ArteSub - Underwater and Marine Conservation photography by Andre Seale : Underwater

ArteSub represents the award-winning images of marine wildlife and underwater photographer Andre Seale. "Underwater photography", "conservation photography" and "Travel images" are available for licensing and fine art prints.

Underwater Galleries

Chuuk : Chuuk, along with Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap, comprises one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia. Amongst divers it is best known for its sunken fleet of Japanese world war II ships at Truk lagoon. Amongst the 32 ships taken by operation Hailstone in 1944, the Fujikawa Maru is famous for still holding a few intact zero planes and weapons, and the Shinkoku Maru is best remembered by the abundance of soft corals growing on the deck.

Bonito : Bonito is located in Mato Grosso do Sul, south of the Pantanal region in Brazil and has become a hotspot for ecotourism. A network of clear water springs, caves, rivers and waterfalls has created a unique and lush environment above and underwater. Due to the abundance of dissolved minerals, visibility on some springs can exceed 40 meters.

St. Peter & St. Paul : St. Peter and St. Paul Islets are the only place on earth where the abyssal mantle rock is exposed in the surface, emerging from a depth of over 4000 meters. This small Equatorial Atlantic archipelago is located 1010 Km away from Natal and has a research field station maintained by the brazilian navy. Its isolation is believed to have prevented the settlement of many species but favoured endemism in the ones that made it, such as the locally abundant damselfish, Stegastes sanctipauli. The exposed rocks are populated by grapsid crabs, brown boobies and noddies. The rocky islets also attract a variety of pelagic fishes that are exploited by commercial fisheries, especially tuna.

St. Peter & St. Paul

Fernando de Noronha : Fernando de Noronha is a north-eastern Brazilian archipelago that was included as a UNESCO world natural heritage site in 2001. About 70% of its 21-island territory lies within a national marine park, and as a consequence of strict fishing regulations, marine life is abundant and large predators such as barracudas, snappers, sharks and rays are widespread.

Fernando de Noronha

Oahu : Oahu, the most populous Hawaiian Island, has a range of marine preserves, dive sites, and wildlife encounter opportunities, such as green sea turtles in Hanauma Bay, galapagos sharks in the North shore and spinner dolphins in the west side.

Kona : Kailua-Kona on the leeward side of the Big Island of Hawaii sits on volcanic land which continues underwater to provide substrate for healthy reefs and attracting a large variety of pelagic marine life, such as spinner dolphins, green sea turtles, humpback whales and manta rays.

Rongelap : Rongelap is home to a pristine underwater environment as it is one of the few Marshalhese atolls left uninhabited for decades. Fish and coral diversity are high, and it is possible to find several healthy giant clams within the lagoon. For this reason, this atoll has been choosen for the implementation of long term monitoring and environmental impact studies.

Ailuk : These images were taken during a Natural Resource Assessment Survey (NRAS) expedition to the atoll of Ailuk, Marshall Islands in 2006, as part of the efforts to document its seldom explored reefs and bring environmental awareness and conservation strategies to the local community. This remote atoll boasts great biodiversity and a large extension of unspoiled reefs. Ailuk harbors the last authentic community of Marshallese islanders to have kept the old tradition of building and navigating outrigger canoes. Local inhabitants can mainly subsist from managed fishing and locally grown copra, pandanus, and breadfruit.

Namu : Namu atoll, with about 800 inhabitants living in a handful of its 54 islets, is located at about 50 nautical miles south of Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. These images were taken during a 3-week survey expedition in 2004 to assess the marine resources of the region. The information and data generated are being used by local authorities to plan a suitable strategy for conservation and sustainable development in the Marshall Islands.

Palau : With its impressive mushroom-shaped limestone islands, the Republic of Palau forms a spectacular archipelago and is considered one of the top dive destinations in the world. The underwater scenery is stunning and marine life abounds, especially in nutrient rich sites like Blue Corner. There are very peculiar examples of marine adaptation, such as the Mastigias jellyfish which lost its stinging ability over evolutionary time as a result of becoming separated from natural predators in an isolated sea water lake.

Apo Island : The marine life living in the coral reefs surrounding Apo island, Philippines is one of the most diverse per unit area in the planet. It is estimated that over 200 species of coral and over 400 species of fish inhabit the area, and their survival became largely dependent on the conscientious effort by local scientists and the community living in Apo to establish and carefully manage a marine preserve around the 72 hectare island. For nearly 20 years, destructive fishing practices such as dynamite bombing and cyanide poisoning have been banned and special fishing areas and limits have been enforced. The success of the conservation efforts can be seen both underwater and above, where many can benefit from ecotourism and fishermen can still catch large sized fish in a sustainable fashion.

Malapascua : Off the northern tip of Cebu Island, in the Philippines, Malapascua is surrounded by some very lush underwater scenarios, such as Lapus Lapus and Gato Island, with an astonishing variety of soft corals and other small invertebrates. This quiet diving destination also provides a cleaning station for thresher sharks that migrate daily from the depths. Unfortunately, dynamite fishing is still present in surrounding waters, and several underwater explosions were heard during my visit in 2004.

Izu : Izu, the peninsula to the west of Tokyo, is large and mountainous. With countless coves, beaches and rocky outcrops, it is a convenient diving destination. The marine life is very diverse, partially due to the Kuroshio current, which brings fish and invertebrate larvae from warmer waters in the south.

Art Composites : Art composites are digital renditions created by manipulating and combining original images. A composite can contain a large number of different images spliced together to compose a unique theme. High resolution ArteSub composites can be used in a variety of ways such as in large panels, posters, murals, friezes and other displays for interior decoration or advertising campaigns. Shown below is a sample of our digital composite projects, compiled with underwater images from our vast archives. We also create custom composites based on certain themes and aesthetics to specifically suit the need of our clients (please contact us for further details).

