Ivana and Janez

Meet the Marvelous Brittle Stars: The Underwater Gymnasts of the Echinoderm Family!

by Ivana and Janez - 20th November 2024
Brittle stars belong to the class Ophiuroidea within the phylum Echinodermata, which also includes sea stars, sea urchins and sea…
Ivana and Janez

Galloping Through The Sea: The Fascinating Abalone

by Ivana and Janez - 24th October 2024
When you think of oceanic wonders, majestic dolphins or playful sea otters might come to mind. But let’s not overlook…
Franco and Sabrina

A Flock of Marine Birds

by Franco and Sabrina - 14th October 2024
Have you ever had a flock of marine birds as dive buddies? It's definitely an unusual situation. They pierce the water's…
Ivana and Janez

Porcelain Crabs: The Elegant Eccentrics of the Marine World

by Ivana and Janez - 25th September 2024
Ever heard of a crab that’s more about high fashion than high sea drama? Meet the porcelain crab, the ocean’s…
Ivana and Janez

Pretty birds from the Red Sea

by Ivana and Janez - 12th September 2024
I love all the different species of wrasse, and I thought I knew them well, but this one was a…
Alex

New Book: 52 Assignments Underwater Photography

by Alex - 6th September 2024
I am very excited to announce that I have a new book out on underwater photography. The book is called…
Ivana and Janez

The spiny devilfish

by Ivana and Janez - 14th August 2024
The spiny devilfish (Inimicus didactylus) is a venomous marine fish of the Synanceiidae family. This family also includes stonefish, which are considered some…
Mares

Competition – Win a trip to Colombia!

by Mares - 2nd August 2024
COLOMBIA: AN OASIS OF SUN AND SAND - COMPETITION Colombia has a privileged location and a climate that is increasingly…
Ivana and Janez

Madeirense Shipwreck – Porto Santo, Portugal

by Ivana and Janez - 19th July 2024
For me, volcanic islands have always seemed to hold special secrets, and nothing is different with Porto Santo, Portugal. It…
Ivana and Janez

A mysterious fleet at the bottom of Lake Ohrid

by Ivana and Janez - 20th May 2024
In North Macedonia, at the bottom of Lake Ohrid, there is a mysterious sunken fleet. The ships sank during World…
Alex

Exploring Raja Ampat

by Alex - 16th May 2024
I am fortunate to dive and travel widely while running underwater photography workshop trips. Everyone is always excited before these…
Kathryn

5 great reasons to go diving in Japan

by Kathryn - 9th May 2024
With its rich culture, stunning landscapes, and diverse underwater ecosystems, Japan offers an unparalleled diving experience that beckons adventurers from…
Andi

Life on the Cambodian edge – Koh Ach Seh, Cambodia

by Andi - 30th April 2024
Following a grueling four-hour drive from Phnom Penh, we arrived in Kep, Cambodia. Though exhausted after our journey from Hanoi,…
Alex

Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024

by Alex - 24th April 2024
One of the highlights of my year is chairing the judging panel and presenting the winners of the Underwater Photographer…
Andi

Shifting Baselines – Hong Kong, Sar

by Andi - 18th April 2024
The research team had warned us upfront about the perilous diving experience ahead. One not marked by surreal encounters with…
Ivana and Janez

Gobies – Small, cute and sneaky

by Ivana and Janez - 15th April 2024
There are more than 2000 species of gobies in one of the largest bony fish family, Gobiidae.  They can be found…
Andi

The Ripple Effect – Negros Oriental, Philippines

by Andi - 2nd April 2024
Another day, another mission. Waking to the sound of a gong made from old kitchenware, a diverse community of dedicated…
Kathryn

Diving in the Pacific: 7 Idyllic Islands for Scuba Divers

by Kathryn - 27th March 2024
Diving in the Pacific Islands is a bucket list vacation for many scuba divers and unsurprisingly so. Idyllic islands surrounded…
Andi

Our Encounter with the Ocean Tigers – Fiji

by Andi - 21st March 2024
As we descended into the dark and murky waters off the Fijian coast, the weight of anticipation settled in. Immediately…
Ivana and Janez

The master of camouflage – The prickly leather-jacket fish

by Ivana and Janez - 18th March 2024
When we saw the pictures that our photographer Janez Kranjc had taken, we joked that he had found a "hairy fish".…
Andi

Mares goes to the Edges of Earth to transform online discourse with ocean good news

by Andi - 14th March 2024
Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. And unfortunately, its general discourse has become harder to…
Nik

Apnea Under Ice – The Ultimate Challenge

by Nik - 29th February 2024
Diving under ice is a huge challenge both for the diver and their equipment. This is the third time I have organized…
Alex

Diving with Dragons

by Alex - 15th February 2024
The northern islands of Wolf and Darwin are the most famous dive spots in Galapagos, but the highlight of my…
Ivana and Janez

