Marty Essen
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Marty Essen
@martyessen.bsky.social
5.6K followers 2.4K following 650 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 #4899: Striped surgeonfish are fast and skittish, making them somewhat difficult to photograph. Their bright colors make it worth the effort.

Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.

#photography #sealife
December 5, 2025 at 4:17 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4899: In addition to the amazing underwater life in the Raja Ampat region of Indonesian New Guinea, the above water life is pretty cool too. This is an orchid swallowtail butterfly on a peacock flower.

#photography #nature
December 4, 2025 at 3:17 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4898: The giant clams of the Raja Ampat were absolutely stunning. This is one of my favorites. It’s hard to believe that this is a living thing.

#photography #nature
December 3, 2025 at 4:06 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4897: The first time I saw these in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea, I thought they were a type of angelfish. But they are much bigger, reaching 19 inches across, and quite shy. Later, I learned they are golden spadefish.

#photography #sealife
December 2, 2025 at 4:35 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4896: This as a clownfish, which is just one of many species of anemonefish. The Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea supports the greatest number of fish species in the world, resulting in me seeing more species of anemonefish than I knew existed.

#photography #nature
December 1, 2025 at 3:08 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4895: While in Indonesian New Guinea, I saw more species of crab than I’d seen anywhere in the world—from the size of a pea to the size of a coconut. Eventually, I’ll post photos of them all. Today I’m featuring one of my favorites: a ghost crab.

#photography #nature
November 30, 2025 at 4:11 PM
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One of the highlights Deb's and my trip to the Raja Ampat was to snorkel with whale sharks that are attracted to an open-ocean fishing platform. There were four whale sharks in all, and they would surface from the deep, lifting us up before we could get out of the way. They felt like rubber.
November 29, 2025 at 10:56 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4894: I’ve loved photography for most of my life but didn’t get into underwater photography until Deb and I spent a week on the Sea of Cortez in 2016. I’ve upgraded my underwater camera three times . . . (Click ALT and tap text for the rest of the story)

#photography
Marty’s photo of the day #4894: I’ve loved photography for most of my life but didn’t get into underwater photography until Deb and I spent a week on the Sea of Cortez in 2016. I’ve upgraded my underwater camera three times. Currently I prefer the SeaLife Micro 3.0 for videos and the Olympus Tough TG-7 for stills. Sure, I could spend more on a big honkin’ dive camera, but portability is important too. While visiting the Raja Ampat region of Indonesian New Guinea earlier this month, I shot 4,500 photos, with 90 percent of them being underwater. The challenge of underwater photography is pushing the shutter button at the correct moment. A photographer must anticipate when the subject will be in the most photogenic position and take into account that even on a calm day the waves are moving the camera up and down, continually changing the focus. A few people have mentioned to me that they don’t take cameras underwater because they “prefer to be in the moment.” I say, “To each his/her own.” I’m quite capable of being in the moment and shooting photos at the same time. And in the Raja Ampat, which has the greatest variety of underwater species in the world, few people without a camera could remember everything they saw on any particular outing. Also, the difference between some species is subtle. Deb and I had been calling the ray in today’s photo a bluespotted stingray, but just before posting, I carefully compared my photo with the rays in my identification book. It’s actually a bluespotted ribbontail ray.
November 29, 2025 at 5:14 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4893: After 3 days of traveling, including 5 airplane flights and a 2-hour speedboat ride across open ocean, Deb and I are back home from the Raja Ampat region of Indonesian New Guinea. (Click ALT and tap the text for the rest of this post.)

#photography #sealife #nature
Marty’s photo of the day #4893: After 3 days of traveling, including 5 airplane flights and a 2-hour speedboat ride across open ocean, Deb and I are back home from the Raja Ampat region of Indonesian New Guinea. Having traveled all 7 continents and written 3 nature-oriented travel books, I can say with confidence that there is no place on Earth more stunning than the Raja Ampat. I’ll share with you the best of the photos and movies I took there in the coming weeks. I shot this photo while snorkeling in a tiny lake filled with stingless jellyfish. In the ocean, stings from this species of jellyfish pack a wallop, but in the lake, where they are cut off from predators, they’ve lost their ability to sting. Swimming with them was so much fun! They’d bounce off our masks and each other and simply change directions. Lakes with stingless jellyfish like this are extremely rare. The biggest jellyfish in this photo is named Bob.
November 28, 2025 at 6:25 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4892: Deb and I are on our way back from sailing in the Raja Ampat region of Indonesian New Guinea. Our first day was an outstanding indicator of what was to come. (Click ALT and tap text for full story.)

#photography #sealife #underwater
Marty’s photo of the day #4892: Deb and I are on our way back from sailing in the Raja Ampat region of Indonesian New Guinea. Our first day was an outstanding indicator of what was to come. We snorkeled near a mobile fishing platform, hoping to see the whale sharks that visit, looking for scraps.. The water was deep and murky, resulting in Deb and I both getting multiple unintended whale shark rides! There were four whale sharks in all, and they would surface from the deep, lifting us up before we could get out of the way. They felt like rubber. Whale sharks are the world’s largest fish. They average between 20 and 30 feet long but can reach 60 feet.
November 25, 2025 at 11:29 PM
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Greetings from Indonesia! Deb and I have spent the past three weeks in the Raja Ampat (the Coral Triangle) region of Indonesian New Guinea. Much of it sailing on The Katharina (pictured), which is a traditional pinisi ship, built by the Bugis people. (Click ALT for the rest of this post.)

