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Sergio E. Gonzalez

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Don't forget to follow along on my ocean art journey over on Instagram...

In August 2025 I was sent on assignment to capture the inspiring and pioneering reef restoration happening in Indonesia at @shebahopegrows 🪸

It was such a privelege to have been invited by MARS Sustainable Solutions to capture this epic reef restoration sight!

🪸I encourage you to explore and follow along on the Building Coral & @shebahopegrows journey!

#coralrestoration #photojournalism #oceanconservation

In August 2025 I was sent on assignment to capture the inspiring and pioneering reef restoration happening in Indonesia at @shebahopegrows 🪸

It was such a privelege to have been invited by MARS Sustainable Solutions to capture this epic reef restoration sight!

🪸I encourage you to explore and follow along on the Building Coral & @shebahopegrows journey!

#coralrestoration #photojournalism #oceanconservation

The world’s largest coral restoration project is bringing reefs back to life!

Building Coral is rebuilding entire ecosystems using Reef Stars, structures designed to stabilize rubble and give coral a place to grow. Fragment by fragment, life returns.

Over time, the reef takes over, growing, spreading, and transforming what was once broken into something wild again.

It was such a privelege to have been invited by MARS Sustainable Solutions last summer to capture this epic reef restoration sight!

🪸I encourage you to explore and follow along on the Building Coral & @shebahopegrows journey!

#coralrestoration #photojournalism #oceanconservation

The world’s largest coral restoration project is bringing reefs back to life!

Building Coral is rebuilding entire ecosystems using Reef Stars, structures designed to stabilize rubble and give coral a place to grow. Fragment by fragment, life returns.

Over time, the reef takes over, growing, spreading, and transforming what was once broken into something wild again.

It was such a privelege to have been invited by MARS Sustainable Solutions last summer to capture this epic reef restoration sight!

🪸I encourage you to explore and follow along on the Building Coral & @shebahopegrows journey!

#coralrestoration #photojournalism #oceanconservation

Mother ocean and all of its wonder and magic ✨💙🌊

Looking forward to getting back in the ocean soon to capture some wild ocean stories this July for @oceanographic_mag SiR#3 - watch this space ✨🦈🐳

#ocean #myocean #oceanphotography

Mother ocean and all of its wonder and magic ✨💙🌊

Looking forward to getting back in the ocean soon to capture some wild ocean stories this July for @oceanographic_mag SiR#3 - watch this space ✨🦈🐳

#ocean #myocean #oceanphotography

Come with me as I capture a mini reef build with Building Coral🪸

Last year, I was invited by Mars Sustainable Solutions to document the vital coral restoration work led by @shebahopegrows. During this visit, I witnessed local community members carefully tying coral fragments, collected from a neighbouring healthy reef, onto reef stars.

Here they are working collaboratively to lay down these reef stars onto the restoration sight, offering this once-rubble reef a renewed fighting chance. Together, they are giving their patch of ocean the chance to thrive once more.

🪸 I encourage you to explore and follow along on the inspiring work being done by Building Coral

#coralrestoration #shebahopegrows #photojournalism #oceanconservation

Come with me as I capture a mini reef build with Building Coral🪸

Last year, I was invited by Mars Sustainable Solutions to document the vital coral restoration work led by @shebahopegrows. During this visit, I witnessed local community members carefully tying coral fragments, collected from a neighbouring healthy reef, onto reef stars.

Here they are working collaboratively to lay down these reef stars onto the restoration sight, offering this once-rubble reef a renewed fighting chance. Together, they are giving their patch of ocean the chance to thrive once more.

🪸 I encourage you to explore and follow along on the inspiring work being done by Building Coral

#coralrestoration #shebahopegrows #photojournalism #oceanconservation

It’s World Ocean Day, and I thought today would be the perfect opportunity to shine a spotlight on an incredible group of people dedicated to restoring seagrass meadows to our UK coastal waters.

Along the southern coastline of the United Kingdom, one of the most unwild nations on Earth, a growing movement is working to bring the ocean back to life. In the Solent, scientists, conservationists and local communities are restoring once-lost seagrass meadows through the @solentseascapeproject, a five-year initiative and one of the largest marine rewilding efforts in the world.
Often called the lungs of the ocean, seagrass is important for carbon storage. Yet we’ve lost 92% of seagrass meadows in the UK over the last century.

