Our Channel Islands – Photographs by Ernest Brooks

Our Channel Islands Photographs by Ernest H. Brooks II is an exhibition of 20 black and white fine-art photographs on mounted canvas selected from his 2002 book and exhibit, Silver Seas. These bold prints feature imagery from the Santa Barbara Channel Islands as well as Antarctica and the Arctic.

Brooks led great industry advances as he was a trailblazer in the development of underwater photographic equipment and technique. In pursuit of dramatic marine images, he descended into fascinating waters beneath the polar ice caps, into the depths surrounding the Santa Barbara Channel Islands, and almost every ocean on Earth. Fifteen of the prints in this exhibit feature underwater scenes in the Santa Barbara Channel – from the hypnotizing giant kelp to acrobatic sea lions and inquisitive seals. Images of glaciers and arctic tundras create a striking contrast, covering oceans around the globe. The vibrant prints in this exhibit capture two vastly different worlds.

Famed National Geographic underwater photographer David Doubilet, his former student, stated, “Brooks was truly the ‘Master of Light in the Sea’. The rich black and white images in Silver Seas are simply the most beautifully reproduced photographs ever made in the oceans – a rare composition of art and craftsmanship.”