Foreword by Alex Mustard / Introduction by Paul Nicklen
An immersive journey to witness a natural wonder—the underwater caves and cenotes of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, a destination very few divers have ever reached.
Shining a light on the Underworld (or Xibalba, as the Mayans called the center of their culture and mythology), these stunning images transport us into a place that few cave divers can reach—a world accessed from cenotes, water-filled gateways to labyrinths of tunnels that create the longest underwater cave systems on the planet.
Over several years and multiple diving expeditions, Martin Broen has captured more than 250 different cenotes and caves, diving through mazes of pitch-dark tunnels. Paired with images of startling otherworldly beauty, his engaging text guides readers through the depths of the mysterious Yucatán cenotes—from their formation and spectacular features to their time capsules of ancient fossils, from how cenotes were a source of life for ancient peoples to their critical environmental role today.
With contributions based on their own experiences in cenotes by Alex Mustard and Paul Nicklen, this volume beckons divers, cavers, and armchair explorers to explore a uniquely dangerous yet beautiful and essential underwater world.
Released in: September 17th 2024.
Order at Rizzoli: https://www.rizzoliusa.com/book/9780847830909/
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Rated Among Ten Best Photography Books of 2024 by the Smithsonian
These works are not just for casual readers—they are for those who seek to expand their horizons, enrich their lives, and connect with the world on a deeper level
Foreword by Doctor Alex Mustard:
GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY STRETCHES TIME. Still images capture moments, but we can explore those images at our own pace, revisiting the best work years and years after its creation. We can immerse ourselves in the atmosphere, return to study the details, and marvel at colors and compositions. Photographs transport us and give us time to reflect and develop a full emotional response. And this communication occurs in a visual language that everyone speaks. The groundbreaking imagery in Light in the Underworld is additionally captivating because these are scenes from our planet that more than 99.9 percent of people will never see. The Underworld of the Yucatán Peninsula is a place like no other, and it is laid out in these pages in Martin’s extraordinary photos, which reveal light, texture, and color. The Underworld is a place of contrasts, where light mixes with shadow, where life meets history, where water does not mix, where rocks are hard and delicate and porous and permanent, yet we also see how they can grow and flow. And remember that this Underworld is a place where humans can’t survive without life-supporting equipment, yet they are still drawn to explore. The photography in these pages goes far beyond simply recording the Underworld. Martin has not only gone underground and underwater to make these shots; he has also mastered both diving and photography techniques to a level that has allowed him to create unique artistic visions. His photography is driven by perfection, making his work especially revered by his peers, like me, who truly understand how difficult each of the images presented here was to produce. Even in the toughest conditions he won’t settle for an imprecise composition, a lighting setup that doesn’t reveal the desired atmosphere, or any lack of sharpness in a long exposure. This photographic collection is unique on so many levels. To begin, it simply couldn’t have been captured just a few years ago. Martin has used and then pushed the very latest cameras and optics to the limits of their technology to capture light in the darkness. Moreover, these images are packed with photographic innovation, as he has painted scenes with off-camera lighting, exploited lengthy exposures, photographed in infrared, and stitched panoramas to capture far more than any of us could see with our eyes. Achieving this feat on land would be impressive; doing so underwater and underground in an environment that is so challenging to visit is, frankly, incredible. But despite the beautiful imagery, this book reaches beyond the aesthetic. The Underworld may feel ancient and enduring, but time is very much of the essence for this delicate ecosystem. The Underworld is not a place of death but a giver of life. The waters of the cenotes sustain the second-largest tropical forest in the Americas, after the Amazon, and the tremendous biodiversity of life associated with it. They are also the main water supply for millions of people living in the Yucatán. But time and water are running out; water availability has been reduced by two-thirds in the last twenty years. Development, deforestation, and major projects like Tren Maya, an intercity railway, are crushing this unique landscape. Martin’s imagery has a timeless beauty, but these pages are also an important witness to what is at stake if we don’t change our relationship with the natural world.