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50 Stunning Underwater Photos
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
Kenvin Pinardy
Dancing underwater.
Gattaldo
Water just makes every situation more poetic and graceful.
Smodger
Colorful scene captured using macro photography technique.
Tina Owens
Blue crab holding an urchin on its head for protection.
Saul Kondrotas
Jellyfish
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.
(al)
Vailancio Rodrigues, born and currently living in scenic beauty of Goa, spent most of his childhood in art and creativity. At present a College student who likes to try and do different things at every moment. Also an webmaster and web designer – Tiny Goa and Pixel Art.
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- 1
- 2October 19th, 2008 4:38 pm
These are amazing!
- 3October 19th, 2008 5:01 pm
FYI, #12 (Exhale) isn’t actually an underwater photograph. On the flickr page the creator states that it was photoshopped.
- 4October 19th, 2008 5:07 pm
i wish i can survive in underwater world… brilliant shot!
- 5October 19th, 2008 5:51 pm
beautiful, great :)
- 6October 19th, 2008 6:00 pm
seriously. pictures are nice.. once in a while.
but i’d like to see some more webdev related content again..
- 7October 19th, 2008 6:35 pm
Hello, I am from Indaiatuba (São Paulo, Brazil) and love the Smashing Magazine.
These pictures are really fantastic.
- 8October 19th, 2008 7:00 pm
stunning!
- 9October 19th, 2008 8:35 pm
The girls in flowing fabric under water is completely played out…
- 10October 19th, 2008 8:53 pm
I like the turtle photo :)
simply makes me want to swim with it.
- 11October 19th, 2008 9:43 pm
Is it just me, or do the vast majority of these photos look 100% photoshopped? These aren’t even photos that have simply been “touched up”; the human models look much more like plastic than flesh. You could have found 50 photos that look realistic instead of this fake stuff. Even if most of these are real shots, they’ve all been photoshopped well beyond acceptable limits.
True beauty is found in real photographs that capture the eye and the imagination. Not in photos that look like they popped out of a hollywood film. *rolls eyes*
- 12October 19th, 2008 9:52 pm
Stunning as always. I would like to make a suggestion: could you please implement a j/k navigation (like reader and boston dot com, and of course, emacs) so it is handier to jump to the next picture or topic?
- 13October 19th, 2008 10:35 pm
I like the ones of Dustin Humphrey and the tiger of Eldad Hagar. The others are also nice, but those are the nicest.
- 14October 19th, 2008 10:46 pm
So beautiful! Dustin Humphrey is very special.
- 15October 19th, 2008 10:48 pm
Great scenes! I love all of these!
- 16October 19th, 2008 10:51 pm
one word…”awesome!”
- 17October 19th, 2008 11:54 pm
WOW!!
- 18October 20th, 2008 12:05 am
wow… Really nice pictures
- 19October 20th, 2008 12:10 am
simply stunning!! I love this genre :)
- 20October 20th, 2008 12:51 am
Hey great pictures but i really do miss some ive seen long time ago. That was a book and they pictures of people diving with elephants….they should really be in here…unfortunatly i cant find the page anymore…maybee someone can post the adresse!?
Thanks - 21October 20th, 2008 2:33 am
Hey,
Wonderful !
All the photographs are Wonderful, except those with female presence !! - 22
- 23October 20th, 2008 4:58 am
wow :D Beautiful artistic pictures
SM Rocks …. - 24October 20th, 2008 5:02 am
all i can say is… “WOOOOOOOOW”!
- 25October 20th, 2008 5:06 am
The color is amazing in these pictures. I love the composition and anger in the last National Geographic photo.
onwired.com
- 26October 20th, 2008 5:10 am
@nate – who cares if they’ve been photoshopped? Are you one of those people who whinges about people using digital slrs as well, that they’re not proper photographers?
surely true beauty is found in photographs that capture the eye and the imagination. so what if artists choose to use photoshop to create stunning visual effects?
some of these are amazing…
- 27October 20th, 2008 6:00 am
@ tom – i think nate’s point is that the title is “stunning underwater photographs” not “digital artwork inspired by stunning underwater photographs”.
that said, there’s a lot of good work up there. however I agree that we’re seeing TOO many “stunning photos” and hardly enough other stuff, like dev or animation or anything else for that matter.
- 28October 20th, 2008 6:31 am
oh! nice pic`s
- 29October 20th, 2008 7:16 am
Fabulous set! I *really* need to go diving again…
- 30October 20th, 2008 8:48 am
Absolut beautiful.
- 31October 20th, 2008 9:17 am
Wow these are awesome!!! :-)
- 32October 20th, 2008 9:51 am
as always amazing showcase
- 33October 20th, 2008 10:00 am
Shelly Corbett
This is the best underwater photographer I’ve ever seen.hylas
- 34October 20th, 2008 2:56 pm
this is some amazing and very creative photography. i love the vibrant colours and creative contexts.
amazing
- 35October 20th, 2008 4:17 pm
Photoshopped some may be, but how can we forget the wonderful imagination of the photographer! Just love the shot by Gattaldo, (sea nymph and lover??), visionary at its best!!!
- 36October 20th, 2008 6:12 pm
These are all beautiful, but I also agree with the other person who said that the underwater photos of women in flowing fabrics are getting over-done.
