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Working as an underwater photographer for our nation’s lead preservation agency—the National Park Service—often has equal parts exhilaration and discouragement. While on assignment at Biscayne National Park, located on the southern tip of Miami, I was in search of an image that could tell the submerged story of the park. Dive after dive revealed dead or dying coral, victims of rising ocean temperatures and disease—discouragement. On the last descent of the day, this large outcropping of elk horn coral stood defiantly on the edge of an otherwise dead reef. As I began to photograph this last reef, pondering its future, a stunning queen angelfish swam through the frame as if to offer hope of a healthy, rebounding reef—exhilaration.

Most people think the life of an underwater photographer is nonstop adventure. They often overlook the months away from family, tens of thousands of miles logged in a year and the countless hours underwater in search of the next portfolio-worthy shot. Despite the downsides, my 20+ years have provided amazing opportunities to tell the stories that few know exist, much less get to experience.