Deepspot – The deepest pool in Europe

by Ivana and Janez - 8th February 2024
They say Warsaw is the most beautiful in December, when the Christmas and New Year atmosphere engulfs it. We had the…
Alex

Galapagos – Diving Turned Up To 11

by Alex - 5th February 2024
Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands are an archipelago consisting of 13 main islands (five of which are inhabited), seven minor islands and…
Kathryn

6 of the best shark diving experiences for new divers

by Kathryn - 1st February 2024
For many scuba divers, going diving with sharks is a bucket-list experience and it can easily turn into a lifelong…
Ivana and Janez

Lightweight Kit for Video and Photography

by Ivana and Janez - 23rd January 2024
Most lovers of the underwater world like to share what they experience while diving. Even as a professional photographer, I…
Mares

Mares at the Boot Show 2024

by Mares - 20th January 2024
Mares will be at the Boot Show in Düsseldorf, Germany from the 20th - 28th January together with our friends at…
Franco and Sabrina

Leatherback sea turtles

by Franco and Sabrina - 18th January 2024
A leatherback turtle swimming gracefully through the open ocean is arguably one of the most majestic sights in the natural…
Alex

Travel to a Different World

by Alex - 11th January 2024
November 2023 saw me heading off on a real adventure, destined for one of the most amazing countries to visit…
Mares

The 10 most-read Mares blogs of 2023

by Mares - 28th December 2023
It's almost the end of 2023, and Mares would like to re-propose some of the most-read articles of the year from our blog...…
Alex

Blackwater in Anilao

by Alex - 26th December 2023
Anilao is a great muck diving destination, particularly famed for nudibranchs, frogfish, octopus and many more A-list critters. It is also…
Alex

Coral Connections – Awarded in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year

by Alex - 20th December 2023
I am enjoying a great run of success in the most prestigious nature photography contest of them all – the…
Marjan Radovic

Finding an underwater archaeological site

by Marjan Radovic - 7th December 2023
Diving is not just a sport, but an adventure that opens up doors to an underwater world full of mysteries…
Franco and Sabrina

Baja California Sur Safari – 2023 season

by Franco and Sabrina - 28th November 2023
It’s easy to understand why we return to Mexico's Baja California Sur almost every year. The five destinations we visit…
Kathryn

Love manatees and dugongs? Here’s where you can swim with them

by Kathryn - 21st November 2023
The gentle giants of the sea, manatees and dugongs have captured the hearts of many with their endearing presence and…
Ivana and Janez

The submerged church of Saint Archangel Michael – Lake Rovni, Serbia

by Ivana and Janez - 17th November 2023
Not far from Valjevo, on the river Jablanica, near the villages of Stubo and Rovni, a dam was built for…
Ivana and Janez

Wreck Freediving

by Ivana and Janez - 9th November 2023
Freediving is exciting in itself, even more so on the wrecks of sunken ships. We recently had the opportunity to interview Nik…
Kathryn

Dive fitness: Easy ways to get fit for your next dive vacation

by Kathryn - 31st October 2023
Scuba diving is a captivating sport and there’s nothing better than going on a dive vacation and exploring new destinations…
Ivana and Janez

Diving the HTMS Sattakut wreck – Thailand

by Ivana and Janez - 17th October 2023
The Gulf of Thailand hides many interesting sites for divers beneath its surface. One of these world-class locations is the…
Alex

Little Cayman – A special diving adventure!

by Alex - 13th October 2023
As I’ve written before, Grand Cayman is one of my favourite places to teach underwater photography. The conditions are inviting…
Franco and Sabrina

Hanifaru Bay: In a flying vortex

by Franco and Sabrina - 10th October 2023
Are you looking to be enveloped in a flying vortex of Mantas? Get ready, it doesn't happen often. Have you ever…
Alex

Summer Holidays

by Alex - 6th October 2023
In August, I travelled to Grand Cayman. I was down to head there to run a photography workshop at Ocean…
Ivana and Janez

Komba Island – Diving under an active volcano

by Ivana and Janez - 3rd October 2023
Due to a storm and strong winds that hit the Banda Sea, we missed out on some really attractive locations…
Alex

Photographing History

by Alex - 26th September 2023
Like many people, my highlight of a Red Sea trip is often diving on the wreck of SS Thistlegorm, with…
Mares

Nearly 70 countries sign the UN’s BBNJ agreement on the first day

by Mares - 22nd September 2023
On a momentous occasion, the United Nation's first-ever treaty on protecting international high seas opened for signature in the 20th September…
Mares

Diving Talks – An unmissable diving event in Lisbon from the 6th-8th October!

by Mares - 18th September 2023
Diving Talks - Portugal 2023 International Diving Show is a highly anticipated event of immense importance for the global diving…
Mares

Discover the advantages of logging your dives with the Mares app!

by Mares - 14th September 2023
Discover the benefits of logging your dives with the Mares app! Available now on Google Play and App Store. Convenience…