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Diving with Sea Creatures Great and Small (PHOTOS)

Anuar Patjane Floriuk took his first dive when he was 17 off the coast of Flekkefjord, Norway. Now 34, the photographer has taken some of his most stunning photos beneath the sea's surface.

"Sea life as a whole is an inspiring thing, even without diving... on a boat in the middle of nowhere you achieve a certain inner peace almost non-existent in urban life," Floriuk told weather.com. "I've heard that people who meditate can reach this state of mind. Maybe you can compare diving with creatures with that."

Floriuk is always looking far and wide for the best places to dive on Earth. He lists Antarctica and the Galapagos as his favorite dive sites. He dives frequently in Mexican waters, and has also captured some of his images off of the coast of Cuba and Clipperton Island. One of his favorite diving experiences was his encouter with a whale and her calf in Roca Partida.

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What sets Floriuk's work apart, however, from the many underwater photographers scattered around the internet, is that he shoots his images in black and white, lending a more artistic quality to the photos. Floriuk began to shoot in black and white long before he began to shoot underwater photos.

"Black and white photography is a unique thing, almost a magical medium," the photographer said. "By avoiding color, you can make suggestive photographs with subtle effects that resonate in our conscious and mostly in our subconsious structures. Color is a distracting thing most of the time and should be treated and used as an extra element of composition. Addiction to color can be a dangerous thing; the photographers dependence on color is like the kid that always wants to put ketchup on every dish."

For more information, visit Floriuk's website.

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