Articles

A grim scene: Bat stars feast on a fallen sea lion, Monterey Bay, California, USA
 

Monterey Bay seems to have no end of top-notch underwater shooters! This week, David Slater, another photographer based around this fantastic stretch of California coastline, has put together a beautiful temperate water feature. David says he’s had a strong connection to the ocean ever since he was a kid. Growing up on the beach in Florida, he would constantly beg his mom to take him to the aquarium so he could snap photos of marine life with his disposable camera and catalog them in a notebook. Upon moving to Hawaii for college, David’s love for the ocean turned into a full-blown lifestyle! While attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, he became a dive instructor and spent nearly all his free time in the water. Even with basic compact cameras, he was always shooting—hardly ever diving without some kind of camera with him.

Things took a big turn when his mentor, Keoki Stender, generously gave him an old DSLR, underwater housing, and strobe. That was a game-changer. Being able to shoot manually with external lighting opened up a whole new world. Eventually, David moved to Monterey, California, where the ethereal kelp forests and cold-water diving really captivated him. Monterey can be rough, but when it is “on,” there is no better diving on Earth. And even when it is difficult, David says he enjoys the challenge of shooting in less-than-perfect visibility or poor conditions.

For David, underwater photography isn’t about selling prints or trying to be the best. It’s about a deep personal connection to the ocean—a part of him that still holds onto that childhood sense of wonder, excitement, and appreciation for the natural world he gets to experience through his lens.
 

Despite being captured in a still image, the underwater realm is always in motion, Monterey Bay, California, USA
 

A riotously-colored clown dorid laying eggs on a kelp leaf, Monterey Bay, California, USA
 

A beautiful surgeonfish hangs out on the reef beneath a churned up wave break, Palmyra Cove, USA
 

A curious fish comes over to inspect the camera while it is trained on a bat star, Monterey Bay, California, USA
 

An ochre star lounging in a tidepool, Monterey Bay, California, USA
 

A classic Monterey Bay wide-angle kelp forest scene, California, USA
 

A perfect moment in a kelp forest with a semi-curious harbor seal, Monterey Bay, California, USA
 

Moon jellies cruise just beneath the surface at sunset, Monterey Bay, California
 

Each year, Monterey hosts a sea nettle swarm, a beautiful but stingy experience, Monterey Bay, California, USA
 

A snorkeler swims beneath huge wave breaks, Palymra Cove, USA
 

A curious sea lion blasts past the camera in a shallow kelp forest, Monterey Bay, California, USA
 

A bat star adds a touch of color to a tide pool at sunset, Monterey Bay, California, USA
 

Hydroids face imminent death at the mouth of a Spanish shawl, Monterey Bay, California, USA
 

An aesthetically perfectly positioned opalescent nudibranch on a kelp leaf, Monterey Bay, California, USA
 

To see more of David's fantastic work from around Monterey Bay, please give him a follow on Instagram and visit his website, www.davidslaterphoto.com.