Stromatolites are the oldest living fossils on Earth, dating back 3.5 billion years. They were thought to be long extinct until discovered in Shark Bay, Australia in 1959. More recently they have been discovered in a few other places including the Exumas. They are significant as they are believed to be one of the first organisms to create oxygen on earth by means of photosynthesis. My goal was to show their beauty and size by using my drone and a swimmer for scale.

I scouted the Stromatolites from the air to find the most interesting area to shoot, before the swimmer entered the water. The formations look best in bright sunlight and the tide had to be timed perfectly so the Stromatolites were just above the surface, with the waves gently washing over them. So a few very important variables had to fall in place to make it a successful capture.