Underwater Photographer Takes Stunning Photos Of Plankton And Marine Life

Fishes are not the easiest subjects for photography. After all, you need an underwater camera, a tank of air, and a lot of patience to get any decent photos. This is probably why it took one photographer several years to perfect his craft. Needless to say, all the hard work has paid off because his photos of microscopic plankton are beyond stunning.

Ryo Minemizu is an underwater photographer who has been taking pictures of marine life for more than 20 years. In order to capture images of tiny creatures, Minemizu developed Black Water Dive, a type of night diving that uses underwater lights to lure the plankton out into activity. As you can see in all the amazing photos below, his method absolutely worked!

The pictures allow us to get a closer look at microscopic underwater critters.

The underwater lights also allow Minemizu to see his tiny subjects in the dark.

Minemizu takes pictures of the marine life in the sea of Osezaki near Mount Fuji in Japan. Although he has taken pictures for scientific purposes, the photographer admits that the tiny underwater critters are his true inspiration.

He said:

“Plankton are intriguing and beautiful creatures. They symbolize how precious life is by their tiny existence. I wanted other people to see them as they are in the sea – that was my motivation for beginning to shoot plankton underwater, which is quite a challenge.”

Minemizu says that “most plankton are so small and their movements are hard to predict.”

“I have devoted my past 20 years to presenting their tiny figures, colors and textures to capture their vivid beauty,” he writes.

Minemizu intends to keep photographing plankton in an effort to educate people about the tiny creatures.

“The diversity of life is immense, but people only see part of it. Even after 20 years of diving and photographing, I am surprised by new discoveries each time I dive. I believe it is my mission to share these discoveries and wonders with as many people as possible. And as an underwater photographer, I take pride in presenting to the audience how dear and precious life is.”

Minemizu won the Grand Prix at the 5th Nikkei National Geographic Photo Award in 2016.

The photographer says he will continue taking photos of marine creatures to spread awareness about their beauty.

You can find Minemizu’s works in his website or you can follow his official Instagram account @seacam1970 to see more stunning pictures.