2020 EPoY finalist, Sirachai Arunrugstichai - Oceanographic

Finalist Exploration Photographer of the Year

Sirachai Arunrugstichai Thailand

6°49'55.7"N 99°32'31.3"E

Staghorn corals exposed at low tide, the Milky Way visible in the distance. It took photographer Sirachai Arunrugstichai a year to capture the image from the time he first visualised it: “I stumbled upon this pristine intertidal reef while working on a story. I wanted to capture the exposed corals during spring tide with the Milky Way in the same frame. I waited for 10 months for the Milky Way and the corals to fit in the same frame.”

BEHIND THE LENS

2020 EPoY finalist, Sirachai Arunrugstichai

Sirachai Arunrugstichai Thailand

ABOUT THE IMAGE

Camera: Nikon D850
Housing: Nauticam
Captrued pre-dawn, at 5:19am
Low tide, new moon

Sirachai “Shin” Arunrugstichai is an independent photojournalist and marine biologist, specialising in marine conservation stories. He is an Associate Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers and a National Geographic Explorer. Shin regularly works for various conservation organisations and covers news as a stringer for Getty Images. His photographs have been published in National Geographic, Smithsonian, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Guardian, among many others.  