23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Artistic
Checking out coral spawning

Once a year, on a specific month, night, and hour, thousands of corals along hundreds of kilometers spawn egg-sperm bundles into the open sea. This is how corals make babies and witnessing it gives a unique aesthetic sensation as if watching an underwater, upside-down colorful snowstorm. Yet, catching coral spawning is tricky business as it usually happens only once a year in a certain month of the year, on a specific night of the month, and at a certain hour of the night for a very short time window of only a few minutes.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2023
Date Uploaded: 11.2025
Photo Location: Eilat, Israel
Camera: ILCE-1
Copyright: © Tom Shlesinger