I just got back from a diving and photography trip to the Red Sea, and as usual I’ll be sharing some of my images of the amazing reef life I encountered, and tried to photograph as best I can.

My first batch is of a selection of tridacnids, which I always like looking at. As ever, these are often hard to approach from above as they are super sensitive to approching divers and seem to be able to sense the moment my camera reaches focus lock, to withdraw their mantles.

See what I mean?

However, with some perseverance, I managed to snap away quite a few interesting examples.

Not all clams are very colorful, but some have a subtle beauty that is achieved without rich colors.

Clams in the Red Sea are very common, with some large coral colonies such as Porites nodifera able to hold a dozen or so small individuals.  As the corals inevitably fall apart, become overgrown, or suffer damage from storms, the clams often find themselves no longer embedded within a coral, often free of coral entirely and resting on substrate.

A very common sight: a young clam sits in a coral

This is quite a beauty!

I hope these have been of interest.