Dr Lauren Smith
@saltwaterlifeuk
🤿 Marine Biologist focusing on elasmobranchs 🌊 Project Manager for an environmental non-profit 🏔️ Munro bagger 170/282 ⚽️ 🦁 AVFC fan
🔵🦈🧵 There’s something almost miraculous about seeing Blue Sharks (Prionace glauca) in the wild. 💙 🌊 #blueshark #shark #conservation #underwaterphotography #sharkdiving #marinelife
🦈 Blue Dreamin’ … Brilliant encounters with Blue Sharks yesterday thanks to @celticdeep ! Here’s a quick snapshot of some of my favourite images! 💙 #blueshark #sharks #snorkelling #freediving #underwaterphotography
👾 A single breath beneath the surface is all it takes to enter another world! 🔍 Can anyone help me with ID of these images (hydroids?) ? #snorkelling #freediving #underwater #underwaterphotography #saltwaterlife #marinelife
✏️ A couple of weeks ago i FINALLY made time to start sketching again! Literally haven’t done this for years, but really enjoyed being absorbed by this little project. Will endeavour to do more and hopefully improve! #sketching #art #puffin #wildlife #nature
🪼 🌧️ The natural world doesn’t hurry, perform, or demand to be seen. It simply exists. Slow down. Observe. Breathe. Sometimes the greatest sense of peace isn’t something we find—it’s something we notice has been there all along. 💙 #underwater #jellyfish #marinelife #nature #saltwaterlife
A lovely afternoon on the cliffs getting a few more snaps of the Atlantic Puffins before they head back out to sea until next season! The buffeting winds allowed me to capture some arial acrobatics, including one that passed just over my head! #puffin #seabird #birdphotography #nature #wildlife
⛰️ Ciste Dhubh bagged yesterday (on my bday 🎉 ) 170/282 done now only 112 to go 🤪 The forecast was ideal, sun and cloud with a little atmospheric mist. Plus lots of burns and bogs for Tattie! #munrobagging #hillwalking #scotland @walkhighlands.co.uk
Sea Slug Soiree 😉 🧵 1/2 Did you know that Sea Slugs (Nudibranchs) are simultaneous hermaphrodites? Meaning they have both male and female reproductive organs. #seaslug #nudibranch #marinelife #underwaterphotography #snorkelling
🐾 SUP adventure time with Tattie 💚 Perfect conditions today to take out my early birthday present! Tattie was desperate to come along and she was AWESOME, super alert watching the fish jump and just content to be with me! #standuppaddle #spaniel #oceanadventures #saltwaterlife #scotland
Some of my favourite pics of Atlantic Puffins that i’ve taken this season! #puffins #seabirds #wildlife #nature #birdphotography @steelyseabirder.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social 😉
🙏 🧵 4/4 It was a real pleasure to work with you all from Able2Adventure and I learned a lot thanks to Audrey and the brilliant “Marine Education for Deaf Youth” Guide, really great to be able to sign for the local marine species we saw when snorkelling!
🦀 🧵 3/4 I also teamed up with Macduff Marine Aquarium to support the Seashore Safari rock-pooling sessions!
🤿 🧵 2/4 I personally had the privilege of snorkel guiding for two enthusiastic young people, who are up and coming marine biologists!
🤿🧵 1/4 The Scottish Wildlife Trust’s “Snorkelling for All” in collaboration with @bsacdivers.bsky.social was one of the best things I have taken part in with our fantastic ocean community! 💙 A big thank you to everyone who took part & supported the event. #snorkelling #snorkellingforall #underwater
🤿 Kit prepped and packed! Hitting the road to Hopeman for the @bsacdivers.bsky.social and Scottish Wildlife Trust’s collaborative “Snorkelling for All” Celebration Event this weekend! #snorkelling #snorkellingforall
“For all that people build, break, and forget, the world remains beautiful. And if you make the effort to seek it— to walk, to climb, to stand still— you find that beauty was always there, waiting between the mountains and the open sky.” #hillwalking #freeverse #scotland @walkhighlands.co.uk
🌞 ⛰️ Solstice Summit! Outstanding forecast today, the stunning Ben Vorlich (~ Loch Lomond) is in the bag 🙌 169 of 282 ✅ #hillwalking #munro #summersolstice #outdoors #scotland @walkhighlands.co.uk
🤿 A few notable nudibranchs from a recent dive 💙🤌 #nudibranchs #seaslug #underwaterphotography #diving #ocean #marinelife
Feel like I’m starting to build up a rapport with the Shannies I visit regularly at a particular spot! Great little characters! #shanny #fish #underwaterphotography #freediving #saltwaterlife #marinelife
🤿 Another session the other week back at Boddam! 📸 I think that’s probably as far as I can take that split shot on my wee compact of the lighthouse & kelp, but really like it! 🪼 Lots of jellyfish reflections & a snap of my work colleague too 😎 #underwaterphotography #marinelife
🤿 💧 TAKE A DIVE WITH ME THIS WORLD OCEANS DAY! Happy #WorldOceansDay 2026! Here’s just a small snippet from below the surface of the Moray Firth! #underwater #freediving #snorkelling #divediscoverdefend #saltwaterlife #marinelife #morayfirth #scotland
🤿 A rather lovely Facelina auriculata #nudibranch I was pleased to spot this one on a deeper section of kelp whilst #freediving the other week, it’s quite challenging to try & get a good snap of something only a few cm’s long whilst apnea diving though! #seaslug #underwaterphotography #marinelife
🪼My best ever snap of a #SeaGooseberry (Pleurobrachia pileus)! These comb jellies are pretty small, getting to about the size of a marble! The iridescence is caused by the refraction of light through rows of tiny hair-like cilia (called “combs”) cont… #underwaterphotography #freediving 🌊 🤿
🤿 On the 24th & 25th May conditions in the Moray Firth were PHENOMENAL! Incredibly calm & the visibility was excellent! 📷 Loved capturing the views amongst the kelp forests & looking down to see decent sized Saithe/Coley! #snorkelling #freediving #underwaterphotography #marinelife #scotland
🦁 💜🩵 Sat in the airport mentally digesting the last few days! A quick visit home ended up coinciding with Villa playing the Europa League Final, watched the game in a Baggies pub with my Dad - who incidentally has no interest in football, however an extremely keen interest in beer 🍻.. #avfc