Underwater photography inspires conservation
Playful and agile sea lions. Translucent shrimp smaller than your thumb. Silhouettes of reef sharks. Some of the world’s most remote coral reefs. These are a few of the colorful, magnificent marine creatures that the underwater photographer Keith Ellenbogen captures through his expeditions for marine conservation. Ellenbogen explores ocean ecosystems — from as far as away as Malaysia, Madagascar, and the Phoenix Islands in the central Pacific to as close as the cold Atlantic waters near his Brooklyn home — to unveil and document often-unknown undersea activities. His inspiring images have helped conservation efforts and brought public awareness to issues affecting marine habitats and life. Through his work, Ellenbogen hopes to convey the “kinds of animals and diversity of animals that are within the ocean.” He emphasizes that photography is uniquely able to “capture people’s minds and attention” and “spark a level of interest in people to understand the complexity of an...