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Isabella Maffei: Myanmar

by Abi Smigel Mullens

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Isabella Maffei was born in Varese, Italy in 1973, where she still lives. A true passion for the ocean drove her to become a scuba instructor and manage her dive center, Deep Avenue, in Mendrisio, in the Italian side of Switzerland.

Underwater photography is a form of communication, a universal visual language which meets my ambition to tell without a word the amazing beauty of nature. My underwater photography is my way to communicate using an universal visual language; it comes from my strong ambition to tell, to describe without words the marine underwater perfection. I fancy the idea to shoot dynamic pictures in order to draw the observer inside the image. I love it so much and I cannot consider anymore a picture as a static, bi-dimensional image. Anytime I dive, my Nikon camera is with me, as an added part of my body. My love for the diving underwater continues to build. However, I do not look anymore the Neptune’s Garden through my mask but rather through my camera’s shutter.

View more of Isabella’s work here.

"Ocean Heart" was taken in dive site for me the most beautiful of Mergui's islands . "In the middle" is a shoal between McLeod Island and an adjacent island, with strong currents from 15 m to a max depth of 50 m.
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"Ocean Heart" was taken in dive site for me the most beautiful of Mergui's islands . "In the middle" is a shoal between McLeod Island and an adjacent island, with strong currents from 15 m to a max depth of 50 m.

A school of glass fish swim fast around a soft corals block.
#2

A school of glass fish swim fast around a soft corals block.

Soft corals are full of life. This little goby who lives on the whip coral, spend all his time close to the coral.
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Soft corals are full of life. This little goby who lives on the whip coral, spend all his time close to the coral.

Strong currents stir the shallow waters of McLeod Island. This stray anemone has found a toehold in coral whip by opposing the strong current.
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Strong currents stir the shallow waters of McLeod Island. This stray anemone has found a toehold in coral whip by opposing the strong current.

Gorgonians and soft corals seems painted on the blue background of "In The Middle" reef.
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Gorgonians and soft corals seems painted on the blue background of "In The Middle" reef.

This clown fish is endemic of Indo-pacific area. This kind of fluorescent fish live in his anemone like all his similar but he is shy respect the others species.
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This clown fish is endemic of Indo-pacific area. This kind of fluorescent fish live in his anemone like all his similar but he is shy respect the others species.

The waters around Mergui Islands are very rich in plankton, the visibility not always is good and strong currents sweep the seabed. This habitat is perfect for the development of gorgonians that grow luxurious and colorful.
#7

The waters around Mergui Islands are very rich in plankton, the visibility not always is good and strong currents sweep the seabed. This habitat is perfect for the development of gorgonians that grow luxurious and colorful.