Sea of Light Collection by Richard Salas
The Sea of Light Collection includes all 3 of Richard Salas' books. Sea of Light presents, in a series of stunning photographs, the underwater life of Californias Channel Islands. Blue Visions Jump in with both feet and go on an adventure with Richard Salas and experience the underside of the Pacific Islands of the Americas. Luminous Sea documents an extended study of life in the oceans of the Pacific Northwest.
Sea of Light presents, in a series of stunning photographs, the underwater life of Californias Channel Islands. Although these Islands have held human inhabitants for the last 13,000 years, waters around them are only beginning to be explored. Photographer Richard Salas takes us through a marine biosphere where humanitys impact is an undeniable force. While many new endemic species are discovered every year, others have disappeared from it completely. This collection envelops the reader in a fragile, shifting world. The striking power of these images radiate the light of unique vitality that Richard sees in every organism he encounters.
Blue Visions Jump in with both feet and go on an adventure with Richard Salas and experience the underside of the Pacific Islands of the Americas. Watch as 22-foot whale sharks swim gingerly along, slurping up microscopic plankton to fill their enormous bellies. Get up close and personal with massive bait-balls of bigeyed scad as they swirl in the afternoon heat while being dive-bombed by jack mackerel in a ravenous eating frenzy.
Richards journal entries bring us along on his many dives. These include swimming with hundreds of hammerhead sharks, being amused at the grimacing face of thered-lipped batfish, and feeling deeply moved by the vulnerable peace of a sea lion at rest.
You may discover a new relationship with sharks here, and learn about the plight of many of the animals that Richard calls his underwater family. They face multiple threats, including the practice of bycatch, and the trawl nets, longlines, and gill nets of our frighteningly efficient mechanized fishing industry.
Luminous Sea is the third and final installment of an epic trilogy. Richard Salas has once again outdone himself. This book documents an extended study of life in the oceans of the Pacific Northwest. Below the austere coastal landscapes of Washington, Canada, and Alaska, there is another world. In the bitterly cold, nutrient-dense water, water that would kill an unprotected human in fifteen minutes, there is a diverse explosion of life. Salas captures each moment in a masterful frame, once again illuminating the depths of our planet, revealing new dimensions of beauty, and deep mystery.
Salas has chosen a collection of quotations to illuminate the thoughtful, and some-times playful, emotional subtext of the images, and to express the subtleties of the interpersonal transactions he has with his subjects. The chosen quotes speak to an inner spark in all of us, and suggests that what makes us most human actually connects us to all life on earth.
Richards passionate dedication to ocean conservation has only gained strength and definition with each book. A deep sense of connection comes through on each page. I want to show people how beautiful these animals are. Most people will never be able to see them, and I think that if theyre photographed beautifully, respectfully, and honestly, that people will start to think about them differently. His deep bond to these animals fuels his determination to dedicate his life as an artist to their protection. The path forward is not only to better care for our mutual habitat, but to foster empathy and respect between the species.
