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One Great Shot: Elegance Embodied

In black and white, this image reveals the haunting allure of spotted eagle rays.

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by Henley Spiers

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spotted eagle rays

Toward the end of an unforgettable dive in the Maldives, a school of spotted eagle rays passed beneath me. Like most divers, I have always found these elusive rays to be spellbinding, and seeing them in the Indian Ocean elicited one of those rare moments of huge admiration and immense inspiration. The spotting on each ray is unique—the equivalent of a human fingerprint—and I love how shooting in black and white reinforces that uniqueness, keenly displaying subtle shading and pattern differences between each individual. As I stared at them, I could visualize the image I wanted, so I swam my heart out to position myself for the desired camera angle. Just before the rays dove into deeper waters, I captured this frame.