For those macro photos – if ANY of you have ever attempted to take photos underwater while diving, you’ll have a sincere appreciation for these shots. It is NOT easy taking underwater photos. Not only are your subjects moving around, but the environment itself is moving YOU around as well: swells, currents, etc. all make taking photos underwater a pretty challenging undertaking. So it’s a treat when you get some of these wonderful closeups and crystal-clear shots (photoshopped, though some may be).
- 37October 20th, 2008 7:40 pm
every pic was…wow!!!
- 38October 20th, 2008 7:44 pm
gorgeous.
- 39October 20th, 2008 9:45 pm
wow really stunning photos
- 40October 21st, 2008 12:40 am
The chick with the tits was hottttt
- 41October 21st, 2008 8:31 am
What??? No Alberich mathews?
- 42October 22nd, 2008 8:02 am
really xlent wat a picture
- 43October 22nd, 2008 9:11 am
nature is really beautiful, thanks for great share!
- 44October 24th, 2008 1:24 am
man.. those are some srunning pictures
- 45October 24th, 2008 9:55 am
Beautiful :o)
- 46October 24th, 2008 1:12 pm
Magníficas. Lindas cores. Dá para imaginar o que há mais abaixo que isso? Fantastic.
- 47October 26th, 2008 7:57 pm
All of the comments and opinions on this collection are true of most collections. Some photog’s are purists, some like to enhance, some go wild! The point is the talent and vision that the photographer has and uses to create these beautiful, beautiful photographs.
- 48October 26th, 2008 10:52 pm
Amazing image!! I like the color contrast!
- 49October 27th, 2008 5:48 am
Nice but very KIRI !!
- 50October 28th, 2008 9:13 pm
beautiful, great :)
- 51October 30th, 2008 8:11 pm
ok….varey good
- 52November 2nd, 2008 2:25 am
とてもすばらしいです！！
It’s very beautiful.
- 53November 4th, 2008 4:19 pm
The shot by Gattaldo is called ‘The Kiss’ and can be viewed at:
http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Underwater/54798 - 54November 16th, 2008 6:46 pm
The unknown shot is by legend David Doubilet
- 55November 18th, 2008 4:25 pm
Such a pleasure to see. Thank you for your creativity…
- 56November 21st, 2008 8:43 am
Some of these are very good. However, i don’t believe the 2 shots of the orange jellyfish in a tank with a blue background taken at aquariums from the dry side of the glass belong in this set. Every amateur with a semi-decent camera that has been to an aquarium with a jellyfish display has nearly identical pics… hardly “stunning”.
- 57November 21st, 2008 9:58 am
awesome ,,,,
vry beautful pics,,,,,thks 4 them,, - 58November 29th, 2008 10:45 am
Its really beautiful….Great Pictures,Thanks.
- 59December 5th, 2008 9:11 am
super cool. suer beautiful. a big thank you!
- 60January 1st, 2009 1:46 pm
Wow! Some striking photographs, and many with gorgeous color contrasts.
- 61January 10th, 2009 10:39 pm
Thank you for the terrific pictures!
- 62January 20th, 2009 4:41 am
I like it
- 63January 24th, 2009 3:40 am
Realmente magnífico e o Homem destrói aos poucos esse mundo maravilhoso e submerso.
- 64March 4th, 2009 8:51 am
Awesome Awesome Photography, Cool Post !! Love’em all..
But I’d say some pictures are cool but too odd (naked) ones. - 65March 20th, 2009 7:05 pm
it said 60! Not fucking 50! Whats the deal with that!
- 66March 22nd, 2009 7:12 am
omg those pics r amazing keep up the good work
ps. (my favorite pic was the last 1)
- 67March 23rd, 2009 4:23 am
outstanding- my dream is to be an underwater photographer and these pictures inspire me so much!
PS-
the unkown picture about 25 shots down
was taken by David Doubilet.
he is Insanely brilliant! - 68March 25th, 2009 4:20 am
very nice
- 69April 10th, 2009 8:44 am
These photographys are amazing and extraordinary. It inspires creative minds. keep it up.
- 70April 15th, 2009 4:22 am
Jabbardast
no match - 71April 26th, 2009 1:04 pm
,,,la poesia de la primera foto de Gattaldo
me ha impresionado , sin menospreciar las demas fotos, fue esa la toma que realmente me cautivo,,,simply,,,beautiful. - 72May 2nd, 2009 2:47 am
i loved all of them!!
- 73May 27th, 2009 8:32 pm
wow….FANTASTIC.
Great photos. - 74June 1st, 2009 6:00 am
wow ,excellent
- 75June 14th, 2009 10:03 pm
Good pic
- 76July 5th, 2009 10:03 pm
oh my god!!!!these pictures are simply stunning and extraordinary!!!color contrasts are excellent!!!great work!!!thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures…..
- 77July 24th, 2009 4:52 am
WOW! What wonderful creatures, God is Great.
- 78August 12th, 2009 10:35 pm
FYI the one by “Ian” is not an underwater photo. it is simply a photo of a chrysanthemum
a flower which does not live under or in water. - 79August 23rd, 2009 1:26 am
All the images are mind blowing and the girl in red is an out of the universe creation
- 80September 8th, 2009 10:53 am
Cool. I also have posted some of underwater creature in my blog,
http://www.creativepics.org/15-beautiful-never-seen-underwater-creature-photos/
- 00
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