In my ongoing project “The Ocean Gardeners,” I document the people behind this recovery. I hope my work helps captures this reimagining of what “wild” means in one of the busiest waterways in the United Kingdom and empowering communities to protect the ocean’s future.

💙 Thank you too @solentseascapeproject
@bluemarinefoundation @hantsiwwildlife @projectseagrass

💙 As a fellow of the @vital.impacts program, I had the guidance over the past year to help capture this story with depth and respect. @Vital.Impacts believes powerful imagery can bridge the gap between science and public engagement, helping scale solutions that benefit biodiversity and climate alike.

#photojournalism #seagrass #worldoceansday #rewilding

It’s World Ocean Day, and I thought today would be the perfect opportunity to shine a spotlight on an incredible group of people dedicated to restoring seagrass meadows to our UK coastal waters.

Along the southern coastline of the United Kingdom, one of the most unwild nations on Earth, a growing movement is working to bring the ocean back to life. In the Solent, scientists, conservationists and local communities are restoring once-lost seagrass meadows through the @solentseascapeproject, a five-year initiative and one of the largest marine rewilding efforts in the world.
Often called the lungs of the ocean, seagrass is important for carbon storage. Yet we’ve lost 92% of seagrass meadows in the UK over the last century.

In my ongoing project “The Ocean Gardeners,” I document the people behind this recovery. I hope my work helps captures this reimagining of what “wild” means in one of the busiest waterways in the United Kingdom and empowering communities to protect the ocean’s future.

💙 Thank you too @solentseascapeproject
@bluemarinefoundation @hantsiwwildlife @projectseagrass

💙 As a fellow of the @vital.impacts program, I had the guidance over the past year to help capture this story with depth and respect. @Vital.Impacts believes powerful imagery can bridge the gap between science and public engagement, helping scale solutions that benefit biodiversity and climate alike.

#photojournalism #seagrass #worldoceansday #rewilding

As a newcomer to macro muck diving, my mind has been like a sponge, learning the slow, patient rhythm and precise buoyancy that experienced macro divers make look effortless.

The Philippines has completely blown my mind and converted me into a full-on macro diving lover. The sheer number of bucket-list encounters was awe-inspiring: my first flamboyant cuttlefish, ornate ghost pipefish, dragon sea moths (a new obsession), orangutan crabs, seahorses, coconut octopus, and so much more. Safe to say, the Philippines has firmly made it onto my “must-return” dive list.

🪸You can read more about this epic adventure in the latest issue of Scuba Diving Magazine, “In Living Color”.

🫧 On assignment with @scubadivingmag
⚓️ On board the @aggressorliveaboards

#philippines #scubadivingmagazine #scubadiving

As a newcomer to macro muck diving, my mind has been like a sponge, learning the slow, patient rhythm and precise buoyancy that experienced macro divers make look effortless.

The Philippines has completely blown my mind and converted me into a full-on macro diving lover. The sheer number of bucket-list encounters was awe-inspiring: my first flamboyant cuttlefish, ornate ghost pipefish, dragon sea moths (a new obsession), orangutan crabs, seahorses, coconut octopus, and so much more. Safe to say, the Philippines has firmly made it onto my “must-return” dive list.

🪸You can read more about this epic adventure in the latest issue of Scuba Diving Magazine, “In Living Color”.

🫧 On assignment with @scubadivingmag
⚓️ On board the @aggressorliveaboards

#philippines #scubadivingmagazine #scubadiving

Thresher sharks are elusive, extraordinary creatures and the reason I fell in love with sharks.

13 years ago, at 17, I came to Malapascua in the Philippines to complete my PADI Shark Awareness course. True to its promise, I came face-to-face with thresher sharks, and in that moment, fear transformed into love and curiosity.

It was a turning point that changed the course of my life. I made a promise to myself then to help protect sharks, and from that promise, the 200 Sharks project was born.

Returning years later felt like a true full-circle moment, made even more special by experiencing it from aboard the Philippines Aggressor II while on assignment with Scuba Diving Magazine.

You can read more about this epic adventure in the latest issue of Scuba Diving Magazine, “In Living Color”

🫧 On assignment with @scubadivingmag
⚓️ On board the @aggressorliveaboards

#threshershark #philippines #scubadivingmagazine #scubadiving #uwphotographer

Thresher sharks are elusive, extraordinary creatures and the reason I fell in love with sharks.

