Michael Rothschild

Get close, and then get closer.  That’s what every underwater photographer learns on day one.  We long for clear water, fisheye lenses and powerful strobes to make the subject dominate the frame.  To punch through the page or screen and grab the viewer’s attention.  But this article is about minimalism, where composition and balance are stressed.  This is where you realize just how powerful negative space can be.
 
The first image is my buddy flying through the midwater cathedral light rays, the power of his DPV visible in the taut tethers.  The second is another cathedral shot, but this one is painted in the muted colors of our local fresh water quarry, the blue-green water contrasting with a grassy bottom.  The third is over a deep wreck.  The rising ascent line and boat span the vertical image and tell the story of deco – the part that has been done and the part yet to finish.  The fourth is a minimalist wreck sitting on flat and unadorned sand, balanced by the approaching diver.
 
Find beauty in simplicity.  Not every scene needs to be a circus.