4th Place Divers & Fashion

Phil Davison

A halocline layer and tree create an eerie mood in Cenote Angelita near Tulum, Mexico

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Olympus OM-D EM-5, Panasonic 7-14mm lens at 8mm
F4.0, 1/100th, ISO 3200

This shot was taken on one of the most unusual and interesting dives I have ever done, in Cenote Angelitas on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula with my dive guide Julian Borde. Descending through crystal clear fresh water into the sinkhole which bottoms out at almost 60 metres, we passed a couple of the many trees which have fallen in over thousands of years and decomposed.  As they rot, a chemical called hydrogen sulphide is produced which forms a cloudy acidic (and eggy tasting!) layer that sits at around 35 metres deep, on the boundary between the fresh water and the heavier salt water at the bottom of the cenote.  This cloud is so thick that the light from my buddy's cave diving torch all but disappeared as we passed through it.

Swimming around the sinkhole we came across the remains of this massive tree clawing its way up out of the thick fog. As my buddy swam underneath it I captured this shot which sums up the dive really nicely. Even at 35 metres there is still plenty of light filtering through the clear water from above and I love the way that the sunlight catches off the tree branches whilst the divers torch lights up the mist below.