We love being able to share our members’ love of the ocean and marine life around the world. What better way to do this than by sharing an incredible image on a PADI eCard certification? This stunning new design featuring a Barrel Jellyfish was captured on camera by Italian photographer Salvatore Ianniello. In this Blog, we catch up with the man behind the lens and learn more about Salvatore and his passion for underwater photography.
About the photographer
Salvatore was born in Naples, Italy, and he is a full-time dental technician. However, in his spare time, he has devoted himself to underwater photography. Salvatore has been passionate about diving for at least forty years, and like many people, he started out by learning how to spearfish, but now after 30 years, he has replaced the speargun with his camera.
Salvatore says that as a child, “I always had a passion for photography. Thanks to diving magazines, I became fascinated with this discipline and especially with documenting sea life. As soon as I was able to earn money, I bought the first Nihonos (both version 4 and 3) using different cases, with the digital system.”
Salvatores diving experiences have been mainly in the Mediterranean, and he prefers diving near his home in the beautiful Gulf of Naples – which is where this stunning certification card image was captured – in Marina Grande.
When asked why this image is special to him, Salvatore said, “The particularity of this photo is the presence of two sand crabs in the jellyfish Rhizostoma Pulmo, the first called the Shy at the top, the second at the bottom called the Swaggering.”
More than just a hobby
For Salvatore, photography is more than just a hobby. “Photography is not only the beauty of the marine environment and making it into art, but it is also a complaint towards the various pollutants, both solid and liquid, that the sea suffers. So with our photos, we can help the public opinion to change towards a cleaner planet.” We couldn’t agree more!
Would you like Salvatore’s jellyfish on your PADI eCard? You can!
Showcase your dive skills and support ocean conservation with this new limited-edition eCard design – $10 US from every Barrel jellyfish card purchase will be donated to the PADI AWARE Foundation.
Would you like to suggest a marine species to feature on our certification cards? Let us know here!
