The Great Barrier Reef at the north eastern coast of Australia is the biggest coral reef of the world. Its northern part is the most unspoiled, yet the most endangered part due to global warming. Still, it is possible to observe beautiful coral colonies close to the sea surface, like in this picture. Despite their plant-like appearence, corals are invertebrate animals that are mobile during the first part of their life-cycle. In the scene depicted in the photo, the corals are accompanied by red bottle shaped tunicates, another species of invertebrates.

Making of:
From the remote Daintree rainforest village of Cape Tribulation, about once a day a snorkeling expedition departs to the Mackay reef, a shallow reef and a tiny sand island ca. 5 miles offshore. With a group of about 10 people we departed in the afternoon and I took a deep dive to take this photo. I wanted to have the oceans surface as a background. The Sealife DC2000 camera with RAW setting and simple underwate mode, no flash, was used for making the photo.