Cold Northern Waters

While the majority of underwater photographers luxuriate in the warmth of tropical waters, Sue Scott has always specialised in the plants and animals that live in the much cooler northern waters around Scotland and further north.

Armed with a torch and flashgun, to bring out the natural colours suppressed in any depth of water, she has shown that these cold waters are surprisingly colourful and rich in biodiversity, much of which she has captured with her camera.

The gallery below shows just a small selection of her photographs ~ see also the special feature on Loch Carron for more of her photos of Scottish marine life.  Publishers are welcome to contact her here to discuss their requirements for publications.

Note that this website only allows us to display extremely low resolution images; all the photographs displayed are available either as 35mm transparencies or as high-quality digital images with a minimum size of 2GB.

All images copyright Sue Scott

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COMMON SUNSTAR (Crossaster papposus) One of the most attractive starfish found on sandy and stony seabeds, this can be almost the size of a dinner plate.	FLAMESHELL (Limaria hians) This striking bivalve usually lives hidden in a 'nest' of gravel and shell debris. In places the nests build up into a living reef, around which fish and other creatures live.
COD (Gadus morhua) One of the valuable commercial fish species that breed in sealochs and other sheltered inshore waters.	HERRING SHOAL (Clupea harengus)
BOTTLENOSED DOLPHIN (Tursiops truncatus) Often photographed from boats as they breach, or in clear blue tropical waters, it is much more difficult to photograph these animals underwater in Britain.	GREY SEAL (Halichoerus grypus) Scotland is home to around around 94% of the world population of this species, which is often curious and inspects divers underwater.
NEPHROPS PRAWN (Nephrops norvegicus) Also known as scampi, Norway lobster or Dublin Bay prawn, this species is a major commercial catch on the Scottish west coast, using traps called creels.	CRAYFISH (Palinurus elephas) Sometimes called 'crawfish', this is another commercially valuable species, much depleted because of overfishing.
DIVER WITH FIREWORKS ANEMONE (Pachycerianthus multiplicatus) This spectacular anemone stands up to 30cm tall, and is mainly restricted to Scottish sea lochs.	GREEN SEAWEED (Codium tomentosum) Seaweds like this provide shelter for young fish and a wide range of invertebrates in sealochs, estuaries and sheltered inshore waters.
DECORATOR CRAB One of a number of species that camouflage their shells with seaweeds and other life from the seabed around them.	WOLF-FISH (Anarhicus lupus) Very much animals of cold, northern seas, they use their strong jaws to crunch up urchins, crabs and various molluscs.