Holy Waters

Description

LOCATION:   Key Largo, Florida, USA

STORY:   Resting in 25 feet of water, the iconic Christ of the Abyss statue has been a Key Largo focal point since its placement in 1965.  While it is made of bronze and weighs 1100lbs, it is affixed to a 42,000lb concrete base, and attracts tens of thousand of divers and snorkelers per year to John Pennycamp Coral Reef State Park near the area called Dry Rocks.  The original bronze sculpture was by Italian Guido Galletti, and it’s two other castings lie underwater in Italy and Grenada.  Arguably, this one in Key Largo (technically titled, Christ of the Deep, not Christ of the Abyss, but no one calls it that) is the prettiest because of its surroundings.  The shallow, thriving, protected reef of John Pennycamp is alive with dense stony corals and gorgonians, and some of this has spread to the statue itself, adding a unique artistic flare.

I have visited and photographed this statue since I was a teenager, and watched it go through phases, as regulations ragarding cleaning living coral from it, as well as popular diver’ sentiment, have changed over the years.  There have been years when it was scrubbed clean, and photographically, that wasn’t very appealing to me.  Watching it year after year, I found a time with what I considered just the right amount of coral and sponge growth – just enough to enhance it’s beauty, but not so much that I couldn’t bring out the finer details in the fingers and face.  Snorkel at the Christ of the Abyss statue today, and you’ll find it more overgrown – not to the point where you can’t enjoy it, but more than I cared for in my shot.  When we say “it’s all about timing” in photography, we’re usually talking about a matter of minutes or seconds, but in this case, I studied it and took “practice shots” for over two decades, but didn’t try to create Holy Waters until I felt it was just right – not just with the coral growth, but also the water clarity, the light rays, and the surprisingly difficult-to-accomplish lack of snorkelers – perhaps a moment that will never exist again.

FINE ART PRINT:   Because of the Holy Waters‘ composition, we recommend it remain in (or very near) it’s original ratio of 3:2 horizontal.  Order standard sizes online here, or for a customization anywhere between 16’x24″ and 96″x150″, please contact our gallery design team, and we’ll begin with a Virtual Installation.  For a complimentary piece, consider the anchor photo, titled 1900, also from Florida, and also here in the Fish Faces Collection.

AWARDS:   Holy Waters was awarded the Gold Medal at 2025’s Exposure One Awards Black & White Nature Photography Contest.  It also received a 3rd Place award at the PhotoNow! Awards in 2013.