Sign in

Chris Gug

@gugunderwater.bsky.social
1.1K followers 1 following 267 posts

Pro underwater photographer and filmmaker. Ocean art gallery📍Lauderdale by the Sea, FL

PostsRepliesMedia
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 17h
Armed & dangerous! Lobsters have a early life stage called phyllosoma, wherein they drift through the open ocean, and have the coolest habit of taking stinging siphonophores prisoner for defense Shot on scuba, while drifting in the open ocean, out over the deep abyss, at night, far offshore
422247
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
“Reach for the Sky” From the SeaScapes print collection 72x48” Art available via: 1) The Gug Underwater Art Gallery is now located inside the @rcammart Art Gallery in Lauderdale by the Sea 2) For standard sizes, you can always order directly on the website. 3) Get in touch via phone or email
020
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A young driftfish shelters with & in a mauve stinger jellyfish. I love observing this relationship so much, and 3 nights ago, the dive was thick with these jellies.
05817
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I’ve seen it >100 times, but I’ve never been about to capture it until now. Presumably, it is spawning (but I can’t be positive). But what is the green cloud, and what is the smaller blue squiggly??? #blackwater, #blackwaterdiving #polychaete
819860
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Today while looking over my June 2025 Aliens photos for the first time, I found it funny that I’ve become so bougie that a fish so “rare” & beautiful has been relegated to “one shot and move on🥱” status after now having seen hundreds. #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #larvalfish #larvalflounder
020
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
What a good mama! A 1” #oxycephalus #amphipod is raising her brood on a drifting section of a Venus girdle #ctenophore. Shot on scuba, off Okinawa, out over the deep abyss where its several thousand feet deep, while drifting with the plankton, at night #blackwater #blackwaterdiving
191
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Introducing an all new print collection: Reflections. I’m not into using heavy Photoshop manipulation or anything AI in my work, so I felt like a simple mirror-flipping keeps It’s still a real photograph, just displayed with a twist. Maybe it’s more than real – maybe it’s 4 times real!
030
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
How do I describe a coral reef like this? Like a box of Crayola threw up all over. #coralreef #anthias #seafan #softcoral #gorgonian
421324
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
In a feed full of politics & celebrity sleeze, let this be the most chill moment of your scroll today. This is behind-the-scenes footage from my SeaScapes Collection print, titled “Aurora”. #greenseaturtle #seaturtle #turtle #chill #relax
0143
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Three different #blanketoctopus in one night! If you were following me on IG, you’d see the whole story, but characters are limited here for reasons no one understands …🤔 Shot using scuba, several miles offshore from West Palm Beach, FL #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #underwater
000
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
A juvenile #pompano It may look chill, but I’m actually swimming backwards and descending quite rapidly to keep it in frame. Shot on scuba, miles offshore from Okinawa, over several thousand feet of water, while drifting with the plankton. #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography
1745496
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Perhaps my favorite of the larval-stage flatfish, the Pelican Flounder (Chascanopsetta lugubris). Shot using scuba, several miles offshore in southern Japan, while drifting with the plankton over the deep abyss, at night.
17117
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The larval stage of a snaketooth #swallower - one of the top predators of the deep abyss, and only in the larval stage do they visit divable depths during the night. #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #snaketoothswallower #chiasmodontidae #scubadiving #okinawa
0205
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
My Uncle Steve had no idea he was going to be my next underwater supermodel when he decided to come visit us in Bali! Over the past ~3 weeks we’ve dove & snorkeled, climbed volcanoes, hiked through rice terraces, visited temples, and motorbike toured all over this island and next!
0171
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Which side of the jellyfish is this little driftfish on? Is it in front, or are we seeing it through the jelly’s body? Pretty tough to tell,eh? Shot on scuba, offshore from Tulamben, Bali, while drifting with the plankton, over the deep abyss, at night. #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #scubadiving
0315
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Cool new behavior caught on video! This is a special type of octopus known as a #papernautilus (aka #argonaut) and her shell is a little less than 5cm. Watch as she extends and retracts her fleshy mantle - at the end, she rapidly retracts it all! #blackwater #blackwaterdiving
528075
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
As I was watching this coral grouper having parasites and dead scales removed at a cleaning station, it reminded me that I haven’t had a dental check-up since leaving the USA almost a year ago. maybe I’ll just head down to the reef and let the shrimps do their thing.
