Recently Pietro Formis shared his image “Drop” on the Wetpixel Facebook page. The image is a striking portrait of a freediver framed perfectly by a sea cave. Needless to say the image received a lot of attention on the page. We asked him to share with us how he got the shot.

“Oftentimes, images run through our heads much like obsessions, leading to well-planned excursions and dives, aimed at achieving those very images. Oftentimes, those images fail, as the sea and the earth do not allow us to translate them into something tangible, something magical. For some strange reason, other times, by chance, everything falls into place and you find yourself in the perfect place at the right moment with the sea and the earth perfectly in tune. It is as if the sea itself took you to that place, at that moment and pressed your finger on the camera, whispering: “look around… look at the beauty that surrounds you”. This is when the obsession dies, giving space to gratitude and bliss.”

“I took this picture in Northern Sardinia (Italy) during a boat trip with friends. I didn’t expected to find myself in this beautiful submerged cave. Sun rays, crystal water, my partner freediving on the backround: everything was in the right place at the right time. I had only to press the shutter.”

Canon 5DMKIII Nauticam Housing Tokina 10-17 @17mm with nauticam 8 inch domeport 1/500, f14, ISO 800

Pietro Formis