Immerse yourself with Richard Salas in a Sea of
Light
“To put it simply, this book is remarkable.”
— Santa Barbara Independent, Features section, January 28, 2010
SANTA BARBARA, CA — The
craggy face of a sheep crab, the supernatural grace of a sea lion — these and
other subjects are profoundly portrayed by Santa Barbara photographer Richard
Salas, in his latest release, “Sea of Light.” ($75.00, Available at www.seaoflight.net)
Shot with just two lights and his camera, Salas' portraits
connect local art lovers and nature enthusiasts with amazingcreatures found off our own Channel Islands. In
lecture, Salas wows his audiences with slides of photos taken during the past
five years, and he shares with them the adventures of his coldwater dives and
the challenges and joys of underwaterphotography. The story of his artistic self-discovery and his
conservationist message is related to audiences of all ages with warmth and
passion. As he said at a recent lecture, Salas feels that we humans, as
“stewards of this planet” have a “responsibility to keep it healthy” for both
our oceanic neighbors and ourselves.
Salas begins his lectures with an account of his childhood
fascination with the tide pools of Laguna Beach, where he would spend hours,
with sleeves rolled up, to “reach into this other world” and “get to know these
animals.” After winning a photography contest in high school, Salas enrolled at
Brooks Institute of Photography, taking his first underwater photography class.
His twin interests dovetailed into success and, in 1977, he
placed second in the Our World Underwater Scholarship. This gave him access to
the finest underwater photographers working in the field at that time,
including venerated teacher and artist Ernest Brooks II (who wrote the foreword
to “Sea of Light”).
After graduating, family life and long hours as a successful
studio photographer in Los Angeles kept him out of the ocean for more than 20
years. But in 2004, a dive trip to celebrate his oldest son’s college
graduation gave Salas the opportunity to return to his artistic roots. By
account of the quality of work he has produced, it is safe to say he has more
than made up for lost time.
Met with great acclaim since its release, “Sea of Light” is
a quality printed and bound book, more an objet d'art than coffee table decoration.
The book is entirely the product of dedicated Santa Barbarans, including
assistance with species identification from marine ecologists Shane and Genny
Anderson.
Salas' images, backed with passion and created with skilled
craftsmanship and years of dedicated experience, are truly sublime.
