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Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin - Underwater Photography

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Photo: Facial portrait of a gold-coloured fish. With two horns on its head and a round mouth with thick lips it rather resembles a young deer.

Bento-Box-Sushi / Lembeh Strait, Sulawesi, Indonesia
© DR. CHRISTOPH GIESE

Photo: An over-under shot showing a white yacht in bright sunlight and a diver with bright yellow equipment swimming underwater.

Diving / Sharm el Sheikh, Sinai, Red Sea, Egypt
© Dr. CHRISTOPH GIESE

Underwater Photography - Diving to Explore a Hidden World

Special exhibition in the gallery of our section "Photo Technology"

1 March to 3 July 2011

Photo: Close-up of a rather sad-looking reddish-gold fish. Although its mouth is closed, four sharp teeth are visible.

Young wolf fish (Anarhichas lupus Linnaeus) / Stromsholmen, Norwegian Atlantic coast © OLAF KREUSCHNER

The shimmering surface of the water divides the domain of daylight from a realm of apparent gloomy darkness. Only occasional brightly lit features – tropical coral reefs and clear mountain lakes – arouse our curiosity about what else may be hidden in the murky depths.

The 80 photographs exhibited here reflect the enormous diversity of underwater motifs. They were taken in tropical seas, along the North Sea and Mediterranean coasts, and in German lakes and rivers.



Photograph: A diver encounters a manatee in shallow sunlit water. The manatee’s snout is almost touching the camera. Both cast fascinating shadows on the light sandy bed.

Manatee (Trichechus manatus) / Florida, USA 2008 © ANGELIKA HONSBEEK

Photo: A diver near the murky bottom of a lake, swimming between algae-covered tree branches. The lake does not appear to be deep, but the water is dark green.

In the Forest/ Germany, Brandenburg, Katjasee, 2007 © KONRAD DONSCHEN

Objective and emotional insights into the aquatic habitats

Scuba diving is a tough sport and underwater photography is one of the most demanding photographic disciplines. Pursued in a non-human habitat, they place enormous challenges on the photographer and his or her equipment. Capturing intimate images of the creatures that inhabit this hidden world requires great sensitivity and immense knowledge about underwater conditions. The little available natural light is normally too weak to reproduce the colours of the depths, so sophisticated electronic flash technology is required.

As nature photography with its own special aesthetic, underwater photography supplies objective and emotional insights into the aquatic habitats of our planet. As well as revealing the beauty of underwater life, the photographs make an important contribution to sustainability and environmental protection by vividly documenting the problems and threats facing these habitats. Knowledge acts as a spur to action.

The photographers

The photographers are members of the underwater photography association Berlin UW-Foto, which was set up in 2005. Since then, renowned underwater photographers and film-makers from the Berlin-Brandenburg region meet regularly to discuss ideas, plan joint projects and arrange diving expeditions.


Header photo:
Napoleon fish (Cheilinus undulatus) / Maayafushi Island, Maledives, 1996
© WOLF-RÜDIGER RAST




© 2008 Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin