Marty Essen
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Marty Essen
@martyessen.bsky.social
5.8K followers 2.4K following 740 posts
Multi-award-winning author of eight books (3 nonfiction & 5 fiction), talent agent, college speaker, activist, adventurer, and photographer.

Website: https://martyessen.com Blog: https://marty-essen.com
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Marty’s photo of the day #4961: So, I shot green sea turtle porn while visiting the Galapagos Islands. Copulation can take several hours, with the female supporting the male’s weight and swimming to the surface for air. . . .

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#photography #oceans #nature #sealife #herp
Marty’s photo of the day #4961: So, I shot green sea turtle porn while visiting the Galapagos Islands. Copulation can take several hours, with the female supporting the male’s weight and swimming to the surface for air. She’ll mate with multiple males over a two-week period and store their sperm for several months to fertilize multiple egg clutches. To me, the turtles’ expressions make this photo special—even if I’m unsure of how to interpret them.
February 14, 2026 at 4:08 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4960: When it comes to underwater photography, one advantage the Galapagos Islands has over locations with coral reefs is that its lack of coral entices many interesting and colorful fish to hang out among the volcanic . . .

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#photography #oceans
Marty’s photo of the day #4960: When it comes to underwater photography, one advantage the Galapagos Islands has over locations with coral reefs is that its lack of coral entices many interesting and colorful fish to hang out among the volcanic rocks near the surface. That advantage allowed me to get very close to this beautiful large-banded blenny. (Photographed last week in the Galapagos Islands.)
February 13, 2026 at 3:17 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4959: Deb and I spent the night in a treehouse along the migration route of the Galapagos tortoises on Santa Cruz island. Their migration from the humid highlands to the dry lowlands is only about five miles, but . . .

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#photography #nature
Marty’s photo of the day #4959: Deb and I spent the night in a treehouse along the migration route of the Galapagos tortoises (also known as giant tortoises) on Santa Cruz island. Their migration from the humid highlands to the dry lowlands is only about five miles, but that’s quite a feat for these huge reptiles—especially with all the obstacles in the forest. There were roughly 50 tortoises nearby, giving me plenty of subjects to photograph. One thing I noticed while spending time with these tortoises was that each one had a unique face. (Photographed last week in the Galapagos Islands.)
February 12, 2026 at 3:02 PM
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Eventually I will get to more spectacular underwater photos, but this shot demonstrates the difference between what I had posted previously from the Raja Ampat of New Guinea and what I will be posting in the coming weeks from the Galapagos Islands.

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#photography #oceans
Eventually I will get to more spectacular underwater photos, but I think this shot demonstrates the difference between what I had been posting previously from the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea and what I will be posting in the coming weeks from the Galapagos Islands. The Raja Ampat has incredible coral reefs that the Galapagos Islands do not. But that doesn’t mean the Galapagos Islands are inferior for snorkeling or underwater photography. The submerged volcanic rocks of the Galapagos Islands give the fish fewer places to hide and often move them closer to the surface. So I liked both underwater ecosystems equally. This photo features a blue-chin parrotfish next to a grouper, and the fish with the yellow tails are razor surgeonfish. (Photographed last week in the Galapagos Islands.)
February 11, 2026 at 10:54 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4958: You are looking at Christmas tree marine iguanas (also known as Española marine iguanas) making more Christmas tree marine iguanas. These lizards are a subspecies found only on Española island. While most . . .

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#photography #nature
Marty’s photo of the day #4958: You are looking at Christmas tree marine iguanas (also known as Española marine iguanas) making more Christmas tree marine iguanas. These lizards are a subspecies found only on Española island. While most marine iguanas are black to absorb sun heat, the males on Española turn brilliant red and green to attract mates—an adaption believed to be the result of fewer prime breeding sites on the island. (Photographed last week in the Galapagos Islands.)
February 11, 2026 at 3:37 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4957: This is a fledgling Galapagos albatross. When full-grown, these critically endangered birds have a wingspan of up to eight feet. This albatross isn’t yet ready to fly, but when it does, it will . . .

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#birds #nature #photography #IUCN
Marty’s photo of the day #4957: This is a fledgling Galapagos albatross (also known as a waved albatross). When full-grown, these critically endangered birds have a wingspan of up to eight feet. And they look a lot prettier, too! This albatross isn’t yet ready to fly, but when it does, it will stay at sea for three to five years before returning to land to breed. (Photographed last week in the Galapagos Islands.)
February 10, 2026 at 2:52 PM
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Deb and I are still on our way home from the Galapagos Islands. We’ve had four long flights so far and will soon board our final flight. Are you ready for a Galapagos sea lion kiss? If you saw the cute sea lion photo I posted earlier today, here’s the next photo in the sequence.
#photography #oceans
February 9, 2026 at 7:22 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4956: I'm returning home from an adventure in the Galapagos Islands that exceeded my expectations. I shot thousands photos of the amazing wildlife. This cute sea lion greeted me on one of my shore landings. Wait ‘til you see the sea lion pups!

