New reviews for the New Year: with the launch this month of David Hall's Beneath Cold Seas, featuring his gorgeous and technically superb photographs of the underwater life of the Pacific Northwest, we are pleased to share these reviews. The importance of marine conservation is becoming more and more widely recognised, and we hope this incredible glimpse of the underwater world will contribute to the cause.

“Coincidence had it that I had just returned from my first trip to British Columbia in September when I received an electronic copy of David Hall’s excellent book. As a result I know that these waters are not easy to operate in with strong currents, cold temperatures, variable visibility and low light levels. However, looking through this coffee-table book you would be forgiven for thinking that these waters are just an emerald version of the tropics with vibrant colours and exotic inhabitants. The level of consistency and standard of imagery is quite exceptional and it captures the wild spirit of this corner of the planet page after page.
“The highlights for me were the split level shots which combined moody surface light with perfectly balanced artificial light. Indeed in many of them the split was carefully chosen to create a downward angle rather than a horizontal one and the artificial light seemed to penetrate unnaturally far through the water.
“Beneath Cold Seas has taken more than 15 years to achieve, but the hard work has been worthwhile and it is difficult to imagine that there will ever be a better collection of photographs to come out of this area.” – Peter Rowlands, Publisher/editor, Underwater Photography Magazine

“Start with the frontispiece photograph of a Blue Rockfish gazing at a mango orange peony of a Lion's Mane Jelly…and you can tell you're in for a stunning photography book. Using state-of-the-art equipment, innovative techniques and electronic strobes, David Hall shows us an underwater world surprising to those who think colour and diversity belong to the tropics.
“Purple and tangerine sea stars prey on mussels amid dark aqua sea urchins; a Mosshead Warbonnet peeks out from a kelp bed; a semi-camouflaged Red Irish Lord nestles over a Sulfur sponge; a harbor seal scratches its back underwater; an adult wolf eel looks like a cranky gray monster; migrating sockeye are seen at dusk against a sunset sky; pale Plumose anemones are as graceful as a ballet; opalescent nudibranchs resemble fireworks.
“David Hall has created a dazzling book filled with dazzling sea creatures, showing us an astonishing marine domain.” --Marilyn Dahl, book review editor, Shelf Awareness