STORY
BEHIND
THE STILL
Photographer’s name: Petr Polách
Website: polachpetr.cz/en
Image location: Yucatán, Mexico
Type of commission: Personal
Shot details: Sony ILCE-7RM2, FE 16-35mm
f/4 ZA OSS, 1/80sec, f/9, ISO 3200About the shot: Underwater photography is in many
ways the definition of a niche genre. It is amazing how
much of an adjustment is required when shooting in this
unfamiliar medium. A special set of skills are required to
work effectively in aquatic environments – both practical
and technical. For this shot, Petr Polách needed to call
on all his photographic expertise.
“This image was taken while diving in the cave
system in Yucatán, Mexico, specifically in the flooded
cave Dream Gate’s downstream section,” explains Petr.
“Flooded caves are characterised by an unfavourable
situation for a photographer – absolute darkness. The
solution is to use external underwater flashes. For this
photo, I used a total of five flashes – three external and
two on the case.”
It was the alien nature of the setting that enthralled
Petr and inspired his imagination, driving him to capture
an image that accurately depicted the scene. “The
world of flooded caves, in which the diver swims in a
state of weightlessness among the beautiful stalactite
decorations, completely captivated me and forced me to
capture this beauty in photographs. I wanted to capture
the size of the cave space, so in the foreground is a large
stalactite, followed by a diver, and in the background
a blue cave space with small stalactites. The colours
in this cave made it possible to emphasise the space
with complementary colours – orange and azure blue.
I wanted to share this beauty with people who have no
chance to visit this world.”
Right
Dream Gate
Petr only made minor adjustments in post-processing,
focusing on colour, contrast, brightness and saturation to
emphasise the natural impact of the scene All images © Petr PoláchYOUR IMAGES