Articles
Giant kelp is an icon of the marine ecosystem along the Pacific coast of the United States, California, USA
It’s nearly 2025, and perhaps the last thing you’d expect in a photographer’s portfolio these days are images captured on film! But Photographer of the Week Effie Benjamin’s journey as an underwater photographer began with Nikonos system cameras and the iconic Rolleimarin. Blending her passion for freediving with the timeless craft of analog photography, Effie developed a distinctive style that is intimate, evocative, and nostalgic. Her imagery celebrates the slower, more deliberate process of shooting on film.
As a freediver and photographer based in Monterey Bay, Effie spends her seasons traveling between California and Montana, capturing the underwater worlds along California’s coastline and the rugged landscapes of one of the U.S. interior’s most spectacular regions. Recently transitioning to a modern Sony system, she continues to use her favorite manual focus lenses, including the Nikonos 15mm, preserving the intentional and tactile approach she cherishes.
In addition to her fine art practice, Effie has worked as a brand photographer for Verve Coffee, a teaching assistant at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography, and a printer and events manager at Bradley Print Services & Photo Center. She edits and prints each image one frame at a time in her photo studio in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
A huge school of baitfish swirls around giant kelp, California, USA
A freediver explores a kelp forest from above, California, USA
Blue rockfish cruise beneath a kelp canopy, sliced through by sunbeams, California, USA
An up-close and personal look at the underside of a jellyfish, California, USA
A mass of sea lions frolic in the shallows, California, USA
Giant kelp dances during a long exposure, California, USA
Urchin barrens are becoming an unfortunate reality in what were previously kelp forests, California, USA
Huge and healthy stands of giant kelp reach towards the surface, California, USA
Giant kelp forms the centerpiece of this baitball image, California, USA
Not always a bold animal, a curious harbor seal comes up to inspect the photographer, California, USA
A lone market squid rests amongst an enormous mass of squid eggs, California, USA
A top-down perspective of a strand of giant kelp, California, USA
Check out more of Effie’s wonderful underwater work on her website, www.effiebenjamin.com, where you’ll also find examples of her many other (topside) photography styles.
