Vittoria Amati photographs the marine life
around the coral reefs of Sulawesi, Indonesia
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These underwater photos offer a unique
glimpse of the sea - they have been turned
into negatives. British photographer
Vittoria Amati, 54, transformed her photographs
using computer software to appear
like x-rays. Above a black-saddled sharpnose fish
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The photographs taken up to 30 metres
below the surface at the Bunaken
Marine Park, North Sulawesi, Indonesia reveal
creatures such as coral, fish and crabs in
stunning detail. (Star fish, Gomophia watsoni)
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Vittoria accidently turned one of her underwater
photographs into a negative and, pleased with the
transformation, decided to do the same with
her collection of 45 images. (Banggai cardinal fish)
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Vittoria, from London, said: "I stumbled
across a negative version of one of my
images and became really excited - they
had the power to trigger the imagination
. I was stunned, it was as if I was looking
at my photos for the first time." (Sea anemone)
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"I used photo editing software to turn the
images into negatives, then worked on
changing the colours layer by layer.
I needed to restrain myself to keep
the effect 'natural'. If the viewer is used
to see a coral red I turned it into blue,
making things opposite."
(A strap-weed filefish, Pseudomonacanthus macrurus)
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"There was the odd problem,
" explains Vittoria, "the first time
I went diving I forgot to take the lens off my
camera, but eventually everything
came together." (Echinothrix calamaris)
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(Red soft coral and brittlestar)
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The images were taken mainly during the
day but also at night when a lot of life comes
out feeling more protected by the dark.
(A Nembrotha species)
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"Swimming with fish is incredibly pleasant,
there is an extraordinary beauty hidden under the waves.
" (Coral grouper)
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"The aim is to show people how beautiful
every marine organism is, even the tiniest.
The sea is not only about big fish and mammals
like whales, sharks and dolphins. The sea is an
environment very rich in biodiversity.
" (Sea urchin, Diademasavignyi)
