In this underwater nude artwork, a slender female figure plummets into cerulean waters. The elegant, diagonal curve meanders to the lower left. Her alabaster skin contrasts with the ominous, shadowy azure on the far left.

During her downward drift, tiny bubbles escape in her wake. It is ambiguous whether she is swimming or floating; there is a somber limpness to her figure. Her lips are pursed as she retains her breath. Our vantage point is close. Tightly cropped, the shadows that define her muscles and curves are apparent. The water softens the shadows and smooths her lines into an ethereal and ghostly form. Her pale skin contributes to her phantom-like appearance.

Water has myriad emotions associated with it, depending on context. For some it elicits fear; with her head lower than the rest of her, there is an uneasiness here. She has abandoned control, freed from life’s daily burden and strife, for a moment or perhaps longer. At the same time, she appears to be floating freely, an air of tranquility conveyed through her sense of calm and the idyllic, clear waters.

The texture of this image made up of dense, pronounced granules, visible on close inspection. Reminiscent of high-speed film grain, this effect contains tiny dots of varying darkness tightly distributed throughout the image.

I produce underwater nude artwork using a waterproof camera and custom improvised lighting system consisting of a number of strobes and reflectors.

This image was selected for the “Best of Photovogue” collection by the Photo Editor of Vogue Italia.