I'm used to work with ultra powerful flashlights to create my light-painting pictures, so when I've been asked to experiment with bioluminescence, I was a bit skeptical about the results I could get, but the experience itself seemed like a lot of fun.

Basically, those little creatures can emit light when activated. So we simply ran into the ocean like crazy and it started to glow. 
"(...) plankton that have evolved to glow in order to startle or distract fish and other potential predators. Some scientists call it the “burglar alarm effect”: by lighting up, the plankton draw even larger predators that, in turn, eat the animal threatening them. The phosphorescence only occurs when the microorganisms, which exist worldwide, are agitated – such as when the water crashes onto the shore, someone steps on the wet sand or a paddle hits the waves"
source: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20140619-seas-that-glow-like-stars

To capture the trails, I set my camera to a 30 seconds exposure duration, and very high ISO, thus the very grainy result. It was night time and we had no moon, so even if the pictures are very noisy, I'm quite happy with the result we got. Just to make things clear, the subjects are not lit by the bioluminescence, but rather by the ambiant light (stars and distant village) 

The night was so dark, and I was a bit afraid to let my camera all alone on my tripod four feet sunk into the ocean, but I guess I'm lucky, and once again, my equipement went safe back home. 

We captured these pictures on Holbox Island in Mexico during IPAF Festival. 
Thanks a lot to the bioluminescence team: Kim Henry, Millie Caron, James Trotta-Bono, Sophia Moelk, Cedric Taillon, Guillermo Castellanos and IPAF Festival.