Photographer Angel Fitor Captures Life Inside a Drop of Seawater
A single drop of seawater can teem with living creatures. Though this world is invisible to the naked eye, Spanish wildlife photographer Angel Fitor devised a way to capture these infinitesimal ecosystems, from the mating of copepods (one of the most abundant animals on the planet, which range from 0.2 to 1.7 millimeters long) to a sea worm protecting an egg. The project took three years to perfect. The process behind it begins with gathering water samples from the Mediterranean Sea and immediately photographing them so as not to lose the vibrant colors of the copepods who turn a dull brown when they die. Under LED lighting and strong air conditioning (which prevents the water from evaporating), Fitor uses binoculars to pipette a single droplet, which takes hours as some samples do not contain any creatures. The result is awe-inspiring and vivid. Read more about his work and view his photography at Smithsonian Magazine.
Image courtesy of Angel Fitor
Via smithsonianmag.com link opens in a new window
