Matt Bagley, Present, Past &Future (ANIMAL 2023)

All shot on a single breath dive (free-diving) no air tanks only a 30 to 90 second window before the burn in my lungs pulls me back to the surface. No camera flash lighting equipment just a handheld dive torch to not startle the marine life this helps me move unrestricted through the ocean. As the sun rises, the light and shadows drift down to the darkness of the sea floor. It's the last of the outgoing tide, so the coral creates a milky haze, reducing visibility but allowing light to reflect on the water particles. It creates bands of light and dark shadows that clearly divide space. Awoken by the sunlight, a green sea turtle and loggerheads turtles slowly drift between the light and the darks of this world, disappearing from sight. On the ocean floor sits the HMS Protector, a memory of the forgotten past slowly disappearing and becoming one with the coral reef. These figures are vastly different, but both battle against time to be remembered. The ridged steel form of this man-made structure is only a relic of what it once was. Both endangered, The Green Sea Turtle has a 90% population decrease over the past half-century. Both fight to survive. It's a snapshot of the present, a clear reminder of the past, with the uncertainty of the future. What will we take from this world?

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.