage right into a world so vastly totally different from our personal.

Marco’s signature type facilities on vivid colours and sharp contrasts in opposition to a black background—giving his “underwater superstars” the stage they deserve. In 2024, he determined for the primary time to publicly share his work, publishing his photos on-line and rapidly attracting an enthusiastic viewers drawn to their surreal, sci-fi magnificence. His pictures have since obtained a number of awards within the German-speaking world, in addition to an Honorable Mention in DPG Masters 2024.

A lifelong fan of fantasy and science fiction, Marco finds his completely happy place photographing creatures that seem like they’ve drifted in from one other dimension. His dream topic stays the elusive feminine blanket octopus. And as for that childhood shark phobia? It’s safely cured—although he nonetheless retains a respectful distance, simply in case!

 

An intimidating portrait of an enormous moray, looming out of the darkness, Red Sea, Egypt

 

A younger diamond squid raises its arms above its head in a defensive posture, Anilao, Philipipnes

 

A properly posed blue-ringed octopus with a disco background, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia

 

A spectacularly coloured diamond squid encountered on a blackwater dive, Anilao, Philippines

 

One of the world’s most sought-after macro topics, a weedy scorpionfish, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia

 

A surprising diamond squid strikes its traditional head down looking pose, Anilao, Philippines

 

A portrait of an aptly named big mantis shrimp, the world’s largest mantis species, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia

 

A typical seahorse, backlit with pink disco lights, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia

 

A large mantis shrimp, busy cleansing its burrow, exhibits of its raptorial claws, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia

 

One of blackwater diving’s most sought-after topics, a larval wonderpus, Anilao, Philippines

 

A traditional, if not frequent, blackwater sight, a feminine paper nautilus using a seagrass frond, Anilao, Philippines

 

One of essentially the most tough fish on the planet to {photograph}, the black morph big frogfish. They suck up gentle like a black gap. Anilao, Philippines

 

A strikingly patterned squid poses for the digicam, Anilao, Philippines

 

To see extra of Marco’s improbable macro work, please give him a comply with on Instagram.