Michael Rothschild

Underwater photographers grapple with light, arguably more than our topside colleagues. Light is the number one factor affecting all images (edging out even composition and focus).  And we divers shoot through an environment that gobbles up more and more precious photons with ever meter we drop below the surface.  Eventually, our only hope is to bring artificial suns with us into the depths.  But in shallow water, a strong sunbeam can reach down to our subject and illuminate vast scenes, far beyond what we could ever cover with strobes or video lights.
 
The first photograph is of a diver returning to the boat, with the bright cathedral rays beckoning him upwards, towards light and air.  The second image is on a shallow wreck - the white sand reflecting the Caribbean sun back upwards, to fill in the details of the diver hovering in angular composition with the ship.  The third shot shows a wide debris field created by the World War II torpedo which found a ship at anchor.  And the fourth one is a playful aquatic mammal, joyfully cavorting in the pool to let me try my new iPhone housing.