Underwater France: Ria d'Etel (2nd edition)

The Ria d'Etel is a remarkable natural site, very popular with Bretons and many tourists in search of authentic landscapes and human activities.

This "little sea in the countryside" (Le Parisien, 03/15/19) is also a mecca for scuba diving, with many sites accessible from the shore. The flora and fauna are exceptionally rich and attract thousands of divers each year from the 230 clubs in Brittany and the Pays de la Loire.

One of them, photographer Daniel BLIN, has been diving there for 30 years. He now probably owns the largest underwater image bank in the Ria d'Etel, with more than 20,000 images.

A local natural heritage
Most books popularizing the underwater world convey a stereotypical image, between exotic photographs of the South Seas and emblematic animals such as dolphins, turtles, sharks, etc. We see that the younger generations are unaware of underwater diversity, beyond the fishmonger's stall. Even rarer are those who are aware of the biological diversity of their territory.

Yet it is their natural heritage, the one that should allow them to visualize more concretely the importance of their daily eco-citizen actions.

The desire to amaze
Scuba diving is not a water sport like any other. Paradoxically, while practitioners remain invisible once submerged in the water, they are probably the ones who give their discipline the most visibility by sharing their underwater photographs.

For those who are lucky enough to see them, at an exhibition, they marvel at the richness and variety of the species, their range of colors and even go so far as to doubt the actual location of the photo.

The need to raise awareness
A compilation of the most beautiful underwater images, selected based on their aesthetic quality, would have produced a beautiful photographic book. The project is quite different: to share the most beautiful shots, but to select those that help the reader better understand this little-known environment.

By diving regularly, season after season, on the same sites, the author was able to measure the life cycle of species, their development or decline as well as the impact of human activities.

The desire to transmit
To extend the discovery, a photo exhibition is planned for fall 2023. It will be accompanied by educational fact sheets and access to videos bringing the species featured in the photograph to life. The goal is to make them accessible to institutions in the district and to as many people as possible.

The contents of the book
The 156-page book includes nearly 115 underwater photographs taken over 30 years in the Ria d'Etel.

Each image is accompanied by a text that provides a more intimate or anecdotal interpretation of the author's relationship with photography. Some of them invite the reader to step into the shoes of the underwater photographer through an observation game. There are also videos accessible via a QR code.