I started diving after snorkelling with whale sharks in Leyte, Philippines and was PADI certified in April 2011. I picked up a compact camera in 2013 after a dive buddy suggested it despite having no interest in photography beforehand. I even flooded the camera on the first dive. But not being one to quit, I salvaged that camera with a bowl of rice and a new battery and was hooked. That camera has since been retired and I now use a mirrorless set-up. My diving hometown is in Anilao, Philippines. I have also dived in Tubbataha Reefs, Malapascua, Apo Reef, Apo Island, Dauin, Coron and Verde Island. Outside the Philippines, I have visited Raja Ampat, the Maldives and Fiji
Yellow gobies at home inside a discarded beer bottle
Night dives at the Anilao Pier are among my favourites. This octopus living out of a beer bottle was wrestling with a snail for some time. The octopus eventually won its dinner and threw the shell to the ground before retreating into its home.
I enjoyed this shallow swim-through at Raja Ampat. Shot my dive buddy and part-time model against the reef and the sun rays.
I shot this well-camouflaged crinoid shrimp against the pattern of its host crinoid. This isn’t the usual black-background macro shot, but I like seeing the repeated black and white striped pattern in the different angles.
Colourful soft corals surrounded by schooling fusiliers. I liked the movement of the fish across the frame as it curved around the rock.
Diving at the blue water mangroves in Raja Ampat was definitely an experience. Finding some cardinal fish hiding out at the roots was a cool sight to see.
A large wobbegong shark was chilling on top of some hard coral during a dusk dive. Shot this upwards to get the dark blue water and chase boat in the frame to add some depth.
A green turtle above staghorn coral as far as the eye could see. Amazing visibility made this shot possible. Shot at Tubbataha Reef, Philippines.
There are many skeleton shrimps in the muck sites of Anilao. I bumped up the ISO on this shot to get more detail. You can actually see through its head to see the other eye!
I decided to take a different approach with this image and dropped below the school of jacks in Apo Island, Philippines. I wanted to get the sunlight piercing the school, with the other diver in the shot for size comparison.
A zebra crab on a fire urchin with what looks like its discarded shell. It was trying to kick the shell off its home.
It was quite hard to get the tiny hairs of this tiny hairy shrimp (less than 5mm) in focus. After getting some shots, I experimented with both back and front lighting to see the details more clearly.
Enjoyed shooting this rare hairy frogfish. Focused the lighting near its head to see the hair strands more clearly and get the eyes in focus.
Anilao is known for all sorts of nudibranchs. Here’s a white ‘Pikachu’ (I’m still on the hunt for a yellow one).
This harlequin shrimp is feeding on a piece of blue starfish. The colour of the starfish being eaten determines the colour of its spots.
• Kellda took these images with a Sony a6300, FE 90mm, E 10-18mm or E 16mm with fisheye adapter, Nauticam Housing, Sea & Sea YS-D1 Strobes & Inon SMC1 Diopter. See more of her work on Instagram @scubakelldy
Find more from Kellda on her instagram @scubakellda
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