#photography #nature #oceans
February 9, 2026 at 2:02 PM
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This will be my last post for a while. Deb and I are on an adventure, but I can’t say where or for how long. Details to come. In the meantime, here is my favorite reef-scape photo from this past November in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea. Note the bluespotted ribbontail ray near the center.
January 31, 2026 at 9:31 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4955: In my attempt to show you life forms that you’ve likely never seen before, here is some beautiful soft coral.

(Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)

#photography #oceans
January 30, 2026 at 3:37 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4954: These are feather stars. Despite their plant-like appearance, they are a free-swimming animals related to sea stars and sea urchins. They use their feathery arms to filter food from ocean currents and can crawl or swim by undulating their arms.

#photography #oceans
January 29, 2026 at 3:54 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4953: This is a honeycomb grouper. They are protogynous hermaphrodites that start out as females and change into males later in life. Living up to 50 years, they spawn on nights surrounding the full moon, with eggs released into open water.

#photography #nature #oceans
January 28, 2026 at 3:56 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4952: This is a longfin emperor. These fish can shift their coloration from a pale to dark depending on their mood. They also start out as female before becoming male.

(Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)

#photography #oceans #nature
January 27, 2026 at 4:13 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4951: This is a school of blackspotted snappers. The apparent attitude of one near the bottom, looking directly into my camera, cracks me up: “Who are you, and what is that thing in your hand?”

(Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
#photography #ocean
January 26, 2026 at 3:50 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4950: There are approximately 90 species of parrotfish in the world. I couldn’t find this one in any of my ID books or on-line searches.

(Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)

#photography #oceans
January 25, 2026 at 3:41 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4949: Golden spadefish undergo significant physical changes as they age. Juveniles have long, crescent-shaped dorsal and anal fins, while adults have shorter, rounded fins and a spade-like body. An . . .

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#photography #oceans
Marty’s photo of the day #4949: Golden spadefish undergo significant physical changes as they age. Juveniles have long, crescent-shaped dorsal and anal fins, while adults have shorter, rounded fins and a spade-like body. An interesting behavior is that juveniles sometimes float sideways, mimicking dead leaves, to hide from predators. Adults, like the one in this photo are quite large, reaching 19 inches across. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
January 24, 2026 at 3:47 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4948: This is a flagtail triggerfish. There are about 40 species of triggerfish. They get their name because . . .

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#photography #nature #oceans
Marty’s photo of the day #4948: This is a flagtail triggerfish. There are about 40 species of triggerfish. They get their name because they can lock their main dorsal spine into an upright position using a second, smaller spine, allowing them to wedge themselves into tight, rocky crevices to prevent predators from pulling them out. Also, they frequently use their top and bottom fins to move rather than their tails, allowing them to swim backward, forward, or hover in place like a drone. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
January 23, 2026 at 3:23 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4947: Sooner or later—at least for me—every visit to a tropical forest or rainforest produces some sort of stick insect. Here’s the one I found while visiting the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea last November.

#photography #nature
January 22, 2026 at 4:04 PM
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Marty’s of the day #4946: This may be hard to see if you are viewing on a small screen. You are looking at a bluespotted cornetfish.

(Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)

#photography #sealife #oceans
January 21, 2026 at 3:36 PM
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Marty’s of the day #4945: My photo yesterday featured ancient Raja Ampat artwork. Today’s Raja Ampat artwork was created last November. When I visited a school in a tiny, remote village, several boys showed off their sand-drawing skills. The boy in this photo was particularly talented.

#art
January 20, 2026 at 3:44 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4944: These Sumalelen Rock Paintings are located on the limestone cliffs of an island in the Raja Ampat. They are estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000 years old.

(Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)

#photography
January 19, 2026 at 3:09 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4943: While reef fish are often wary around people, three-striped whiptails are more of an in-your-face kind of fish:

“Hi! What are you? Whatcha doin’?”

(Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)

#photography #oceans #nature
January 18, 2026 at 3:14 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4942: I don’t have a positive ID for this butterfly. Many of my ID sources featured butterflies with markings close to this one, but not an exact match.

(Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)

#photography #nature
January 17, 2026 at 3:43 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4941: One thing posting all these photos from the Raja Ampat has done is make me very good at ocean species identification. This juvenile black damselfish was particularly difficult to ID because the adults are either solid black or dark-blue.

#photography #oceans
January 16, 2026 at 4:08 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4940: These are feather stars. Despite their plant-like appearance, they are a free-swimming animals related to sea stars and sea urchins. They use their feathery arms to filter food from ocean currents.

(Photographed in the Raja Ampat.)

#photography #nature #oceans
January 15, 2026 at 3:49 PM