#travel
Greetings from Indonesia! Deb and I have spent the past three weeks in the Raja Ampat (the Coral Triangle) region of Indonesian New Guinea. Much of it sailing on The Katharina (pictured), which is a traditional pinisi ship, built by the Bugis people. We snorkeled with whale sharks, enjoyed the most diverse and most beautiful underwater life on the planet, ate local foods we didn’t even know existed, hiked in the rainforest looking for snakes, tried to find birds-of-paradise, rescued crabs, and, in general, had an unforgettable adventure. We are now on a long layover between flights at the Jakarta International Airport, on our way home to Montana. I will have lots to share in the coming days. It was also great to be away from the internet, phone service, and the news for the majority of the time. Did anything happen while we were gone?
November 25, 2025 at 9:38 AM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4891: Canada geese in flight. Photographed in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana.

#birds #photography #Montana
Marty’s photo of the day #4891: Canada geese in flight. Photographed in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana.
November 10, 2025 at 11:13 AM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4890: Gentoo penguins on an island off the coast of Antarctica.

#birds #photography
Marty’s photo of the day #4890: Gentoo penguins on an island off the coast of Antarctica.
November 9, 2025 at 10:51 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4889: This is a spectacled flying fox, photographed in Queensland, Australia.

#photography #wildlife
Marty’s photo of the day #4889: This is a spectacled flying fox, photographed in Queensland, Australia.
November 8, 2025 at 7:58 AM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4888: A moose portrait. Photographed in the Essen Wildlife Refuge, Montana.

#photography #wildlife #Montana
Marty’s photo of the day #4888: A moose portrait. Photographed in the Essen Wildlife Refuge, Montana.
November 7, 2025 at 12:10 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4887: Prairie dog, photographed at the American Prairie, Montana.

#photography #wildlife #Montana
Marty’s photo of the day #4887: Prairie dog, photographed at the American Prairie, Montana.
November 6, 2025 at 5:01 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4886: For this photo, I am in the rainforest on the island of Borneo, standing inside an old strangler fig, with my camera pointed straight up.

#photography #nature
Marty’s photo of the day #4886: For this photo, I am in the rainforest on the island of Borneo, standing inside an old strangler fig, with my camera pointed straight up.
November 5, 2025 at 3:00 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4885: This is a Venezuelan troupial, photographed last year in Bonaire. As the name suggests, the are native to Venezuela. Apparently they were introduced to the island in 1973, when a local friar released some there.

#birds #photography
Marty’s photo of the day #4885: This is a Venezuelan troupial, photographed last year in Bonaire. As the name suggests, the are native to Venezuela. Apparently they were introduced to the island in 1973, when a local friar released some there.
November 4, 2025 at 2:26 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4884: Nellie gets credit for spotting this great horned owl. The owl is right outside my writing room window. Nellie barked at first, but now that the owl is asleep, she is just staring at it with an occasional low growl. I think the owl has settled in for the day.

#birds
Marty’s photo of the day #4884: Nellie gets credit for spotting this great horned owl. The owl is currently sitting right outside my writing room window. Nellie barked at first, but now that the owl is asleep, she is just staring at it with an occasional low growl. I think the owl has settled in for the day.
November 3, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles has won 2 more awards! I can’t divulge the names of the 5th or the 6th awards until the results are released. Also, the sequel, The Silver Squad Rides Again, is now in the hands of my editor.

Info and buy links are here: martyessen.com/books

#booksky #books
The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles has won 2 more awards! I can’t divulge the names of the 5th or the 6th awards until the results are released. Also, the sequel, The Silver Squad Rides Again, is now in the hands of my editor. Info and buy links are here: https://martyessen.com/books
November 3, 2025 at 3:29 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4883: I photographed this tiny frog in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru. The closest ID I could find is a Luscombe's rain frog, but I’m not positive it is correct.

#photography #rainforest
November 2, 2025 at 3:51 PM
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The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles has won a 5th award! I can’t divulge the name of the award until the results are officially released on December 1st. Also, the sequel, The Silver Squad Rides Again, is now in the hands of my editor.

Info and buy links are here: martyessen.com/books
#Booksky
November 1, 2025 at 6:22 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4882: I have two exotic trips coming up. In preparation, I decided to test my cameras and lenses. I stepped outside and photographed just about the least exotic wild animal on the planet: a squirrel. I intended to examine the photo and delete it. Then I decided I liked it.
Marty’s photo of the day #4882: I have two exotic trips coming up. In preparation, I decided to test my cameras and lenses. I stepped outside and photographed just about the least exotic wild animal on the planet: a squirrel. I intended to examine the photo and delete it. Then I decided I liked it.
November 1, 2025 at 3:15 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4881: Happy Halloween from the bats of Costa Rica.

#photography #CostaRica #wildlife
October 31, 2025 at 3:11 PM
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Marty’s photo of the day #4880: Today we go with a scenic shot along the coast of Puerto Rico. And for any Republicans seeing this: Puerto Rico is part of the United States.

#photography
Marty’s photo of the day #4880: Today we go with a scenic shot along the coast of Puerto Rico. And for any Republicans seeing this: Puerto Rico is part of the United States.
October 30, 2025 at 2:16 PM