Here are some photos taken from Karl Stanley’s submarine Idabel during my third deep sea submarine expedition this past week.

We maxed out at 1300ft and spent 3.5 hours cruising down Lophelia Reef, an amazing ecosystem of lophelia corals, white sponges, squat lobsters, pompom anemones, cat sharks, and sea lillies adorning house-sized boulders of fossilized coral and basalt.

The submarine is the hardest shooting environment I’ve encountered— low light, movement (both the sub and the animals), distorted perspective (the submarine’s convex viewport messes with depth perception), and cramped environment. On this expedition I mostly shot video (currently being editing), but several my still photos turned out decent.

Lia, I have no idea how you did it. I guess talent helps.

Enjoy these shots of alien life!

300ft: The surface fades away.

350ft: Massive elephant ear sponge

400ft: Looking up Half Moon Bay wall

700ft: Sea lilly reaching into the darkness

800ft: Unidentified fish (Karl claims to have never seen it before)

900ft: Polka dot anglerfish

1000ft: The sponge belt

1000ft: White sponges in the sponge belt

1100ft: Brilliant pompom anemone

1100ft: Incredible 30+ft long deep sea siphonophore (yes, this is an animal)

1300ft: Brittle stars along a wire coral

1300ft: Blood red anemone

1300ft: Squat lobster and crinoid