Renee Capozzola on Why Raja Ampat Keeps Inspiring Her

Renee Capozzola is a multi-award-winning underwater photographer known for colorful, powerful images of marine life that celebrate the beauty of healthy reefs. She has won more than fifty international awards, including Underwater Photographer of the Year in 2021, and was the first female photographer and first American to receive that title. She was also the inaugural Female Fifty Fathoms award winner from Blancpain through Ocean Photographer of the Year.

For Renee, underwater photography is about more than beautiful images. It helps people connect with the ocean and understand why it is worth protecting.

She is especially drawn to photographing sharks and animals she describes as often misunderstood, and uses her images to help viewers see them differently.

Renee Capozzola first visited Raja Ampat in 2018, with the Elysium Heart of the Coral Triangle expedition with Ocean Geographic, and has described that first trip as one of the best of her career.

Even after diving in dozens of countries, Raja Ampat remains one of her favorites, and every visit still turns up something new. During her latest stay, she photographed an oceanic manta ray at the Blue Magic dive site, along with:

• Wobbegong sharks
• Walking shark
• Sea turtles
• Mangrove forests
• A seahorse
• A sea snake
• An octopus
• Batfish

That range, in a single week, is part of what keeps her coming back. Raja Ampat continues to surprise even experienced photographers because every dive is unique, shaped by shifting light, tides, and the density of marine life moving through the reef.

Raja Ampat sits at the heart of the Coral Triangle, the global center of marine biodiversity, and its reefs back up that reputation. Healthy hard and soft corals, clear water, and a wide variety of marine life give photographers a rare combination: wide-angle scenes and macro subjects on the same dive.

No matter how many times Renee returns, Raja Ampat still reveals something she has not photographed before. Changing tides, shifting light, and marine life that behave differently by the hour create new opportunities, even on a dive site she has visited many times.

Few destinations offer this same mix of reef health, biodiversity, and constantly changing conditions, which is why photographers keep returning year after year.

Renee's recent social media posts from Raja Ampat feature vibrant coral reefs and colorful marine ecosystems, images that show the beauty still present beneath the surface. They also carry a message of hope: reefs like these still exist, and they are worth protecting.

That hope comes with a caveat. Raja Ampat's reefs, like reefs elsewhere, face real pressure from climate change, pollution, and unsustainable tourism. Renee's images do not look away from that pressure.

They simply show that healthy reefs still exist and deserve protection to keep thriving. 

Underwater photography supports marine conservation directly:

• It raises awareness
• Helps people connect with marine animals
• Encourages more responsible diving

Near Sorido Bay Resort, that connection runs through the ReShark StAR Project, which works to restore populations of the Indo-Pacific leopard shark, also known as the zebra shark, in Raja Ampat. The project releases captive-bred juvenile sharks into protected local waters, part of a wider effort to rebuild a population that had nearly disappeared from the region.

Renee's goal as a photographer and this conservation work point in the same direction. A single striking photograph, like a single released shark, can change how people think about protecting the ocean.

The Raja Ampat SEACAM Center, located at Sorido Bay Resort, is the world's first dedicated SEACAM facility. It is open to any guest staying at Sorido Bay Resort or Kri Eco Resort, regardless of experience level or camera brand.

The center gives guests access to the latest SEACAM equipment and accessories, including housings, ports, and strobes. Guests with underwater photography experience can also try the gear out on a dive, GoPro 12 and OM System TG7 cameras are also available in the camera room, and dive guides and staff are on hand to advise on underwater photography throughout your stay.

Dive guides are trained to support photographers with composition, exposure, and gear care, on top of finding the marine life itself. During her time as a SEACAM Ambassador in Residence, Renee spent her stay sharing professional tips, reviewing guests' images, and offering one-on-one guidance suited to each photographer's equipment and goals.

The center also runs SEACAM Workshops, led by SEACAM Ambassadors such as Don Silcock, combining classroom instruction with practical training at Raja Ampat's best dive sites. 

Renee wrote about her stay at the Raja Ampat SEACAM Center for Dive Photo Guide, describing the equipment on offer and the range of marine life she encountered during her week at Sorido Bay Resort.

Her article is a useful, firsthand look at what the center offers guests. Six visits in, Renee Capozzola still finds new reasons to return to Raja Ampat:

• Healthy reefs
• Unpredictable marine life
• Photo opportunities that change by the hour

Her work shows how a single photograph can shift how people feel about the ocean. Through the SEACAM Center and its Ambassador in Residence program, photographers at every level can learn from her and other experts while diving some of the richest reefs on Earth.

Plan your Raja Ampat diving adventure with Papua Diving Resorts and discover one of the most biodiverse marine environments on Earth. Guests visiting between July 12 and August 19, 2026, can also learn from SEACAM Ambassador Don Silcock, who will be in residence at Sorido Bay Resort and Kri Eco Resort during that period, through workshops or on-site personalized underwater photography guidance.