Lembeh Strait Photography Workshop — with NAD Lembeh

There is a reason the Lembeh Strait is famous... The small strip of ocean in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, is perhaps the greatest place on earth for encountering an incredible density and diversity of the marine world's most unusual creature. Frogfish, flamboyant cuttlefish, blue-ringed octopuses and Rhinopias are just a few of the bucket-list species that photographers have a chance to see. Join instructor Matthew Sullivan at the world-class NAD Lembeh for a trip that pairs remarkably productive diving with hands-on, personalized photo instruction.

The Workshop

Our Lembeh workshop is designed to elevate your underwater photography through a blend of expert instruction, hands-on assistance, and personalized coaching. Whether you're new to underwater photography or refining an established eye, we'll cover the techniques that help you make the best possible images during the trip. Our goal is to send you home with a portfolio you're proud of, along with the knowledge and confidence to keep improving long after the workshop ends.

Each day includes a classroom presentation, followed by an image review, and one-on-one instruction as needed, tailored to your individual goals and experience level. We'll dig into exposure, strobe positioning and lighting, composition, autofocus and focus modes, and creative techniques that make your images stand out. By combining daily shooting opportunities with constructive feedback and in-depth instruction, you'll build both the technical skills and the creative vision to take your underwater photography to the next level.

The Resort

NAD-Lembeh is the Lembeh Strait’s dedicated destination for serious macro divers and underwater photographers. World-renowned for critter diving in the black sand bays of North Sulawesi, NAD combines expert photo-focused dive guides, a fully equipped camera room, and small-group diving with comfortable, good-value accommodation – all in one of Indonesia’s most extraordinary marine environments.

Diving in the Lembeh Strait

The Lembeh Strait has been synonymous with muck diving for decades. Don't let the environment fool you. What Lembeh lacks in underwater aesthetics, it makes up for with a staggering density and diversity of weird, unusual, and rare marine life. While there are reef and wall dives to be had, photographers travel to Lembeh to dive the mud, seagrass, black sand, and rubble slopes. 

The variety of species available to photograph can be overwhelming and it is why divers and photographers return time after time after time. Over a dozen species of frogfish, over 2 dozen cephalopods, literally hundreds of nudibranchs call the Strait home, not to mention several species of ghost pipefish, Rhinopias, and true freaks like stargazers and bobbit worms. There is more to be seen here than can possibly be photographed in one trip and this is what makes Lembeh so exciting!