Blue Assignment Winner Hamid Rad

The photo was taken in Baa Atoll, Maldives in November 2012. I have been lucky enough to work in the Maldives for four years. Needless to say the place is a gold mine of opportunities for underwater photographers. Jetties generally shelter a great variety of marine life and offer unique photo opportunities with great light contrasts, directional lines and perspectives. On that specific day, the water was crystal clear. I started playing around with sun rays filtering through the jetty’s planks and alongside the boat. The bigeye trevallies were around but a bit deeper. I started making a clicking sound with my mouth, knowing it would trigger their curiosity, and it worked. I dived down to get a better angle, shooting upwards to be able to frame the fish school coming at me, as well as the boat and sun rays fanning out. There is something mesmerizing & always very graphical about schooling fish, giving a still photograph a sense of movement & sheer wilderness.

Canon EOS 600D (Canon EOS Rebel T3i in the US), Tokina AF 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 AT-X lens, Nauticam Underwater Housing, Inon Z240 Strobe.