Happy Thanksgiving! I’m spending the next week and a half in Anilao, Philippines, one of the muck diving Meccas of the world.

Muck diving is so named for the muddy bottom composition at the dive site. This sediment is home to a host of exotic critters, such as nudibranchs, frogfish, pygmy seahorses, and blue ringed octopus. As a macro photography addict (just kidding–addicts go to meetings), I’m beyond excited to get the opportunity to unearth and shoot these cool creatures. Here’s a reasonably comprehensive muck diving critter list that I’m taking with me to check off as I go. I’m sure it will help to know what I’m looking for as many of these animals look very camouflaged!

I picked up a diopter for my macro port so I can hopefully get some cool super macro photos. I haven’t gotten to take it in the water yet, but here is a link to some really inspiring super macro underwater photos, as well as tips for underwater photography when using a wet diopter.

Diving Cleopatra’s Sunken Palace

And now for something ENTIRELY different: In 1994, French archaeologist Franck Goddio discovered ruins of the Lighthouse of Alexandria on the seafloor. Whereas many of the artifacts have been recovered and are on museum display, you can still dive in the bay with ancient Egyptian artifacts and the ruins of Cleopatra’s palace, which was destroyed by natural disaster. How incredibly cool would it be to dive with ruins like these?