21644128
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Great article just out on my obsession with shooting harlequin swimming crabs living in tube anemones - read it here: www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-p...
1100
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
I don’t know why he was so surprised to see me 😮- I’m down here all the time! A bebeh pufferfish, roughly the size of a pinky nail, just swimming through the open ocean at night, far offshore from Tulamben, Bali, our over the deep abyss. #pufferfish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #zoolandermagnum
831840
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Little monster! A #phronima clings to the outside of a #pyrosome. Shot using scuba, far offshore from Tulamben, Bali, while drifting with the plankton out over the deep abyss, at night.
0224
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
I often find larval & juvenile jacks (trevally) clinging to other floating objects like a life raft. Here, it’s riding a leaf like a surfboard, but I also find them inside salps, jellyfish, pyrosomes, and all too often, plastic.
0133
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Super-rare cutlassfish in its juvenile stage!!! In May, I had 5 encounters with cutlassfish, 4 of which were nothing but a brief sighting ~20’ away, but this time, i was bombed by squid ink at the same time, which may be what slowed him down. #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography
0325
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
A collage of subjects from one Aliens night in Okinawa last year. Since I’m returning soon, I’m looking back through my shots to prep & inspiration, and these were the B-listers that haven’t been seen from my first night last time. #larvalfish #deepseacreatures #blackwater #blackwaterdiving
1173
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Two very different-looking ghost pipefish. Sometimes it can be very difficult to determine the exact species, as there’s a lot of visual overlap between halimeda, robust, and velvet. #ghostpipefish #tulamben #tulambenbali #muckdiving #scubadiving
16743149
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Introducing my newest release in the SeaScapes Collection of fine art prints - “Sparkles”! Available from 16x24”, up to 300” wide. Order online in standard sizes. For custom sizes, call/email or stop into Rcamm Art Gallery in Lauderdale by the Sea, FL to work with my design team.
071
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Another collection of “Tasteful Nudi’s” Nudibranchs are a type of sea slug - most of the 3000+ species share a few key traits - they riotously colored, slow, small, and have only one defense - chemical. All shot in Oct2025 in Bali. I can only post 4 here - see the same on IG or FB for all 15
1479
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Like all cardinalfish, the male is a “mouthbrooder”. There’s tons of cardinalfish species around Tulamben, and they’re usually overlooked as “ordinary” reef dwellers - bypassed in search of more exotic species, but I love them and their crazy parenting behaviors. This one is Ostorhinchus aureus.
0269
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Whether I stop to shoot a seahorse has 40% to do with how pretty its color is, 40% to do with its location (is it easy to shoot, is there a distracting background, is it at 120’ deep so I’ll only have a short 3 minutes, etc), and 20% its personality and level of chill after the first few moments.
823044
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
I’ll gladly sit at any #cleaningstation for the entire dive, if both the customers and the workers are present. This #moray #eel lives in a hole that’s full of cleaner shrimp, so he’s pretty much being cleaned all day long. #symbioticrelationship #scubadiving #underwater #tulamben
2389
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Against All Odds From the Seascapes Collection 96 x 36” Available in custom sizing from 16x24” up to 250” wide. Order online in standard sizes, or stop in to Rcamm Art Gallery in Lauderdale by the Sea to view the art and speak with an art consultant in person.
