The Radiant Sea: Color and Light In the Underwater World

A Top Ten Photography Book of 2025 from Smithsonian Magazine + Wall Street Journal 2025 Holiday Pick! 

Breathtaking displays of color and light from an array of ocean life forms, with vivid photography and insightful text about the science of transparency, bioluminescence, and fluorescence

Deep in the ocean, a myriad of creatures, including jellyfish, coral, shrimp, sharks, squid, lantern fish, anglerfish, sea fireflies, and fireworms use multi-colored lights for defense, luring food, attracting mates, and communication.

The Radiant Sea presents an exciting new perspective on the mysterious environment that accounts for 99 percent of the habitable space on Earth but remains hidden to the casual observer. Two of the world’s leading researchers explore the nature of underwater light, investigating the varieties of transparency, pigmentation, iridescence, bioluminescence, and fluorescence.

Based on the latest available research, they examine the need for―and likely function of―color and light shows among marine species. Each luminous wonder is described with informative captions and colorfully represented by the finest nature photography.

Steven Haddock studies marine diversity, molecular biology, and bioluminescence at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and the University of California, Santa Cruz. Documenting creatures in the deep sea and capturing their luminescent displays, many for the first time, he aims to increase an appreciation and understanding of the ocean’s inhabitants. His imagery and research have been featured in National Geographic, the New York Times, and BBC documentaries, among many others. His other books include the manual Scientific Blue-water Diving and the textbook Practical Computing for Biologists. Sönke Johnsen first trained in math and art and has studied light in nature for 33 years, the last 22 of which have been at Duke University. He is particularly interested in vision, signaling, and camouflage in the open sea. His field work primarily involves open-ocean research cruises that use scuba and deep sea manned and robotic submersibles. Johnsen’s research has been featured in the movie Finding Nemo, the Magic Tree House book series, the poetry of John Updike, and the humor of Dave Barry. Helen Scales is a marine biologist, acclaimed author, and broadcaster. Her books, including The Brilliant Abyss and the Baillie Gifford longlisted What the Wild Sea Can Be, have been adapted for stage and screen and translated into 15 languages. Among her books for young readers are the global bestseller What a Shell Can Tell and Scientists in the Wild, Antarctica, which was shortlisted for the Children’s Travel Book of the Year 2025. Scales teaches at Cambridge University and is a storytelling ambassador for the Save Our Seas Foundation. She divides her time between Cambridge, England, and the French Atlantic coast.