Beneath The Sea in 3D (Book)

Reviewed by Melissa
Beneath the Sea in 3-D (Book)
by Mark Blum
Chronicle Books

Reviewed by Melissa - June 16, 2003

Beneath the Sea in 3-D is a book of over 90 stereoscopic underwater photographs taken in the Gulf of Mexico, the North and South Pacific, the Sea of Cortez and the Sulawesi Sea. Lenses for looking at these 3-D pictures are built into an overleaf of the book cover. The pictures are lovely. Focusing one's eyes in order to appreciate the stereo photography is not immediate and can require a few tries. This may frustrate impatient children, but it is worth the effort for anyone. Yet it was easier to focus on than I expected. The 3-D effect is better than I imagined could be achieved.

The pictures are lovely. Composition is well-done, especially considering the difficulties of animals in the wild as subjects, and the colors are beautiful.

Every shot features sea creatures, which are identified with English and Latin names. Each has a short explanation, with notes about the animals included. Some of the animals, like the barracudas and jellyfish, may be scary if you meet them, but none of the pictures will cause nightmares. The scariest picture may be the one of a sea turtle skeleton in a cave. The entire book is appropriate for all ages. A useful glossary is also included.

Beneath the Sea in 3-D is not at all cephalopod-specific. The animals photographed are well-balanced with some turtles; bony fish, including groupers, eels, and a school of barracuda; invertebrates like soft corals, clams and anemones with their companion species and a purple jellyfish with some tenant crabs. Crustaceans feature outside anemones and jellyfish, too. My favorite of these shots is a gaudy clown crab (Platypodiella spectabilis) on coral rubble. Two shots focus on brilliantly colored nudibranchs.

TONMO readers will be interested in the Octopus briareus, but will be disappointed if they are only interested in cephalopods. The number of divers and octopus-fanciers with diverse interests on the Message Board encourages me to recommend this here.

- Melissa 6/16/03
  • Published
    Feb 22, 2015
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