Guelph photographer Andrea Kozlovic was in South Africa shooting underwater marine life just two weeks before the pandemic hit.
Every year, she spends at least a month in Durban, freediving and capturing intimate photos of sea animals and ecosystems. Since returning to Guelph on March 5, she has been editing her latest collection of photos for her business Making Waves Photography.
Kozlovic became fascinated with sharks at the age of four, when she saw the movie Jaws for the first time. She later studied photography at Sheridan College with the goal of becoming a photojournalist and documenting events around the world.
She decided to combine her two passions, and became a certified scuba diver. Within two months of obtaining her license in 2015, she was diving with sharks in South Africa, whose waters are home to some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. But she says that underwater photography demands an entirely new skillset, and she was forced to learn by doing.
“It's very different from above water photography. There's a lot of additional factors aside from exposures … if the animals are going to show up that day, their position in the sun, and in the water column ... I'm learning something every time I pick up my camera down there,” she said.
Kozlovic describes her photography as ‘dramatic portraiture’ – photos that capture the beauty and fragility of sea life without masking the grim realities of environmental damage.
“I always try to show a personality or an interaction with a certain animal, rather than just a pretty picture becase I feel like they don’t show the whole story,” she said. “There's so many problems with shark fishing and plastic pollution … if there's a shark that has a lot of hooks [in it] or a broken jaw, I pay extra attention to that.”
Kozlovic is passionate about environmental conservation and she volunteers with the London, Ont., chapter of Sea Shepherd – an organization that seeks to protect ecosystems and species by investigating and exposing illegal sea activities. She is also an ambassador with One Ocean Diving in Hawaii, organizing beach cleanups and educational events while on her travels.
With scheduled shoots in the Bahamas cancelled due to COVID-19, Kozlovic was eager to continue taking photos in Guelph. Over the past few weeks, as people around the world marched in protest of police brutality and systemic racism, Kozlovic was inspired to attend and photograph the Guelph Black Lives Matter protest on June 6.
“I knew that I wanted to photograph it, but I wanted to ensure that I was being respectful,” she said. “I wanted to march too, so the photos were all captured while I was running backwards … I think I was able to capture the emotion and the feeling and the power of the event.”
The result is a series of mostly black and white images with colour added to important subjects and details. She took just two photos while standing still – one shows a group of people in front of the police station, as a kneeling black man led a chant of “No Justice, No Peace.” The other is a group of four people holding similar signs with bold white lettering that read “Black Lives Matter” and “Say Their Names.”
In her underwater photography, Kozlovic has to ensure the entire photo is in sharp focus and she adjusts the white balance and corrects the colours in a natural way. But with her protest photos, she decided to take a different approach.
“I really wanted the focus to be the main subject, because I felt that even having a soft background, it still didn’t quite show the feelings of those moments,” she said. “I really enjoy the effect of having that pop of colour.”
Kozlovic shared the photos on her Instagram page and with the Guelph Black Heritage Society, who organized Saturday’s peaceful protest.
While she says she likely won’t be able to make it back to South Africa this year, she plans to dive in Canada. She will continue advocating for environmental conservation and protection through her volunteer work and she hopes to photograph marine life off the coast of British Columbia and shipwrecks in the crystal-clear waters in Tobermory this summer.
“If there's anything we've learned this year, it's to be more aware of our actions and our words, whether they be directed at other people or the planet,” she said. “We’re at a point now where we really need to make some big changes moving forward.”
Prints of Kozlovic’s underwater photography are available for sale on her website, makingwavesphoto.com and on her Instagram page, @makingwavesphoto.
