Underwater Photographer Has "Glowing" Pictures Of Marine Life

Stephanie Simon -

The bright blue waters inside the New York Aquarium attract the fish and the crowds, but underwater photographer Brandi Irwin likes it best when it is pitch black.

In fact, she goes nighttime scuba diving in the Caribbean, taking very unique photographs of the marine life she finds in the dark.

"We're going in with no lights at all because the animals that are out at night are light sensitive and they come out to feed at night so we like to go in by moon light," says Irwin.

When Irwin does shine her lights, it isn't just to see underwater. She shines ultraviolet light that some marine life actually absorbs. The result is that they glow in different colors, akin to wearing a white t-shirt to a club and seeing it glow under the black lights.

An exhibit of these photographs is opening at the New York Aquarium on August 5.

Irwin has been diving for more than a decade and doing underwater photography for the past two years.

Originally she had a very different idea for an underwater venture.

"I did modeling for 10 years and I had a real interest in water, so I wanted to combine the two and shoot fashion underwater," says Irwin. "When I discovered all these interesting little animals underwater, because I'm a big animal lover as well, then I started really enjoying doing underwater things because they're just darling."

With all this excitement over glow-in-the-dark fish, Irwin says viewers can't just turn off the aquarium lights and see what glows.

"Well it's not something that you can see with the naked eye, you have to have special equipment in order to see it," she says.

 

 

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