The Turquoise Wonderland

Stron plankton actvivity on 14 February 2023 at the Soneva Jani Island

What a wonderful night at Soneva Jani Island, the Maldives, on 14 February 2023. Just after the late night stargazing for visitors at the So Starstruck observatory, I visited the northern beach of this small island and couldn’t believe my eyes. The whole beach shined with such engaging turquoise light while the gems of the Southern Cross constellation were appearing in the sky. Locals say the bioluminescence of plankton peaks in early January, but this year the activity prolonged a month more. Not every night before or after it was that strong, but this night was just simply EPIC. You could easily walk on the beach with the plankton stuck on your feet so much that your legs worked like small torches. You could swim in the lagoon and see each of your movements illuminated by the plankton in the water. You just felt like in a turquoise wonderland so well known from the Avatar movie. Another item on the bucket list is checked. Used Canon Ra, Samyang 24mm (f2.2) and Samyang 14mm (f2.8), ISO 5000-6400, exposures between 15-25s (single shots).