Kelp rockfish (Sebastes atrovirens) weave through a tangle of sunbeams and feather boa kelp (Egregia menziesii), at home in the surreal shallows of the underwater forest. 2020. Carmel, CA, USA

Purple urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) chew on a blade of kelp that fell from the canopy above, sharing the spoils with a red urchin and sneaky snail. 2021. Carmel, CA, USA

Caught in the sun's blinding light, a Brandt's cormorant (Urile penicillatus) dives through the kelp forest in search of a fishy lunch. 2022. Monterey, CA, USA

A green bed of surfgrass (Phyllospadix sp.), a blue band of seawater, and a yellow canopy of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) form the colorful striations of sunlit shallows. 2018. Carmel, CA, USA

An inquisitive monkeyface prickleback (Cebidichthys violaceus) peeks out of a hole in a derelict undersea pipe. 2018. Monterey, CA, USA

A thick crop of net-of-cords kelp (Dictyoneurum californicum) whips in the surge of a shallow washrock. 2021. Carmel, CA, USA

A bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) reaches for a trickle of clouded sunlight under the canopy of its overarching rival, giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera). 2020. Carmel, CA, USA

Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) forms the arches of the kelp forest canopy. 2018. Carmel, CA, USA

A small swarm of hungry purple urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) gnaw on the remaining holdfast of a giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera). 2019. Carmel, CA, USA

Rising from the dark depths of the sea, a young bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) reaches up toward the bright light that filters down from the surface. 2019. Carmel, CA, USA.

A shoal of blue rockfish (Sebastes mystinus) floats through the misty green murk as sunbeams pierce the algal canopy above them. 2020. Carmel, CA, USA

Southern stiff-stiped kelps (Laminaria setchellii) ride out the waves at the edge of the intertidal zone. The shallow violence of this washrock is too much for the forest's titans to handle, allowing these algal underdogs to seize all the sun for themselves. 2021. Carmel, CA, USA

A southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) glides through the kelp forest in search of a salted snack. 2021. Carmel, CA, USA

An ochre sea star (Pisaster ochraceus) feasts on California mussels (Mytilus californianus) below a breaking swell. 2019. Monterey, CA, USA

A young bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) dances in the watery surges of the depths. 2018. Carmel, CA, USA

Hanging high above the benthos, a lone purple urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) clings to a stipe of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) as it swings in the surge. Its spiky brethren coat the reefscape below, a swath of purple in the dappled shade of a dense canopy. 2020. Carmel, CA, USA

In a blaze of bubbles, a Brandt's cormorant (Urile penicillatus) rips through a shoal of panicked pile perch (Rhacochilus vacca). The bird's torpedo strike was lightning fast, but still not quick enough; the fish sensed its attack and instantly dove into an evasive maneuver, successfully dodging the charge. 2021. Monterey, CA, USA

Submerged in candy-blue crystalline water, golden towers of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) reach up toward the sun and blanket the surface of the sea. 2020. Carmel, CA, USA

A Pacific sea nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens) escapes a storm of Blacksmith damselfish (Chromis punctipinnis) that took bites from its billowy oral arms. 2020. Monterey, CA, USA

A throng of hungry purple urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) piles on a giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) at the line between barren and forest. 2019. Carmel, CA, USA

Perched atop a floating log, a great blue heron (Ardea herodias) scans the canopy for piscine prey. 2021. Carmel, CA, USA

The colors of a shallow kelp forest glow on a cloudy day. 2019. Carmel, CA, USA

Sweeping the sand with its beak, a Brandt's cormorant (Urile penicillatus) scours the sanddollar-studded shallows for a fishy morsel. 2018. Monterey, CA, USA

The flowing blades of a bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) whip below the surface as a swell rolls over it. 2020. Monterey, CA, USA