Tony was surprised there weren’t many photos of the two-spot snapper mass spawning – until he hit the water. The currents were strong and unrelenting and his first attempt failed. But by positioning himself so the action came to him, Tony captured this dynamic arc of spawning fish in the oblique morning light.
Thousands of two-spot snappers gather to spawn each month around Palau. Tony was intrigued to see the usually red fish rapidly change colour during mating to a multitude of hues and patterns. Predators will soon arrive to take advantage of the bounty, but strong currents will drag a few lucky eggs into the open ocean.
USA/Japan
Tony devotes most of his time to researching and documenting rarely seen marine animals and environments, spending more days at sea that he does on land. After spending years photographing tropical reefs, whales and large aggregations of spawning fish, he is currently exploring the varied and diverse marine environments of Japan, which encompass everything from tropical to Arctic environments, as well as many unique habitats in between.
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