Learning to Slow Down in Lembeh (Part 2)

Recap: In Part 1, I explored how I overcame "gear fear" and the intimidation of underwater photography, discovering that a compact TG-6 setup—and a supportive community—was all that was needed to start creating intentional images. In part 2, we dive into the critters and the lessons learned in the muck.

Tiny Critters Completely Changed the Way I Dive

Lembeh completely changed how much I appreciate underwater photography. What initially looks like a fairly barren sandy dive site quickly turns into an overwhelming experience in the best possible way. Every few feet seemed to reveal another possible photography subject: Frogfish tucked into coral, tiny shrimp hidden within crinoids, octopus peeking out beneath rocks, and nudibranchs crawling across rubble no bigger than a grain of rice.

I have always considered myself pretty good at spotting marine life underwater, but the guides at Dive Into Lembeh honestly operate on another level entirely. Tiny Shawn the Sheep sea slugs smaller than the tip of my pinky nail somehow appeared in places I absolutely would have missed. Our group was very divided on whether they should be called ‘Shaun’ or ‘Shawn’ the Sheep, but I am firmly Team Shawn.

The diversity of marine life throughout the trip honestly felt unreal at times. Nudi Falls quickly became one of my favorite dive sites because of the incredible nudibranch diversity and pygmy seahorses hidden amongst the sea fans. Aer Prang 2 delivered the weedy rhinopias that honestly felt surreal to finally see in person. We also encountered several blue ringed octopus, wunderpus, and butterfly nudibranchs. Every dive felt like a slow treasure hunt where patience mattered far more than speed.

Why the Workshop Worked So Well

The educational side of the workshop extended far beyond simply taking photos underwater. Every evening included fantastic lectures and photo reviews where we discussed editing, composition, lighting, storytelling, and techniques from the dives that day. Those sessions slowly helped photography feel far more approachable and intentional. Watching everyone’s images improve throughout the week was really motivating. Seeing how small adjustments in composition or lighting could completely transform an image made photography feel much more manageable and purposeful.

Huge credit also goes to Byron, Andy, and Matt for helping create such a welcoming and genuinely fun learning environment throughout the week. Byron has such a calm and thoughtful way of teaching that immediately puts people at ease. Nothing ever felt overly technical just for the sake of sounding impressive. Every conversation, lecture, and photo review focused on helping people genuinely improve while still enjoying the process. His critiques were especially helpful because they focused on intention instead of simply pointing out mistakes. Small adjustments underwater suddenly felt much more purposeful after hearing him break down how he approached an image.

Andy brought so much energy, encouragement, and patience to the workshop, especially when it came to photo processing and composition discussions. Lightroom and Photoshop had always felt more complicated to me beforehand, but Andy explained things in a way that actually felt approachable and practical instead of overwhelming. Composition also started making far more sense after listening to Andy discuss framing, subject placement, negative space, and storytelling within an image. Before the trip, I mostly focused on simply getting a critter in focus. Andy helped me start thinking much more intentionally about how I wanted an image to feel and where I wanted the viewer’s eye to go.

Matt quickly became my fellow octopus and frogfish enthusiast, which made the trip even more fun. Some of my favorite conversations throughout the week revolved around weird critters, cephalopod behavior, and collectively getting way too excited over tiny underwater creatures. Matt also gave fantastic presentations and feedback during reviews, and I really appreciated how supportive, approachable, and encouraging he was throughout the entire workshop. His photo critiques were especially helpful for me because he did such a great job pointing out small composition and lighting adjustments that completely changed the feel of an image without making critiques feel discouraging. A lot of the feedback felt immediately actionable underwater, which made it much easier to apply those lessons on the very next dive.

The lunchtime presentations from Agus, the resident marine biologist at Dive Into Lembeh, added another incredible layer to the experience. Learning more about the behavior, biology, and ecology of the animals we were photographing made the diving feel even more meaningful. Additionally, guides like Devid and Ben constantly helped with positioning, lighting suggestions, and troubleshooting in real time during dives.

Devid and Ben were also incredible throughout the week underwater. Both of them constantly helped newer photographers with positioning, lighting suggestions, buoyancy adjustments, subject awareness, and troubleshooting in real time during dives. Having that kind of patient hands-on guidance underwater made such a huge difference in how quickly things started clicking for me. Their ability to simultaneously guide dives, spot impossibly tiny critters, and help photographers improve underwater blew me away. Watching the guides and workshop leaders work together so seamlessly created such an incredibly supportive learning environment.

Leaving Lembeh Different Than I Arrived

Dive Into Lembeh created the perfect environment for this kind of learning experience. Miranda and Steve have built something incredibly thoughtful there. Every part of the resort feels designed by people who genuinely understand divers and underwater photographers. The dedicated camera room, organized dive operation, gear facilities, fresh water dunk tanks, fantastic food, comfortable rooms, and overall hospitality made it incredibly easy to fully focus on diving and learning throughout the week.

The staff throughout the resort were unbelievably kind, professional, and attentive every single day. Everyone somehow remembered names, camera setups, food preferences, and dive habits almost immediately. Agus added so much depth and passion to the experience, and staff members like Elvira, Ivan, Tila, Adel, Finki, and Lio constantly made the resort feel warm and welcoming in a way that never felt forced or transactional. One of my favorite parts of the resort itself was how comfortable and relaxing it felt between dives. The rooms were spacious and clean, the food every evening was genuinely excellent, and the team was incredibly accommodating with vegetarian meals throughout the trip. After long dive days, soaking in the hot tub on the porch overlooking Lembeh Strait felt pretty perfect.

The end-of-trip party perfectly captured the atmosphere of the entire workshop. After spending more than a week diving together, learning together, reviewing photos together, and collectively obsessing over tiny critters together, the celebration felt genuinely special. Great conversations, music, laughter, and stories from the week made it feel far more like a community than simply a workshop. That feeling carried through the entire trip. People were genuinely excited to help each other improve, celebrate wins, and share knowledge without ego.

By the end of the trip, I no longer felt like I was standing on the outside of underwater photography looking in. The week gave me a far stronger foundation, but it also reminded me how much there still is to learn, experiment with, and improve upon underwater. For the first time, underwater photography stopped feeling like a world I was observing from the outside. Confidence slowly replaced uncertainty over the course of the week. Better buoyancy led to steadier shots. Better awareness led to more intentional compositions. Photography stopped feeling like random trial and error and started feeling purposeful.

Most importantly, the experience left me genuinely excited to continue learning. Macro photography reminded me that growth underwater does not come from immediately being good at something. Growth comes from curiosity, patience, surrounding yourself with supportive people, and being willing to challenge yourself outside your comfort zone. Lembeh gave me incredible diving, beautiful critter encounters, amazing people, and photographs I am genuinely proud of. More importantly though, the experience reminded me how exciting it feels to continue growing underwater and how much there still is to discover beneath the surface.