Macro photography of corals

Underwater photographer Alexander Semyonov recently presented his new photo collection called Living Stones. Photos taken in macro mode. Thanks to this, we had the opportunity to get to know corals better, to appreciate their beauty, brightness of colors and complexity of patterns.

Below is a part of the photos from the Living Stones series.

(Total 15 photos)

1. The main occupation of Semenov is the study of various types of stone corals in the Red Sea.

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3. Corals are marine invertebrates that usually form compact colonies.

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5. The reefs in the Red Sea are home to over 200 soft and hard corals. This is where the largest variety of corals is found. Even more than in any part of the Indian Ocean.

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7. The coastal reef of the Red Sea is over 5,000 years old, and the entire complex of coastal reefs extends along the coast for 2,000 km (1,240 miles).

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9. The Red Sea also contains numerous offshore reefs that defy standard classification.

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11. Diving and snorkeling along the Red Sea coastal reefs became popular immediately after the advertising of books and films of the expeditions of Hans Hass and Jacques-Yves Cousteau in the 1950s and 1960s.

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13. To date, the most popular dive sites along the northern coast of the Gulf of Aqaba (known as the "Riviera of the Red Sea") are the cities of Eilat in Israel and Aqaba in Jordan.

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15. Other popular places are on the Egyptian side - the resort towns of Dahab and Taba.