Pink river dolphins : Pink river dolphins or botos, Inia geoffrensis, are well adapted to the dark river environment of the Amazon basin. The pink coloration is variable among individuals and is related to the abrasion of their soft skin which is well irrigated with surface capillaries. Their powerful beak is used for probing in the muddy substrate and efficiently capturing fish. Once widely hunted by indigenous people for cultural beliefs, some local boto populations have experienced an encouraging increase recently, but are still sporadically hunted by fishermen that see these intelligent cetaceans as a threat to their activity.

Pink river dolphins

Florida Manatees : Florida manatees, Trichechus manatus latirostris, are an endangered speices which find shelter in the warmer waters of Crystal River during winter. Once believed to be in he brink of extinction, manatees are now protected by rigorous laws and its population has rebounded to over 3000 individuals.

Florida Manatees

Sea turtles : There are 7 species of sea turtles distributed globally in tropical and sub-tropical oceans. These large air-breathing reptiles are highly migratory, and often return to the same beach they were born to lay eggs. Sea turtles are highly vulnerable to human activity, from ocean pollution to beach urban development.

Spinner Dolphins : Spinner dolphins, Stenella longirostris, are playful cetaceans of the sub-order Odontocetes. They typically forage for deep water squid and fish by echolocation during the night. During the day, they rest and play near the coast in pods, occasionally leaping out of the water while quickly rotating.

Spinner Dolphins

Marine mammals : Images in this gallery comprise a variety of marine mammals displaying a range of behaviours, including breaching whales, spinner dolphin pods and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal.

Marine abstracts : Marine organisms can display a huge range of colors and shapes. From psychodelic to patterned, many animals offer a different perspective to life. Amongst my favorite abstract subjects, are the mantles of giant clams, Tridacna sp.

Marine abstracts

Anemonefish : There are 28 species of anemonefish which naturally occur in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Their very specialized relationship with anemones is a hallmark of mutualistic behavior: the anemone provides a safe home while the anemonefish, unaffected by the anemone's stinging tentacles, feeds and cleans its host.

Sharks and rays : Sharks and rays are cartilagenous fishes adapted to a multitude of aquatic environments and critically important for the maintenance of marine ecosystems. These powerful and elegant fish have become severely threatened by the rapid increase in fishing pressure.

Sharks and rays

Fish portraits : Images in this gallery express the colourful patterns and intriguing facial expressions that many of the 30,000 described species of bony fish can have. Some fish portraits, such as from frogfish, can reveal very distinct “looks” among different individuals.

Corals : Corals are invertebrates that can form massive colonies, and over time, build reef environments. Coral reefs provide much of the nutrients and shelter for a number of marine organisms, but are very sensitive to climatic change.

Cephalopods : Cephalopods - term derived from the greek words “head” and “feet” - include squid, octopuses, cuttlefish and nautiluses. Regarded as the most intelligent of invertebrates, some of these marine mollusks have developed unique adaptations to the aquatic environment such as extreme flexibility, rapid color change, jet propulsion and three hearts.

Sea slugs : Displaying an astonishing array of colours and patterns distributed among thousands of species, sea slugs are mollusks that belong to the subclass Opisthobranchia. Of these, nudibranchs, or true sea slugs, are often the most vibrant and are characterized by exposed gills. Lacking a shell for protection, nudibranchs have developed a powerful line of chemical defense which is believed to be advertised to potential predators by its striking pattern and coloration.

Crustaceans :

Box Jellyfish : Box jellyfish, Carybdea alata, are amongst the most venomous of jellyfish. In Hawaii, they reproduce near the coastline and approach southern and eastern shores of Oahu every month. Very hard to see in the water yet very dangerous, their powerful venom is discharged from their sensitive nematocysts at the slightest touch of their tentacles. Box jellyfish stings account for hundreds of human injuries every year, but can be mitigated by warm water and vinegar. Information on current Hawaiian box jelly research can be found at the Pacific Cnidaria Research Lab

Whale sharks : The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is the largest fish on earth, reaching up to 12 meters and 36 tons. It is a gentle, slow-moving, filter-feeder that occurs in all tropical oceans. Whale sharks are mainly found in open sea and can live up to 70 years.

Portfolio : Images in this gallery represent a selection of Andre Seale's work that has won international photography awards and licensed commercially. These pictures have appeared in a number of publications, displays and advertising campaigns in over 50 countries, such as WWF, Hawaii's Island Heritage Calendars, Greenpeace, Scholastic Inc., Lerner Publications, Scuba Diver, Mare, Mergulho, Unterwasser, Nature, Crabtree Books, Princess Cruises, Monterrey Bay Aquarium, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Petrobras, and WildAid, among others.

Pohnpei : Pohnpei, the capital of the Federated States of Micronesia, is a lush island. Home to pristine fringing reefs and dense vegetation, this Pacific Island was also home to an ancient Polynesian civilization who inhabited the site of Nan-madol.

Over/Under: Saint Peter and Saint Paul Islets

Over/Under: St. Peter & St. Paul Islets

By Andre Seale

Book Preview

Over/Under: Fernando de Noronha

Over/Under: Fernando de Noronha

By Andre Seale

Over/Under: Bonito

Over/Under: Bonito

By Andre Seale

New release!

Web design and all images by Andre Seale / Artesub.com.

Copyright © 2011 Andre Seale / Artesub.com. All rights reserved worldwide.

free web page counters

Available Feeds

Recent Galleries:

Atom |

RSS

Recent Photos:

Atom |

RSS

Popular Category Photos:

Atom |

RSS