13 years ago, at 17, I came to Malapascua in the Philippines to complete my PADI Shark Awareness course. True to its promise, I came face-to-face with thresher sharks, and in that moment, fear transformed into love and curiosity.

It was a turning point that changed the course of my life. I made a promise to myself then to help protect sharks, and from that promise, the 200 Sharks project was born.

Returning years later felt like a true full-circle moment, made even more special by experiencing it from aboard the Philippines Aggressor II while on assignment with Scuba Diving Magazine.

You can read more about this epic adventure in the latest issue of Scuba Diving Magazine, “In Living Color”

🫧 On assignment with @scubadivingmag
⚓️ On board the @aggressorliveaboards

#threshershark #philippines #scubadivingmagazine #scubadiving #uwphotographer

A critically endangered baby scalloped hammerhead and Smoothnose wedgefish, once bycatch is now being offered a fighting chance as a local fisher releases it back into the ocean apart of the NGO @kebersamaan_untuk_lautan

In northern Sumatra lies a crucial nursery ground for endangered sharks and rays, from scalloped hammerheads to wedgefish. Yet these young animals are constantly at risk of bycatch, where non-target species are unintentionally caught in fishing gear.

Here, small-scale local fisheries, often just one or two men per boat, land catches that are nearly 80% endangered or critically endangered sharks and rays. Their gillnets stretch 300 metres across the seabed at depths of 30–40 metres and are left for up to 12 hours. Sharks must keep moving to breathe, making entanglement almost always fatal.

Losing young sharks disrupts the entire balance of the ocean. As apex predators, sharks regulate marine life, transport nutrients, and act as indicators of ocean health. Protecting sharks is not just about saving one species; it is about safeguarding whole ecosystems.

But there is hope!

The NGO, @kebersamaan_untuk_lautan (KUL) programme, compensates fishers to safely release critically endangered sharks and rays (as you can see here). Research by Dr Hollie Booth (@dr_hollie_booth) from Oxford University shows that payments of around $1 per hammerhead and $5–7 per wedgefish provide the most effective incentive, offering a lifeline to a species with fins worth hundreds of dollars on the black market.

KUL is also collaborating with the fishers’ wives to create traditional Acehnese-inspired art, empowering the women by providing new opportunities to generate income and strengthen their independence.

This is a truly pioneering project, one that works with fishers to safeguard critically endangered sharks and rays while helping create a more secure and sustainable future for the communities that depend on these waters.

#protectsharks #sharkconservation #photojournalism #underwaterphotographer

A critically endangered baby scalloped hammerhead and Smoothnose wedgefish, once bycatch is now being offered a fighting chance as a local fisher releases it back into the ocean apart of the NGO @kebersamaan_untuk_lautan

In northern Sumatra lies a crucial nursery ground for endangered sharks and rays, from scalloped hammerheads to wedgefish. Yet these young animals are constantly at risk of bycatch, where non-target species are unintentionally caught in fishing gear.

Here, small-scale local fisheries, often just one or two men per boat, land catches that are nearly 80% endangered or critically endangered sharks and rays. Their gillnets stretch 300 metres across the seabed at depths of 30–40 metres and are left for up to 12 hours. Sharks must keep moving to breathe, making entanglement almost always fatal.

Losing young sharks disrupts the entire balance of the ocean. As apex predators, sharks regulate marine life, transport nutrients, and act as indicators of ocean health. Protecting sharks is not just about saving one species; it is about safeguarding whole ecosystems.

But there is hope!

The NGO, @kebersamaan_untuk_lautan (KUL) programme, compensates fishers to safely release critically endangered sharks and rays (as you can see here). Research by Dr Hollie Booth (@dr_hollie_booth) from Oxford University shows that payments of around $1 per hammerhead and $5–7 per wedgefish provide the most effective incentive, offering a lifeline to a species with fins worth hundreds of dollars on the black market.

KUL is also collaborating with the fishers’ wives to create traditional Acehnese-inspired art, empowering the women by providing new opportunities to generate income and strengthen their independence.

This is a truly pioneering project, one that works with fishers to safeguard critically endangered sharks and rays while helping create a more secure and sustainable future for the communities that depend on these waters.

