A photographer marries the worlds above and below the water in a single frame
Photographer David Doubilet first dove below the surface at age 8 and has spent a lifetime making underwater images. He talks to NPR about his new book: Two Worlds: Above and Below the Sea.
The ocean surface is the thinnest of lines between two worlds—"molecular thin"— underwater photographer David Doubilet calls it. Below is what Jacques Cousteau called "the silent world," a realm as alien as outer space with galaxies of fish and kaleidoscopic corals as spectacular as the burst of a supernova. Above lies the world of human habitation with the clang and clatter of cars, factories, and fishing fleets, all of which imperil the world below.
Doubilet has married those realms in (Phaidon) to be published on November 3. The images,. We spoke with Doubilet by phone. The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
