Lembeh Macro Critter Workshop 2026

Photography Workshop

Join us at NAD Lembeh Resort for our annual underwater photo workshop in the muck dive capital of the world and the best place for underwater macro photography.

Why Join This Trip?

A haven for macro photographers—Lembeh is, without doubt, the muck diving capital of the world
Great resort (NAD Lembeh) with beachfront rooms, delicious food (all meals included), free public WiFi and a small pool
Top dive operation in Lembeh with 2:1 divers to guide ratio
FREE daily macro photography workshops
Up to 21 boat dives + unlimited diving at the resort’s beautiful house reef
Optional 3-night land extension available
Fully refundable deposit until 12 months from departure.

September 17 - 24, 2026

Trip Leader: Mark Hatter

Beachfront Room: $2,153 per person, double occupancy

Seaview Room: $2,590 per person, double occupancy

Single occupancy upgrade $600

Travel Insurance not included, click here to learn more about our preferred plan

7-Night Package Inclusions

7 nights accommodation (with air-conditioning)
Full board meals in the resort
4 dives per day inc. one dusk, night or blackwater dive with 2 to 1 diver to guide ratio
Round trip airport transfers between 7:30-16:00
Snacks, water, coffee, tea, chocolate drink, and espresso
Free WiFi

Exclusions

Nitrox ($120)
International flights
Effective 14 February 2024, visitors coming to Bali must pay Foreign Tourists Levy of IDR 150,000/person prior to arrival in Bali. It is to be paid only one time per visit. More information: http://lovebali.baliprov.go.id/
Travel Insurance: click here to learn more about our preferred plan
Gratuity

Additional Information about the Resort:

The resort offers 2:1 guest to guide ratio as a standard. Its 15 dive guides are permanent employees with local Lembeh diving experience (totalling at least 100 years between them). They are all underwater photography trained and proficient UW photographers themselves.
Please note that the resort does NOT allow for our guests to wear gloves!
The resort has a fleet of 4 dive boats that are at least 13m long with 2 x four-stroke engines. There are onboard toilets, Medical oxygen, and a Basic First Aid kit.
There are a maximum of 8 guests per dive boat.
It's the only resort on Lembeh island with a floating dock. This allows for easy access to the boats and dignified boarding, as well as easy entry to the house reef.
The resort is on ground level with minimal steps to the bungalows. Beachfront rooms, restaurants, bar and camera room are all on the ground floor. Older guests or those with disabilities and knee/back problems find it easy to navigate.
It's situated in a private bay and surrounded by lush greenery. Far from villages, thus offering a quiet and tranquil environment for a relaxing vacation.
The resort offers 24-hour electricity and WiFi.

Trip Type

This trip is a PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP. It will be led by one of our photo instructors and will include daily underwater photography tutorials, in-water photography support, and one-to-one advice and guidance as required.

What to expect from our Photo Workshops

Daily photo workshops - Your photo instructor will schedule seminars each day on topics including, but not limited to, equipment type and selection, the concept of underwater photography, lighting and composition techniques, and post-processing. They will also include topics relevant to the location and your experience such as the use of snoots & diopters, single vs multi-point light sources, plus daily macro-specific assignments to practice your skills.
In-water support - Where possible, each dive group will spend time underwater with the photo instructor, receiving in-water support and guidance on their shooting techniques. Participants can also request in-water assistance during the workshop and the photo instructor will do his or her best to accommodate all requests.
Consecutive days of practice & review - Each day you will have the opportunity to practice the techniques and skills learned in the previous day’s tutorials. If you are new to underwater photography you will likely see a vast improvement in just a few days.
Daily photo image reviews - You are strongly encouraged to bring your laptop, a thumb drive, edit your photos, and submit your shots for review from both the instructor and your peers. These are fun and interactive sessions encouraging you to improve throughout the trip.
Quality time with fellow photographers - Both new and experienced photographers from past workshops have expressed the advantages of joining a trip with like-minded divers with a passion for underwater photography.
Suitable for everyone - New and experienced photographers are welcome on all our trips. Gain the necessary skills to start shooting great photos, increase your confidence in finding the best underwater shots, or hone specific skills. We also encourage non-photographers to join, as many of them really enjoy the daily photo reviews, learning about underwater photography, and some have even returned to a photo workshop with an underwater camera setup!

Enjoy free, unlimited access to a wealth of knowledge and advice from your photo instructor.

Trip Syllabus

Bluewater's Lembeh macro workshop with Mark Hatter will focus (literally and figuratively) on macro photography and blackwater photography with an emphasis on post-production techniques to process both types of images. In addition, Mark will teach a section on using snoots and and on creative shooting and strobe placement.

