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Laurent Ballesta's Image
Laurent Ballesta (France) endures below-freezing dives to reveal the diversity of life beneath Antarctica’s ice.
This is the first-ever photograph of the only sea anemone in the world known to live in ice. The species was discovered in 2010 by a remotely operated vehicle on an expedition in the Ross Sea in southern Antarctica.
How the anemone manages to penetrate the ice with its soft body – let alone survive there – remains a mystery.
Behind the lens
Laurent Ballesta
France
Laurent has authored 13 photography books on underwater wildlife. As co-founder of Andromède Océanologie, he’s been leading major expeditions for 10 years. He illustrates the underwater world as both a naturalist and an artist, whether that be capturing the first images of a coelacanth taken by a diver at a depth of 120 metres, documenting 700 sharks off Fakarava hunting at night or photographing the deepest and longest dive in Antarctica.
Image details
- Nikon D4
- 105mm f2.8 lens
- 1/125 sec at f25 • ISO 1600 • Seacam housing • 2x Seacam strobes
- Adélie Land, Antarctica
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