Thousands of Portuguese men o’ war are blown onto the coast of New South Wales, Australia, during strong winds.
These cnidarians are floating colonies of four kinds of organisms dependent on one another for survival. Rafts of them trapped in a sheltered bay provided a chance for Matt to photograph them. On this attempt – one of many – he was in the water at sunrise to catch the eerie light and the clearer water brought in by high tide. A breeze pushed the animals along like tiny sailing boats, making framing tricky. Despite his wetsuit, Matt didn’t manage to avoid being stung. But the main problem was lighting. Strobes weren’t an option as they illuminated all the particles in the water. So he used fibre optic snoots, pinpointing the light and bringing out the luminosity and beauty of an often unappreciated creature.
UK/Australia
Matthew is a UK-born-and-bred underwater photographer who’s now based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. After emigrating down under in 2007 in pursuit of furthering his photography career, Matthew fell in love with the Pacific Ocean and has now made it his permanent playground. He likes to use his skills as an underwater photographer to try to amaze and educate.
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