A Collection of Soothing Underwater Photography

Forget relaxing tapes of whale music and dolphin yelps, when it comes to helping you to unwind there’s a much better way of getting back to your place in the universe. The sea seems to call like a siren to the over stressed. The lapping of the waves, the roar of oceans and the utter isolation it offers is humbling, yet reassuring. Trouble is, despite being a tiny island, we don’t all live within easy access of the coast. So with that in mind, here’s a collection of soothing and inspiring underwater photography to whet your appetite. From sunken ships to submerged models, take a look at this chilled-out showcase and let go of all that tension. One, two, three, and breathe…

On first glance the colours are so vivid and the foliage so lush you’d think it was a rolling English landscape. But it’s not. It is, in fact, an underwater shot of shallow eelgrass taken at Chennels, Ancapa Island, a short boat trip from California. Note the cloud-like shoals of fish, the sky-blue sea and the gently swaying eelgrass.

Here’s marine life of an entirely different kind; the mighty sea turtle. Steady, ancient and tranquil, the understated turtle offers an incredible contrast to the dazzling yellow of the fish, offset beautifully by the azure ocean.

The epic solitude of the sea is beautifully captured in this shot. The anonymous nature of the silhouetted diver as he surfaces to the light makes for a wonderfully inspirational and humbling experience, as the viewer imagines himself in the diver’s shoes (flippers, to be precise).

While the previous imaged showcased he magnitude and open expanse of the ocean, this shot captures it in the most minute of detail. Shot using a macro lens, the glistening water droplets and dampened green foliage should help to cool even the hottest of tempers.

While neon lights and strobes are our man-made equivalent, this shot shows that it is always the mysteries of the natural world that shine the brightest. Rivalling any light show we can put on ourselves, the vivid fluorescent gleam of the sea-creature in this shot is perfectly offset by the dark seas.

Here’s an even more unusual underwater creature; namely a small human being holding balloons. The bright balloons look lovely against the light blue waters, and her pink dress floats beautifully. The patterns formed from the light on the pool floor are the perfect finishing touch too.

When the rat race gets a little too much, here’s how they do it in the marine world. A slightly more peaceful looking – and colourful commute – than most of us face on dry land.

From uniform marine life to a creature who likes to make a unique statement. This beautiful photograph of a sea slug, taken at Dayang Island in West Malaysia, is garish and bright, but somehow manages to be beautifully peaceful at the same time.

The wonderfully rich colours in this photo may not be the kind you would typically associate with the underwater world, but they sure are beautiful. The splashes of strong red and purple hydrocoral add impact and the way in which the shot has been taken from below creates a sense of the unimaginable depths that stretch below the surface.