Behind the Lens: Suahuatica
Our featured photographer, Michael, captured our attention awhile back and we couldn’t wait to feature his work. While he primarily prefers to shoot under the sea, his creativity is not limited to the underwater world. Traveling throughout the Caribbean and Cyprus, Michael explores the depths and varying landscapes of the ocean, a common thread that connects us all, no matter where we call home.
Michael’s perspective as an artist comes from his studies in documentary and art photography at the Royal Academy of Arts in the Hague, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in 2009. Although he was initially drawn to fine art and documentary subjects, he finally combined his passion for the ocean with his academics in 2015. This is when “Suahuatica” was born. An underwater world that Michael uses to create most of his beautiful images are shot under the sea or in various waterways around the world. Currently, he is in Cyprus where he will spend most of this year. In the wintertime, Michael heads to warmer, tropical locations around the globe in search for clear water. Although Michael specializes in underwater art and seaside swimwear photography, he also provides guided cave and cenote exploration wherever he travels.
“I love science fiction! The underwater world with its lack of gravity and caves in particular, provide the perfect setting to allow me to capture those other-worldly environments, along with the lack of gravity allow me to capture my images that I associate with that realm. As an adult, I forgot that I had a deep appreciation of 60s-80s sci-fi pocketbook art, where both the intense colors and contrasts, bizarre environments and heroic but sensual and hyper feminine were depicted as the covers. My younger self has been reading those books since my early youth. Since I lack drawing skills then and now, (I think I got stuck at the level of a 10-year-old), my photography has provided me with a way to share my visual interests with people.
Not only that, but I hope that my creative imagery helps show the beauty, uniqueness and fragility of the underwater world, contextualized by the human form and for personal identification. Capturing a world below the surface allows anyone to fall in love with the ocean, no matter where they live. People tend to be more careful and protect what they love, so that remains my number one goal," explains Michael.
To see more of Michael’s underwater world, be sure to connect at: @suahuatica, Suahuatica@outlook.com, Suahuatica.com
Written by Penny Tranchilla // Photography by @suahuatica