#protectsharks #sharkconservation #photojournalism #underwaterphotographer

The Philippines blew my mind, the underwater world is filled with every colour of the rainbow and it was an absolute joy capturing the wonders of the Visayas region aboard Philippines Aggressor II!

🪸You can read more about this epic adventure in the latest issue of Scuba Diving Magazine, “In Living Color”.

🫧 On assignment with @scubadivingmag
⚓️ On board the @aggressorliveaboards

#coralreef #myocean #phillipines #scubadiving

The Philippines blew my mind, the underwater world is filled with every colour of the rainbow and it was an absolute joy capturing the wonders of the Visayas region aboard Philippines Aggressor II!

🪸You can read more about this epic adventure in the latest issue of Scuba Diving Magazine, “In Living Color”.

🫧 On assignment with @scubadivingmag
⚓️ On board the @aggressorliveaboards

#coralreef #myocean #phillipines #scubadiving

Palau is an island born of fire. Sitting on the edge of the Philippine tectonic plate, the birth of Palau begun when the massive Pacific Plate slipped beneath the smaller Philippine plate. The result was a massive volcanic eruption which formed a 100 mile long volcanic ridge. Today we dive amongst this ancient sunken volcano, Palau’s geologic past is literally written on the rocks.

📷 On assignment with @scubadivingmag x @paditv
⚓️ On board @blackpearlpalau

#palau #drone #micronesia

Palau is an island born of fire. Sitting on the edge of the Philippine tectonic plate, the birth of Palau begun when the massive Pacific Plate slipped beneath the smaller Philippine plate. The result was a massive volcanic eruption which formed a 100 mile long volcanic ridge. Today we dive amongst this ancient sunken volcano, Palau’s geologic past is literally written on the rocks.

📷 On assignment with @scubadivingmag x @paditv
⚓️ On board @blackpearlpalau

#palau #drone #micronesia

The stunning rainbow colours of the vuhsaiuhz Islands, a vast area home to some of the best scuba diving the Philippines has to offer!

Slip beneath the surface, and you’re instantly transported into a world that feels like magic. Coral towers rise in every direction, an explosion of greens, reds, purples, and blues. Candy-coloured feather stars carpet the bommies between swaying anemones, while schools of fish rush past in flashes of silver. Turtles rest on bright yellow table corals as cleaner fish dart busily around them. It’s overwhelming at first, life is everywhere, demanding your attention all at once.

🪸You can read more about this epic adventure in the latest issue of Scuba Diving Magazine, “In Living Color”.

🫧 On assignment with @scubadivingmag
⚓️ On board the @aggressorliveaboards

#coralreef #myocean #phillipines #scubadiving

The stunning rainbow colours of the vuhsaiuhz Islands, a vast area home to some of the best scuba diving the Philippines has to offer!

Slip beneath the surface, and you’re instantly transported into a world that feels like magic. Coral towers rise in every direction, an explosion of greens, reds, purples, and blues. Candy-coloured feather stars carpet the bommies between swaying anemones, while schools of fish rush past in flashes of silver. Turtles rest on bright yellow table corals as cleaner fish dart busily around them. It’s overwhelming at first, life is everywhere, demanding your attention all at once.

🪸You can read more about this epic adventure in the latest issue of Scuba Diving Magazine, “In Living Color”.

🫧 On assignment with @scubadivingmag
⚓️ On board the @aggressorliveaboards

#coralreef #myocean #phillipines #scubadiving

Hello, I’m Francesca Page, a @girlswhoclick ambassador, wildlife photographer, visual artist, and ocean explorer.

Today, I’m sharing some tips and tricks for reducing backscatter in underwater photography, a common challenge you’ll encounter when visibility is low and there are lots of particles suspended in the water column.

I hope you found these tips helpful! Let’s continue the conversation in the comments. If you have any questions about this technique, leave a comment below!

#girlswhoclick #underwaterphotography #backscatter

Hello, I’m Francesca Page, a @girlswhoclick ambassador, wildlife photographer, visual artist, and ocean explorer.

Today, I’m sharing some tips and tricks for reducing backscatter in underwater photography, a common challenge you’ll encounter when visibility is low and there are lots of particles suspended in the water column.

I hope you found these tips helpful! Let’s continue the conversation in the comments. If you have any questions about this technique, leave a comment below!

#girlswhoclick #underwaterphotography #backscatter

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