A team of videographers, cameramen, commercial divers and freedivers have combined their talents to create a series of mesmerising still and film images in The Diver and the Mermaid, which showcases the first encounter between an old-school hardhat diver and a bewitching mermaid.
Underwater film-maker Justin Lutsky, professional mermaid and freediver Hannah Fraser, commercial diver Josh Myers and photographer Brett Stanley were drawn together with an insatiable urge to bring those classic art images of divers in heavy antique gear and exotic mermaids to life. It had always been done via CGI in the past – they wanted to recreate this encounter in real life. And not in some static studio environment, but on the seafloor off California!
The result is the stunning The Diver and the Mermaid. Brett said: “What better way to engage a child’s curiosity and inspire community support for sealife than to create truly unique underwater art? We wanted to commemorate the brave divers from history and inspire wonder and curiosity into the future.”
Creating The Diver and the Mermaid
It took two months of intense labour, prop creation, logistical planning and team building to create these stunning still images and the video footage. And despite all of the challenging conditions they faced, the team were able to capture a range of truly incredible images, evoking old-world fantasy with a vintage flavour using new technology.
Brett commented: “From this platform, we want to leap to doing a full short film. The photo shoot was just the beginning. We’re taking the inspiration of the images, with the experience and learning of doing the shoot in the open ocean, to come back bigger and better in 2022. With this incredible team, we can take our initial concept to a whole new level and create a moving picture that has so much more depth.”
