Polish Photographs on the Cover of the National Geographic
Tomasz Stachura, a diver and photographer from Gdynia, has taken more than a thousand photos of the sunken wreck of the sixteenth-century Swedish warship Mars. A mosaic made of these photos features on the cover of the Swedish and German editions of the National Geographic monthly. It’s the third time that a photograph by a Polish photographer has appeared on the cover of this famous magazine.
The Mars was one of the largest and most powerful warships in the world 500 years ago. It was the pride of the fleet of the Kingdom of Sweden, until it was sunk in 1564 in a battle against the Danish fleet on the Baltic sea.
The ship’s wreck had been sought for many years until it was finally found 3 years ago near the east coast of the Swedish island of Oland. The wreck is quite well-preserved and lays at a depth of 72 meters. The divers found many coins and other antique items, so it seems that no one had ever found the wreck before.
Tomasz Stachura was a member of a crew consisting of some of the best divers in the world, who were hired to check the inventory of the wreck.
At the depth of 72 meters there is absolute darkness. It is only possible to see with the use of a flashlight, so the only way to depict the wreck in its entirety was to take many photos in order to compile a large mosaic. It took Polish graphic designer Rafał Stempczyński about 300 hours to create the final result out of more than 700 photos. It’s so detailed that even single coins laying on the ship’s side are visible.
However, the most interesting part is yet to come as the National Geographic has funded a project to digitally scan the entire surface of the wreck in order to make a 3D reconstruction of it next year.
It will allow everyone to see the wreck in its natural environment, at the bottom of the sea – says Stachura.
Source: Gazeta Wyborcza, National Geographic, ed. szm, December 2014
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