Colors of the Coral Reef: About

The Reefs

Imagine sinking slowly feet first into warm, blue Caribbean water. You can breathe easily through your SCUBA gear and see perfectly through your glass-fronted mask. You look up and see a rippled circle of bright, variegated blue light on the surface from the sun. Now, really, take a minute to imagine this! The water becomes a deeper, more intense blue as you continue to very slowly drift down. You watch other divers descending below you trailing silvery bubbles in the deep blue. Soon you are hovering over the light sandy bottom surrounded by high underwater islands of rocky looking coral reefs encrusted with brilliantly colored growths and vase, tube and bowl-shaped sponges. Otherworldly fern-like fronds and plant-like fans of coral wave in the current. Carnival-colored fish swim by, unafraid, as you slowly kick the fins on your feet moving effortlessly and weightlessly over and around the reefs. Awestruck by the unbelievable beauty of the scene, you laugh into your breathing apparatus. You are full of gratitude that, for a short while, you can be part of this beautiful undersea world. If you do this imagination exercise, you will have some idea of how I felt each and every time I went diving.

As I learned more about reef life, I discovered that many of the plant-like growths were really colonies of tiny animals — coral. Different varieties of coral take on all kinds of branching, flat, convoluted and odd shapes in a wide variety of colors and textures. Even more amazing, the bleached skeletons of these colonies make up the rocky looking islands. Even the fine sand on the bottom is a result of erosion and even consumption of coral by parrotfish, for example. Coral barrier reefs and fringing reefs often provide protection for land masses from the relentless fury of ocean waves and form partially enclosed bodies of quiet water — home to many varieties of sea life. Many other plants and animals on the reef have surreal colors, shapes and habits. Is it any wonder that coral reefs fill us with awe at the miracles of nature?

Until the middle of this century, only free divers (diving without breathing gear) could experience some of the wonders of reef life. With the development of safe SCUBA equipment and underwater cameras, we can appreciate the incredible beauty and complexity of the world's reefs and their importance to our own health and well-being. Reefs provide nurseries, shelter and food for many species of marine life. Much of human nourishment depends on the health of the reef's microscopic or small plants and animals which feed larger life forms — crustaceans, mollusks, fish, and marine mammals. We are beginning to realize that everything in nature is connected and protecting the coral reefs is an essential part of maintaining a healthy planet.

The Photographs

My interest in photography began in my undergraduate days at the Rhode Island School of Design where I received my BFA. Although photography is an avocation, I have been "serious" about photography for years. I tended to look at things closely, perhaps because I have always been near-sighted. Underwater macro photography suited me well, though I used a dive mask with corrective lenses. For underwater photos I used a Nikonos V camera with a strobe and Fuji Velvia slide film.