Mark will provide daily instructional classes, both in a group setting and via individual instruction. Tutorials will comprise up to 5 x 60-minute presentations, each with follow-up 1-on-1 instruction. Teaching will take the form of PowerPoint presentations, informal group discussions, 1-on-1 training, streaming live demonstrations (e.g., using programs like Lightroom), and underwater help. There will also be an optional pre-trip Zoom class on the basics of UW photography to jumpstart novices.

Days 1 & 2: Intro to UW photography, wide-angle UW photography, macro UW photography
Days 3 & 4: Employing snoots, creative shooting, strobe angle placement
Days 5 & 6: Post-processing tools in Lightroom for black water images
Mark will provide as much in-water and 1-on-1 support as necessary.

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Diving in Lembeh Strait

Lembeh Strait is, without a doubt, the muck-diving capital of the world. Underwater photographers flock here from all over the world to see a myriad of critters, frogfish, pipefish, nudibranchs, sea horses, juvenile fish, and other exotic animals. Don't expect large reefscapes in Lembeh, but very scenic reefs live around nearby islands if you want to extend your trip to get in some reef diving, too.

Learn more about Lembeh Strait Diving

Schedule

Guests can arrive any time on September 17 and leave any time on September 24. Here's the typical daily schedule for this 7-night trip:

6.30 Breakfast
7.30 Departure for two morning dives (snacks/ drinks during the surface interval)
12.15 Lunch at the resort
14.00 Departure for one afternoon dive
16.00 Snacks
16.30 Mandarin Fish Dive (only on Saturdays, minimum 2 pax)
17.45 Night Dive (minimum 2 pax)
18.00 Black Water Night Dive (minimum 2 pax)
19.15 Dinner

To get a little insight as to what the workshop is like, read the report from our 2022 trip!

About NAD Lembeh

Situated on the well-loved Lembeh Strait, this muck diving paradise is alluring to divers worldwide. NAD Lembeh offers knowledgeable dive staff with trained eyes and passion for diving and little critters, comfortable rooms, and excellent photography amenities. NAD prides themselves for having the largest. and some would say the most experienced, dive team in Lembeh today.

NAD Lembeh Facilities

Open-air restaurant
Sunbeds
Small pool
Jacuzzi
Big and spacious camera room
Business center
Free public WiFi
Laundry services
Return airport transfers
Multilingual staff
Non-smoking rooms
Open air bar

Bar & Restaurant

Pool Area

Read the reviews of the NAD-Lembeh Resort here.

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Flight Information

Scoot Airlines flights are operating on time on Wednesdays and Fridays direct from Singapore Changi Airport. Baggage collection at Manado Airport as been remarkably swift.

There are no PCR tests on arrival, however if a passenger records a temperature higher than 37.5°C, there will be a PCR test given at the airport. There is some inconsistency regarding passenger temperature and oxygen saturation level checks on arrival.

Customs / Immigration are actively checking passport and vaccination certificates. All passengers should also be able to show the PeduliLindungi App and travel insurance certificates, if requested.

Visa on Arrival costs IDR 500,000 and needs to be paid for in cash. Immigration will accept the following currencies: IDR, USD, SGD, AUD and EURO (notes must be clean and not creased). There is also an ATM inside the airport terminal for cash IDR withdrawals.

Upon exiting the airport, our team will be ready to greet you and, with the new toll road open, the transfer to NAD Lembeh's private jetty is now only 60 minutes!

Flight Package

Our group trips attract guests from all over the globe and many of our customers prefer to book their own flights to take advantage of mileage points or credit card discounts. For these reasons, flights are not included in our group trip packages.

However, we are more than happy to work with you to find the best travel itinerary for your trip and will gladly give suggestions and advice, even if you make the final booking. We will check through your travel reservations at any time to ensure they fit with the trip schedule and can give recommendations on transit hotels and day tours where needed.

If you would like us to book flights, hotels, and transfers for your domestic and/or international travel on your behalf, we are also happy to arrange this. Please be advised that there is a 10% fee for this service to cover our booking and administration costs.

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About the Trip Leader

Mark Hatter is an accomplished photojournalist who has had nearly one hundred feature articles with many hundreds of images published in more than two dozen fly fishing and diving publications over the last two decades. His most recent destination features have appeared in Alert Diver and Diver (UK) magazines.

Mark has traveled the world in pursuit of new underwater photography challenges, including cold-water destinations such as British Columbia and even Antarctica in January 2018.

“Of course, I love shooting in tropical locations but I think cold water diving is a great forcing function to hone one’s photography skills as the environment and equipment are much more demanding of a diver. Good image capture in cold water is particularly rewarding.” Mark tells us.

Mark has been shooting underwater since the early 1980s and has worked in both film and digital mediums in his photojournalism pursuits. In 35 years of diving, Mark has logged over 2000 hours, much of it doing underwater photography. Currently, he teaches underwater photography classes locally at Seminole Scuba in Lake Mary, Florida. More about Mark here.

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