DIVING
- exoloring "the inner space"
-
Karsten Petersen
Ready to search for stone age
settlements - -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
I'm a diver - - -
This should not come as a surprise to anyone
who knows that I also like the sensation of sailing on the surface of the
water,- regardless if it's in a high powered speed boat,- or an old traditional
wooden sailing ship!
So of course I also like to actually enter the water,- because this is the only way really to become one with the wet element,- and to experience some of the secrets of the ocean, which for most people, is wrapped forever in endless blue sea.
My favorite Frenchman, - Jacques Costeau-,
was once asked what he considered his most exiting and interesting dive!
Of course I expected a real wild tale
that would knock me out,- but the answer was quite disappointing.
He said,- that he could not really refer
to any special dive as being the best!
All dives are interesting and exiting he
pointed out!
And it did not matter if the sea bottom was
just a plain, flat floor made from gray mud!
All dives were "the best",- because there
is always "something"!
At that time I was a little bit disappointed
by this answer.
I did not understand it,- but later I realized,
that what Costeau was talking about,- was the "feeling" of it!
And that "feeling" is the same every time,
regardless if the sea bottom is plain mud,- or you are looking around in
an exiting historical wreck,- or a swimming along a vertical underwater
wall with stunning life forms!
What is this "feeling" then??
Well,- a fully equipped diver is the most
awkward and clumsy living thing on Earth,- as long as he is on dry land!
To put it mildly, the equipment is very heavy,-
and all your movements are really restricted!
But once in the water,- the exact opposite
is experienced!
You experience the sensation of being completely
weightless,- a feeling you have not had since you left your mother's womb,-
and a feeling only the astronauts know about!
Under the water you can place yourself in
any position you want, because gravity is simply gone!
So are all sounds!
There is only silence,- except from the noise
that comes from the air hissing through your regulator, and leaving you
as millions of bubbles in the water!
In other words: The only sound you
hear is that of your own life,- which you don't hear on dry land!
And no disturbing stray thoughts in your
mind go back in time, - or venture into the future!
Only "NOW" and "HERE"
is present in your mind - - -
Also the fact, that when you jump into the
water somewhere,- then there is quite a big chance, that you are
the first human being who has ever been there,- and consequently you don't
know what to find or what to experience!
That's the "feeling",- and that makes everything
else secondary,- and I think that's what Jacques Costeau referred to when
he said that all dives are the "best"!
Fish protecting her eggs
It looks like something from
a tropical coral reef,- but actually I
photographed this fish in Lillebælt,-
right outside my door!
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
Here is another picture from Lillebælt taken almost the same place as the fish:
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
Note: The original film for this
picture, - taken without flash -, has unfortunately disappeared in my mess.
Therefore, - until I find the film again, I cannot make a bigger and better
scan og this frame - - - - Sorry! :-(
Note the very big difference in colors when
compared to the fish picture!
This picture is taken without flash,- and
reflects the true colors you see under water in Denmark,- where
the water is "green"!
In fact,- all the colors are there,- red,
yellow, blue-, but the human eye don't see them, because the light from
the sun is gradually absorbed by the water,- the more, the deeper you go,-
until everything is black!
The red light goes first! It's gone
after about only 2 meters!
The next one is yellow and at 8 meters,-
only the green color is left!
However,- if you bring your own light with
you,- then all the colors become visible again, and that's the explanation
why the fish picture has all colors,- because here I used flash!
I have lots of under water pictures,- but
I will not display so many here,- since my photo equipment for use under
water is rather cheap, and with very limited possibilities.
Therefore,- being unable to make underwater
pictures of professional quality,- then I find it better not to go too
far with this in public.
But still it's my hope, that this short diving
chapter has tickled and inspired somebody's fantasy, and maybe triggered
the desire to try,- and to explore the "inner space" for themselves!
Please do!
The sea is the cradle of life on planet Earth!
This is where it all started, - so
- ,- the sea is our "mother"!
75 % of the world is covered by water!
And it's right outside your door!
Go for it - - -
Let's start with some shallow
water shots - -
The bottom and propeller
of "Wobbegong" at shallow water -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
First some shallow water shot,
- with jellyfish.
(Just to show you, that you
do not need to go deep to be in Wonderland.)
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
In shallow water.
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
Jellyfish
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
Jellyfish
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
- and another one showing jellyfish
-
(Photography by
Karsten Petersen ©)
Jellyfish
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
Finish with shallow water, - now further down -
The underwater landscape in Lillebælt
is different from other places in Denmark - - -
At several places you swimm out from the
beach following a gently sloping bottom, - like anywhere else -, but then
suddenly the sand underneath you disappears, - and from the edge of a vertical
"wall" you are looking straight down into a big black hole - - -
The vertical "wall" at the
Lilebælt coast, - looking into the big, black hole - -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
Deeper down there are lots
of marine life forms, - here a colony of Sea Anemones
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
Sea Anemones, - halfway to
the bottom of Lillebælt
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
More Sea Anemones
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
Life at the bottom of Lillebælt
-
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
A sponge and sea anemones,
- life at the very bottom of Lillebælt -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
- here a bottom section completely
covered by green algae, - and many starfish -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
- here a completely different
type of bottom, - a desert of white sand -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
NOW SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
-
"GHOSTS FROM THE PAST"
A wreck!
- frames and timber sticking
up from the bottom -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
Part of a klinker-built bottom
section
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
More frames and wood
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
Old frames sticking up from
the sand -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
- and ship's timber and more
frames on the sea bed -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
- and more -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
Stern section
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
Myself, - with debris of war,-
harvest from the bottom of the sea - -
(Photography by Karsten Petersen ©)
Click HERE for "Dive Korea" pictures - -
Updated: June 21st.2003, - June 14th.2006, - Aug.20.2008, - Dec. 06.2008