Andrej Belic

     Once again I used the all mighty StumbleUpon to find a new photographer and found a very unique and mind blowing type of photography. I found Andrej Belic's beautiful undersea photography site, where he shares photos he has taken under the sea from all over the world. He started off photographing water sports, such as wavesurfing, and soon decided that standing on the beach was not adventurous enough. He used a Nikon F5 but due to the bulky water housing he switched to an F100 so he can fit into tighter spaces and move around more quickly underwater.  After looking at his site, I cannot help to wonder how dangerous this really is. It must be difficult lugging around all the equipment and then trying to get great shots while concentrating on diving and the sharks swimming around you. Also, there has to be some law or restriction to who can check out certain areas, especially the ones with shipwrecks.
     This photographer stands out to me, not only because of the fact that he's shooting underwater, but because of the variety of emotions that he brings out in his photos. One photo he took of fire coral in Saudi Arabia makes me feel helpless, and kind of sad. The angle and lighting he uses makes me feel like I'm at the bottom of the ocean with no air and as I accept my fate I stop to get one last look at mother nature's creations. On the other hand, he has photos that make me smile, like the close-ups of underwater creatures. There are close-ups of small creatures that are vibrant in color who look just plain cute.

References:
1."Going to the Depths...Interview with and Underwater Photographer."  http://askthephotographer.com/2008/03/25/going-to-the-depths/
2. "Andrej Belic." http://www.abelic.net/