Beachcomber Magazine 02

“IN MAuRItIus, theRe Is A whOLe hOst Of sMALL, veRy RARe sPeCIes. they’Re LIKe OCeAN INseCts, IN ALL shAPes ANd COLOuRs.” « à mauRice, iL y a une muLtitude de Petites esPèces tRès RaRes, cOmme des insectes de L’Océan, de tOutes Les FORmes et de tOutes Les cOuLeuRs. » F oroverfortyyears,theaward- winningsubmarinephotogra- pherXavierSafontexploredthe deep-seawatersallovertheworld.The Atlantic,thePacific,theCaribbeanSea ortheIndianOcean–witheachnewdive, hefeelsthesameamazement,thesame yearning,amixtureofapprehension andattraction: “ i always feel this fear before diving, Xavieradmits.it’s likevisitinganewworld, you never knowwhat’s in store. But once i’m under water, i’m in my element: the fear melts away leaving pure wonder and delight. ” Andyetnothingdestinedhimtobecome anunderwaterphotographer.“ my family could not have been further removed fromthisworld, heconfesses . myparents couldn’t even swim! i was taught by a cousin of my mother’s. ”Havinggrown upwiththefilmsofcommandantCous- teau,Xavierwantedatasteofthis oceanofmystery.Attheageof16,he enrolledinthedivingschoolinhisvillage, anddidhisfirstrealscubadivinginthe watersaroundtheCostaBrava,Catalonia.THE NEED TO SHED A NEW LIGHT “ When i came back frommy excursions, my friends and family asked me, ‘But what did you see?’ it was to answer this question that i took up underwater photography. ”Oncehehadstarted, nothingcouldstophimpursuinghis dream.Overtheyears,Xavierhashoned hisskillandlearnttomasterthepara- metersoftheoceanenvironment.Down inthedepths,thereismuchlesslight, andthecoloursfade.Thebiggestchal- lengeforanunderwaterphotographer istocreateyourownlight,usingflashes andunderwatertorches.Onlythendoes thewholesceneopenupbeforeyour eyes. Forty-twoyearsafterhisfirstdive,Xavier reckonsthathisbestexperiencesof deep-seadivinghavebeenoffthecoast ofMauritius.“ inmauritius there is awhole host of small, very rare species. they’re like ocean insects, in all shapes and colours ,”Xavierdescribes.Hetalks ofthewhite-barredrubberlip,whose youngwaddlesalonglikeaminiature mermaid,theMauritianclownfish,recog- nisable byitsthreewhitestripes, or thefluorescent-colouredseaslugs. Nearthestella maru shipwreckorinthe deepwatersofthecoralgarden,the photographerlovestowatchthedancing Durbanshrimpand–“ the epitome of perfection ”–thelittledragonfish,with itstwowingsandlongthinsnout. Inadditiontomacrophotography,Xavier enjoysassociatingmanwiththeocean inhisphotos.“ i like to juxtapose shots, so youget an idea of howhuge the scale is, or indeed, how small ,”heexplains. Inmanyofhisphotos,youcanseea silhouettehidingbehindacoralreef, aturtleoraschooloffish,blendinginto thebackgroundlikeafloatingshadow. Orshowingthatmanisjustonespecies amongthethousandsthatsurround him…. Elba, Xavier Safont’s wife, swims alongside a flying scorpion fish, a venomous species whose stings can be extremely painful. elba, la femme de Xavier safont, nage au côté d'une rascasse volante, une espèce venimeuse dont les piqûres peuvent être très douloureuses. MAURITIUS THE ART OF DISCOVERY 44