Project Mermaids model. Project Mermaids lets ocean-lovers don tails and live out their siren fantasies. Clients can pay for a shoot that is either on land or underwater, with the images looking to raise awareness about preservation of beaches, seas and oceans. The project – which is shot by photographers Angelina Venturella and Chiara Salomoni – started purely to raise awareness, with celebrities dressing up as sirens as part of the cause. (Photo by Angelina Venturella/Chiara Salomoni/Caters News Agency)

These photographs appear to show a spectacular underwater world making it ideal for scuba divers – in central Europe. Twelve metres of water covers trees, footpaths, benches and bridges that are usually accessible throughout the year. Visitors to the Green Lake in Tragoess, Austria, that is normally only one metre deep, can leisurely stroll around the picturesque lagoon. Photo: A diver crossing a bridge in the flood water. (Photo by Solnet/The Grosby Group)

Teeming with images of spectacular underwater scenes from around the world, Call of the Blue is the culmination of a five-year project by the photographer and ocean conservationist Philip Hamilton. This groundbreaking book includes contributions from acclaimed scientists and ocean “guardians”, who reveal what drove them to answer the call of the blue. (Photo by Philip Hamilton/The Guardian)

These images show the unique bond a group of free divers formed with gigantic sperm whales. Swimming just inches away from the huge mammals, the divers are dwarfed in size, made to look like specks in comparison. The photos were taken by renowned underwater photographers Alexandre Roubaud and Alexandre Voyer, who are based in Paris but travel the world to capture such stunning imagery. Here: a diver with a sperm whales. (Photo by Alexandre Roubaud/Alexandre Voyer/Caters News)

“David Doubilet (born 28 November 1946) is a well known underwater photographer known primarily for his work published in National Geographic Magazine. He was born in New York and started taking photos underwater at the young age of 12. He started with a Brownie Hawkeye in a rubber anesthesiologist's bag to keep the water out of the camera. During his summer holidays, he spent his time along the New Jersey coast. He later worked as a diver and photographer for the Sandy Hook Marine Laboratories in New Jersey. He also spent much time in the Caribbean. While a dive instructor in the Bahamas he found his motivation to capture the beauty of the sea and everything in it”. – Wikipedia. (Photo by David Doubilet/National Geographic)

“Secrets of the Whales”. Skerry’s photographs celebrate the lives and culture of whales, illuminating recent research and their diverse behaviours. His latest work focuses on four key species: sperm whales, humpbacks, orca and beluga whales. Humpback whales bubble-net feeding off the coast of Alaska. They work cooperatively to feed on herring by blowing a perfect ring of bubbles underwater to form a net encircling the fish. The whales then swim up through the centre of the bubble net with their mouths open. (Photo by Brian Skerry/National Geographic Photo/Visa pour l'Image)

A “friendly giant” sculpture hangs from a tree in the Hanmer Heritage Forest at Hammer Springs, New Zealand, Sunday, June 14, 2020. Christchurch sculptor Andrew Lyons created the creatures out of a redwood tree that had to be removed from nearby Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa in 2018 and carved nine sculptures including big friendly giant, some enormous mushrooms, a falcon, and a dog. (Photo by Mark Baker/AP Photo)

Sculptor Jiri Genzer of the Czech Republic carves an ice sculpture at the Disney Dreams Ice Festival in Antwerp November 27, 2014. Some 60 artists from all over the world participated in the festival, making sculptures out of around 500 tonnes of ice. The festival will open on November 29 until January 11, 2015. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)