50 Stunning Underwater Photos

• By Vailancio Rodrigues
• October 19th, 2008
• Photography
• 106 Comments

Of all the different types of photography showcased on Smashing Magazine, underwater photography is probably one of the most difficult to practice. It requires a very specialized equipment and the knowledge of some advanced techniques to get a perfect picture. You need to get the correct exposure, accurate focus, controlled movement of your subject and a pleasing color balance; you also have to deal with low light. Underwater photos offen suffer from loss of color and contrast when taken at a significant depth. Such photos are always adjusted with color balance to help offset the blueish tint of the water.

Because underwater photography is a specialized art, relatively few photographers attempt it. But it offers many exciting and rare photographic opportunities for fresh and truly different vivid images. Most often, photographers use a traditional film or digital camera covered in a watertight casing. Professionals prefer to use special underwater cameras.

Below, we present over 50 beautiful examples of underwater photos, created by artists and professional photographers. All works featured below have the artists and photographers’ names linked to their portfolios or websites. At the bottom of this post you’ll fine some links to Flickr groups where you can find more similar and exciting photos.

Also consider our previous showcases:

• 35 Beautiful Examples Of Rain Photography
• 45 Beautiful Motion Blur Photos
• Beautiful Black And White Photos
• (Really) Stunning Pictures and Photos
• Celebration Of Smoke Photography and Smoke Art

50 Stunning Underwater Photos

Victor Amor

J.Lambusphoto

Scott (lundysd)

Numera Tokyo

National Geographics

Neverletmego

Kenvin Pinardy
Dancing underwater.

Sugarock99

Dustin Humphrey

Gattaldo
Water just makes every situation more poetic and graceful.

Anatoly Beloschin

Unknown

Zena Holloway

Camilo Acuña

Eldad Hagar

Oracle

John Carleton

Barbara Cole

Tintinian

Smodger
Colorful scene captured using macro photography technique.

Vanveelen

Tina Owens
Blue crab holding an urchin on its head for protection.

Saul Kondrotas
Jellyfish

Tornicoqui

Maytevidri

Tamergunal

Kawa0310

Paragon

Ian

Nik

Rainan

Fangleman

digivangelist

David Doubilet

Last Click

1938 underwater photography
By Bruce Mozertom.

Further Resources

Links for further photographs and related resources.

• Life Aquatic
  The Life Aquatic group welcomes pictures of, but not limited to, amphibians, annelids, abalone, anemones, aquariums, aquatic plants, birds, bryozoans, chambered nautilus, cnidaria, coral reefs, crustaceans, coelenterates, ctenophores, fish, freshwater fish, jellyfish, marine mammals, mollusks, octopi, reptiles, sea snakes, sea squirts, sea turtles, sharks, sponges, squid, starfish, tunicates, etc.
• Aquatic Turtles
  All species of aquatic turtles
• Aquatic insects
  Photography of benthic macroinvertebrates, including dragonflies, mosquitoes, mayflies, stoneflies, water striders, beetles, etc.
• Digital Underwater Photography
  Scuba and other underwater photos.
• Underwater Indoneesia
  Photos taken underwater in Indonesia, including Bali, Java, Moluccas, Papua (Irian Jaya), Kalimantan (Borneo), Sulawesi (Celebes), and other dive spots in Indonesia.
• Underwater Maldives
  Photos taken underwater in the Maldives Islands.
• Underwater Videos
  Underwater, scuba, diving or snorkeling videos.

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