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DEEP 2 UNDER THE ICE

Swedish photographer Johan Annerfelt is passionate about shooting under ice.

Text — Hanspeter Künzler Photos — Johan Annerfelt Date — 21 August, 2012

Aquatimer Deep Two

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Diving under ice is cold, dark, claustrophobic, and dangerous. The sport is a highly specialized variety of technical diving, known to true enthusiasts as “tech-diving”. Divers enter the water through a triangular hole, the sides of which are roughly one meter long. Under water, the temperature is just above freezing level. Vision and visibility are limited, and therefore safety measures have to be comprehensive. An attack of claustrophobia can be lethal, and must be trained to avoid.

One might wonder: why would any sane human being want to expose himself to such discomfort and danger? “That is exactly the point!” laughs Annerfelt. Diving under ice is part of his everyday life. “The world under the ice is completely different to anything else we know,” he says in reverential tones, “I cannot express how beautiful it is.” Also inspiring to Annerfelt in his passion is the sense of unity amongst the divers: “You have to rely on the friends you dive with. We are all very aware of how much everyone depends on everyone else.”

In the up coming issue of IWC’s WATCH INTERNATIONAL magazine, we invite you to read about Annerfelt’s risky passion, and to view the magnificent images resulting from Annerfelt’s shoot at The “Koster” wreck – situated about 2.5 KM from the coast of Sweden, at a depth of 32 meters, and entirely under ice.

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