Celebrating the Ocean

Since today is World Ocean's Day, I thought I would share one of my favorite underwater photos. This particular photo was taken in the waters off of Key Largo back in January of 2009. It's sort of a landmark photo for me personally as it marks the first time I allowed myself to think creatively for an underwater composition. I really wanted to move away from the standard underwater portraits that are so easy to snap... I really wanted to capture the essence of the scene. So, I slowed the shutter speed down considerably to allow the motion of the damselfish to be captured. I snapped the shutter, and followed the movement of the fish through the coral with my camera. The result is an abstract look at the reef that I believe captures the scene with much more life and vibrance than could have been captured with a fast shutter speed. Freezing time can be great but can often miss the intricate details that would otherwise make a photo worth that second look.