—Diving in the French river Rhône with European catfish

The Rhône is a large French river, which is 545km long. It flows from the Alps, across Lake Geneva and joins the Mediterranean Sea. Cloudy in appearance, as if to preserve her secrets, it is difficult to have strong views about this type of river

When considering underwater photography, we usually think about images of wonderful coral reefs, colourful fish, clear waters and undersea landscapes. In fact, 70 percent of our planet is covered by water on its surface, and, even though 97 percent of this is saltwater, the remaining three percent is freshwater in rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, marshes and groundwater. This is a tiny percentage, but it is very important: Freshwater allows for life on land and is strictly connected with human survival.

The Japanese giant salamander is a quite unique, if rather mysterious, creature that lives in rivers across western and southwestern Japan.

We walked nearly a mile along the riverbank before finding a place where we could easily enter with our heavy equipment. The rotting carcasses of dead fish lay along the banks, and the associated stench was overpowering. It was late September 2010, and we had come to photograph an enormous migration of sockeye salmon, the largest run of sockeye in a century. We had already photographed in quiet, shallow creeks, capturing images of individual fish or small groups arriving at their final destination hundreds of miles from the sea. Today, our goal was more ambitious: to capture underwater images of the huge aggregation of salmon battling the swift current of the Adams River.

Although British Columbia’s (BC) coastal area offers numerous shipwrecks, colorful walls and reefs full of life, there are also a considerable amount of freshwater lakes and rivers to explore within what is known as BC’s Interior Region of Canada. Actually, you might be surprised at what you will find to do and see above and below the water.

“Moscow—Port of Five Seas” is written on the banner of the north river terminal in Moscow. It’s true; the city sits on the banks of the Moskva River (Moscow River), which leads to several large bodies of water via canals including the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea. But I think, the slogan also reflects the city’s inhabitants’ love of diving.

Carrying all we would need for the next five days, our expedition team travelled some 65 kilometres through shallow, meandering channels in small power boats. We eventually reached Jugu Juga, the small island which was to be our home for the next two days. As we unloaded our equipment and started to pitch camp, a bull elephant with tell tale ‘tears’ staining his face repeatedly charged us, only veering off when our guide beat two metal plates together. The strong smelling discharge, rich in testosterone, running down his cheeks announced that he was in 'musth'.

This was my introduction to the “really wild”— the Okavango Delta in Botswana.

The third dimension, a Bosnian experience

Cave divers are like rock-face climbers; their purpose is the same, only in the opposite direction, with one difference. Cave-diving is about as extreme as it gets.

The Inia geoffrensis, more commonly known as the pink dolphin, is nicknamed locally as ‘Boto’ and resides in the waters of the Rio Negro. Although still poorly known, this species is considered the most intelligent of the five species of freshwater dolphins. The pink dolphin has a melon-shaped head, a thick and elongated back, a crest instead of a dorsal fin, and disproportionately large ventral fins and tail—all of which making it less refined than the common dolphin. Yet, when you see its agility and wild grace underwater, it makes you think of the legendary Amazons.