FINALIST: Out and About. Two yellownose prawn-gobies venturing far above their sandy burrow during a midday dive in Lembeh, Indonesia.

On a daytime dive in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia, I came across two yellownose prawn-gobies floating higher in the water than I’d ever expect. Normally, these little fish keep close to their burrows, darting back to safety at the first sign of trouble. Seeing them out in the open like this felt unusual—and special.

The pair moved in perfect sync, clearly bonded. Gobies often form long-term partnerships, and watching these two hover together in the open water made me think of a couple keeping lookout for one another. Their elevated position gave them a better view for spotting predators, and maybe even a chance to snag drifting plankton.

What struck me most was how calm they remained. For more than ten minutes, they held their place—alert, but unbothered—giving me a rare chance to watch their hidden world unfold.

This moment was captured with an OM System OM-1 in a Nauticam housing, using an Olympus 60mm f/2.8 macro lens and a Backscatter Mini Flash 2 with an Optical Snoot.