Marine photographer produced this series of detailed images of mainly dead creatures to offer a glimpse into our planet's least explored habitat
By Damien Gayle
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These monsters of the deep were captured on camera dead or alive in one photographer's attempt to catalogue what lies beneath the surface of our oceans.
Marine photographer Jason Bradley produced the series of detailed images - of mainly dead creatures - to give a glimpse into our planet's largest but least explored habitat.
Disheartened that scientists know more about our moon and the other planets in our solar system than what lies at the bottom of our oceans, Mr Bradley embarked on the challenging project to help bring the unknown to life.
A viper fish: Marine photographer Jason Bradley produced this series of detailed images - of mainly dead creatures - to give a glimpse into our planet's largest but least explored habitat
A longfin dragonfish: Known as Tactostoma macropus, the Longfin Dragonfish is found in the Pacific Ocean down to depths of 6,600 ft The species typically grows to a length of 13.5in
A snipe eel: This family of eels are found in every ocean, mostly at depths of 300-600m but sometimes as deep as 4000m. Adults may reach 30-60in in length, yet they weigh only a few ounces to a pound
Left is a Pacific dragonfish, showing the long beard-like appendage that earned the creature its name. Right is a larval snipe eel, a juvenile specimen of the species pictured above
A squat lobster: These dorsoventrally flattened crustaceans have long tails which are held curled beneath the thorax. Found in oceans worldwide, they occur from near the surface to deep sea hydrothermal vents
A sabretooth: These small, fierce-looking deep-sea fish, named for their oversized, recurved teeth, similar to those of sabre-toothed cats, are found in tropical to subtropical parts of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans
He said: 'As of today, we've only explored about 5 percent of deep ocean habitats, and if their was ever a final frontier, the deep ocean is it. Imagine what other animals live there.
'Most of my thoughts during shooting were questions like: "what the hell am I doing photographing this weird stuff? Nobody is going to get it. This stuff stinks".
'But at the same time, as the images were coming into view, I felt excited and inspired. These creatures have a strange beauty and I felt privileged being able to work with and learn about them.'
A grunt sculpin: It is native to temperate coastal waters of the North Pacific, from Japan to Alaska and south to California where it inhabits tide pools, rocky areas, and sandy bottoms at depths of up to 165m
A rat fish: Also known as Chimaera monstrosa, this fish lives in depths of 50¿1000m in the eastern-Atlantic, from west-Africa up to Norway. It wields a poisonous spike on the dorsal fin that can cause a lot of pain
Left is a sea spider, of which there are over 1,300 known species, ranging in size from 0.039in to over 35in. Right is a deep-sea skate, common below 1,000m in the Pacific and often caught in deepwater trawls and traps
A smooth hound shark: The smooth-hounds are a genus, Mustelus, of sharks in the family Triakidae. The genus name comes from the Latin for weasel. They can grow up to 5ft 3in long and weigh more than 29 lb
'These creatures have a strange beauty': Disheartened that scientists know more about our moon than the bottom of the oceans, Mr Bradley embarked on the challenging project to help bring the unknown to life
'I thought, what a great idea,' he said. 'Why not study sets of animals that can't be easily observed in nature?
'Admittedly, the krill in the jar were dead and preserved and yes most people might find it disgusting, or weird at best.
'But I was taken by the textures, patterns, tones and shapes of the tiny shrimps as they sat suspended in their preserving fluid.'
Most of the alien-like fish, whether dead or alive, were shot against black or white backgrounds in an aquarium lit by studio strobe flashes.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2270671/Captured-dead-alive-Astonishing-pictures-bizarre-creatures-lurk-deep-beneath-ocean-waves.html#ixzz2KC3ZPnKX
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