The Photo Times: The deep blue sea... in black and white: Photographs from beneath the waves ...

By

Leon Watson

PUBLISHED:

12:20, 27 May 2013

|

UPDATED:

13:15, 27 May 2013

Down in the deep blue, a photographer is taking these stunning black and white pictures.

Indonesian snapper Hengki Koentjoro’s underwater photographs show an array of sea-life like as it’s never been seen before.

He has pictured sharks, jellyfish, scuba divers and, perhaps most strikingly, a hard coral called the ‘sunflower mushroom’ which appears to be sporting a sinister grin.

Indonesian photographer Hengki Koentjoro

Indonesian photographer Hengki Koentjoro’s pictures show an astonishing underwater world

This jellyfish taken in black and white underwater looks like it comes from another planet

Mystical: The incredible photographs from beneath the sea include this slightly sinister grin

Mystical: The incredible photographs from beneath the sea include this ‘sunflower mushroom’ with a slightly sinister grin

Koentjoro

Koentjoro’s dark, desaturated and sometimes dream like images capture the mysterious nature of the waters in and around Jakarta, Indonesia

The dark, desaturated and sometimes

dream like images capture the mysterious nature of the waters in and

around Jakarta, Indonesia.

Koentjoro, 50, was born in

Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia, studied video production and fine art

photography at the Brooks Institute of Photography Santa Barbara,

California.

He currently lives in Jakarta where he takes these breath-taking images.

Interviewed by Neutral Density Magazine, Koentjoro said: ‘The love of the ocean is the main drive to express one self. The calm

and the vast area is the inspiration and at the same time a place to

replenish your mind.

Koentjoro, 50, from Central Java, Indonesia, studied video production and fine art photography at the Brooks Institute of Photography Santa Barbara, California, and currently lives in Jakarta where he takes these breath taking images

Koentjoro said:

Koentjoro said: ‘IÂ¿m lucky to live in Indonesia because she is dubbed as the biggest archipelago nation on earth with more than 13,000 islands’

From deep down: The 50-year-old says photography is

From deep down: The 50-year-old says photography is ‘mainly a serious hobby during spare time’

The photographer said:

The photographer said: ‘This abode of the god is also known for itÂ¿s mysterious mist and fog that accentuate the thick feeling of mysticism’

‘Iâ€™m lucky to live in Indonesia because she is

dubbed as the biggest archipelago nation on earth with more than 13,000

islands.

‘We also have many highlands and active volcanoes spreading over

3,275 miles from East to West.

‘This abode of the god is also known for

itâ€™s mysterious mist and fog that accentuate the thick feeling of

mysticism.’

Sharks, jellyfish, rays and scuba divers appear in these dream-like images

Speaking about his method, Koentjoro said:

Speaking about his method, Koentjoro said: ‘I mainly shoot with DSLR camera. For the ocean I normally use the long exposure technique with double ND filters of 18 stops to allow shooting on the broad daylight for more than five minutes’