031
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
What looks like a bebeh #octopus is actually a full-grown male paper #nautilus, riding atop of a mauve stinger #jellyfish. Shot using #scuba, while drifting in the open #ocean, far from shore, over the deep abyss, at night. #papernautilus #cephalopod #symbiosis #blackwater #blackwaterdiving
112337
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
A larval #octopus hitches a ride on a #pyrosome. While the octopus is pelagic in this early life-stage, it will occasionally grab on to drifting objects and animals. Shot using scuba, while drifting far offshore over deep water, at night, off Tulamben, Bali. #blackwater #blackwaterdiving
420163
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Eels, in an early life stage called leptocephalus, drift with the plankton, eating tiny invertebrates and fish. Shot using scuba, at night, while drifting with the plankton, out over the deep abyss. #eel #leptocephalus #larvalfish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving
191034164
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
#Squid squirt #ink for all sorts of reasons. Here, an unexpected slam into me in the pitch blackness no doubt freaks them out, and they’re usually dazed for a few moments; the perfect opportunity for me to shoot! This is 3 different squids. #squidink #cephalopod #blackwater #blackwaterdiving
0406
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
One of the largest and prettiest #scaleworm I’ve ever found. There’s a term, “meroplankton” which describes organisms who will spend only part of their lives, or earlier life stages drifting by with the plankton. #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #polychaete #deepseacreatures
03612
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
This tiny larval Indian Halibut (Psettodes erumei) popped up late last night while hunting for Aliens off the coast of Tulamben, Bali. A little smaller than a pea. #larvalfish #blackwaterdiving #flatfish #blackwater #gug
0272
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
This is the first ever video footage of the larval stage of an extremely rare Groenveld’s Stingfish (Minous groeneveldi). Shot on scuba, over very deep water, far offshore, while drifting with the plankton, at night. #groenveldsstingfish #blackwaterdiving #larvalfish #tulamben #stonefish
581425265
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Cutest bebeh #octopus attack EVER!!! After shooting him for a bit, this pelagic paralaval octopus decided to reach out and hitch a ride on my lens! Shot on scuba, out over the deep abyss, while drifting with the open-ocean plankton, at night. #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #cephalopod
18017
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Arguably the most beautiful #shrimp on the planet, this is an exceptionally large mated pair of #harlequinshrimp. Often found carrying a starfish, but this pair must’ve been between meals. I’ve seen them bury their starfish, like making a cage for livestock, so maybe it was just out of sight.
0298
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Are these not the coolest eyeballs in the animal kingdom?!? This is a mother peacock mantis shrimp, holding her clutch of red eggs. #stomatopod #mantisshrimp #muckdiving #underwater #scubadiving
38907161
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Pretty sure this is what the inside of my chest looks like at this point. Another 1.5 days left of diving at @murexresorts 👍 #lungs
0406
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Interesting to see this young #flatfish, likely a #sole, swimming through the nighttime blackness yesterday. Shot on #scuba, while drifting over the deep abyss, ~a mile offshore, off Bangka, Indonesia. #solefish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #murexbangka #gug
16114
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
I’ve come to Bangka, Indonesia at @murexresorts specifically to shoot in my favorite style - sweeping coral reef scenes, bursting with life. Sadly, these complex scenes are much better viewed 5m wide, than on a tiny phone screen - here each of the thousand+ fish is reduced to a pixel or two☹️
060
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
😁😁😁Suuuuuuper excited to place 1st in the ADEX Voice Of The Ocean photo competition with my long-exposure shot of a larval-stage #wonderpus #octopus (the same species featured in the print “Alien 18”).
2192
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
I shot this image a few months ago, wanting to create a “tiny #clownfish in a great big #anemone” feel. But I’m only seeing it for the first time today. So with lessons learned, tomorrow, I’m going back to it, and plan on spending an entire #dive motionless getting it perfect to match my vision.
0475
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
A young #anthias swimming amongst red sea whip corals. No big story this time - I just thought it was simple and pretty.
1375
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Many worms go through a planktonic larval stage, and in this case, the spaghetti worm is quite similar in form to its post-metamorphosis adult The last 8 seconds shows an adult. Larval footage: Okinawa. Adult: Florida #spaghettiworm #blackwaterdiving #kumejima #okinawa #blackwater
419151
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Thanks for all the interest in the special #veliger I posted a few days ago. Because of all the curiosity, here’s a few more of the interesting veligers from 2 weeks ago off Bali’s NE coast. Veliger is the term for an early life stage of #marine #snail - before it settles onto the seafloor.
07826
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
The largest and most beautiful #veliger I’ve ever seen! Shot last week off Bali, far offshore, on scuba, at night, out over the deep abyss.
732268
Chris Gug @gugunderwater.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
The rarest of the rare! This holy-grail dream fish is a larval-stage #monkfish, aka #goosefish. Shot in the wild, using scuba, while diving at night over water several thousand feet deep, several miles offshore from Kumejima, Okinawa. #larvalfish #blackwater #gug #deepseafish
11588178