Raja Ampat’s epic bio-diversity is legendary. I recall reading articles by divers and travelers, going back over 15 years, who struggled to describe in words what their eyes could not believe. Perhaps the only aspect of these articles, more memorable than the amazing images, was the writers’ pride for reaching such a remote destination along with detailed accounts of the frustrations associated with such trips.
Even today, with the wide range of possibilities to visit Raja Ampat, after it had become a relatively accessible and common destination for many divers, it defies common definitions. During a recent trip aboard Pindito, after speaking with our captain I realized that even the geographical definition of Raja’s borders is unclear. “Four Kingdoms” were/are a collection of numerous islands stretching from the Sothern region of Misool to the northern border of Indonesia. Majority of the islands, clustered in four main regions, are uninhabited and their names very from map to map. There are many notions about Raja Ampat, and particularly diving in this region, that will remain unexplained even after several visits. It’s vast, diverse, wild and most of all dynamic.

The abundance of Macro subjects for underwater photography was one of the more surprising facets of our trip, for me. While I expected the dusk/night dives to be done in shallow water, near the shore and away from the ripping current where Macro subject could be found. I never realized the magnitude of these opportunities. Almost every day, one of the 3 daylight dives was classified as a macro dive. Whether at the jetty near a village or in between two seamounts at slack time. The diversity and quality of some of these dive sites rivals the best dives I’ve had in Lembeh or Philippines.
Perhaps I should let the images speak for themselves. Here is a link to a gallery of Underwater Macro Photography from Raja Ampat.