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Escape To The Maldives — Photographer Matt Porteous Captures The Magic Of Mother Nature
London Based arts, culture and travel writer.Felicity Carter shares a set of images by Matt Porteous as a reminder of our beautiful planet during the Corona outbreak.
British photographer, Matt Porteous takes photographs that’ll stop you in your tracks. Whether they’re shots of people or places, there’s undoubtedly magic about them, and they’ll transport you to your happy place.
And here’s some of his favorite shots taken in the Maldives and Hawaii, as expected mother nature is on top form. From coastal scenery, dolphins, turtles, imposing manta rays and some free-divers in there for good measure, Porteous has caught them all in action and shares them with us.
A manta glides free below the surface: Taken on location at the Baa Atoll, The Maldives. I was recently on assignment at Soneva Fushi with @OceanCultureLife documenting a project named Namoona Baa. A model for eliminating single-use plastics from small island communities in the Maldives.
On this day we headed south an hour by boat, to document local surfers and educate them on the importance of protecting the ocean. The Baa Atoll is known for its manta rays, but we were out of season. We had a local fisherman on our boat and after finding no waves we searched for mantas along the edge of the reef in the middle of the ocean, no land in sight. It didn’t take us long to find mantas and for the next hour, we would share and magical time with the beautiful creatures swooping past us, uninterested in our presence.
Free diving champion with manta rays: This is an image of Japanese National free diving champion Ken Kiriyama in harmony with four manta rays on the low lying Archipelago of the Baa Atoll, The Maldives.
Lone surfer at Waimea Bay: A lone surfer walks to the paddle out point at Waimea Bay on the North Shore Oahu. On this day he will ride some of the biggest waves ever seen on the North shore of Oahu.
This image gives me the same feeling as I get capturing climbers in the mountains, it’s not until we get there, that we realise just how small we are in this world.
I spent the 2015 - 16 El Nino winter in Hawaii, documenting the worlds top surfers and the North shore lifeguards protecting the community on one the most dangerous yet beautiful stretches of coastline on the planet with @OceanCultureLife.
Breaking a wave on the North Shore of Oahu: The scene below a breaking a wave on the North Shore of Oahu. This was a huge wave and both myself and my good friend Googsi just managed to get under it before it engulfed us, it feels like a huge storm above with a pocket of freedom below, you have to keep your eyes on the vortex and make sure these powerful swirls don’t grab you as they will pick you up and dump you back onto the sand or reef. I’ll never forget this day in the ocean, the lucky escapes we had and the escapes that didn’t happen!
The edge of Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas: Mandy relaxed within her environment after a free diving course at Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas. Her true passion was not going to new depths but simply enjoying the freedom of more time below the surface.
You can see the edge of Dean’s Blue Hole in this image, which is 15 meters below the surface when you leave the edge there is a 200-meter drop below you, it’s an eery feeling looking down into the darkness. I used a large dome port on my water housing to capture this scene above and below the surface.
A mother dolphin swims with her calf: Off the shallow waters of the Bahamas, you will see holes in the sand, these are made by bottlenose dolphins burying these noses into the sand searching for food.
I love this image, as these two saw around us for about 10 minutes, inquisitive as bottlenose dolphins always are, the mother would always protect her calf keeping her safe on the outside.
A boat leaves the shadows of a passing cloud as a surfer waits for their next wave: Captured with a drone on the south Maldives Atoll of Vaadhoo, this area is so beautiful and untouched, on the reef every day we would see turtles feeding and in the depths free dive with sharks.
We spent a month in the Maldives with @OceanCultureLife, documenting everything from the protection of its reefs, sustainable fishing, the clear up of single-use plastics focusing our attention on all the dedicated ocean guardians working to protect its beauty.
A turtle drifts below the waves: In the Southern Vaadhoo Atolls of the Maldives, you can find perfect waves and an abundance of nature, on this day we spent the afternoon with around 8 turtles, feeding on sea sponge on the reef. It’s fun watching the turtles feeding, the end up doing backflips and front flips as the waves pass over whilst they are still nibbling on the reef.
Whereas, in the open or around open water they can are often a little weary and swim away, in the waves they are calm as we drift back and forth as the waves pass on by. They would check us, eat and every now and then go up for air. It’s calming sharing time with mother nature.
Midday light can sometimes be the best time to shoot underwater, the clarity on the day was especially good.
A grey reef shark frozen under god rays: Taken in the Southern Vaadhoo Atolls of the Maldives.
Surf guide Laura King free in the ocean: Shot in the Southern Vaadhoo Atolls of the Maldives. I always spend my time under the water looking for new perspectives, much to my friend's disappointment as I’ll generally miss there best wave, but what I’m always searching for is the magic.
Follow Matt and see more stunning photographs on his Instagram page.
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Thank you Felicity Carter for the feature.
