Narrator: The art of seeing is such an extraordinary sense.

♪♪ As photographers, the pictures we take are expressions of reality... ...painting with the light and the shadows.

We have come to re-envision the Caribbean islands.

♪♪ In the Bahamas, there is a world that few ever see.

But one photographer has the passion and audacity to expose this secret world of Bimini through his art.

♪♪ "Colors of the Islands."

Narrator: Nestled in the turquoise waters of the Atlantic Ocean is the Bahamas, a chain of more than 700 islands and keys.

♪♪ Their beauty and tropical vibe are well-known to tourists and world travelers.

But beneath the waves, a local photographer is showing us a new perspective on this ethereal world.

André Musgrove is an underwater photographer, and his images, they blow your mind.

They're underwater dreamscapes taken right out of the imagination.

So I feel like André's work, every image that he takes under the water is -- tells some sort of story.

He just makes it look so cinematic.

Damianos: He's not just an underwater photographer.

He's breaking the boundaries and taking you on a journey through the Bahamas, showing the beauty of the world under the ocean.

♪♪ Musgrove: I do anything involved with the ocean and underwater.

So whether that be free diving, holding my breath, going down to do an activity -- scuba diving, spearfishing, underwater photography, underwater videography.

Anything to do with the ocean and anything to do underwater, that's where you will find me, and that's what my life is based around.

I would describe the way I shoot as underwater creative.

It usually involves a person, and the person is a male or female in the marine environment or with a marine animal or animals interacting with them and just showing how they can coexist in the environment.

Lightbourne: His eye for things under the water just, like, will blow my mind.

Musgrove: I like to do that free diving, because free diving, for me, is, like, dear to me.

I think it's a lot cooler than scuba diving visually, and it shows what the human body is capable of doing by holding our breaths, going down 50, 60, 70, 80 feet or whatever, however deep you need to go.

Me and my team, we call him Aquaman because he's superhuman, right?

He -- He's a different person under the water.

Performing what you do need to underwater on a single breath and coming back up and doing it all over again, being able to capture humans in the ocean and seeing, like, how we can actually adapt and be a part of it, that's what I like to show in my photos.

And also showing people that we have a lot that we need to protect.

♪♪ And for what we need to execute here, I know I needed somebody who was comfortable in the water.

I needed somebody where I know they feel safe to actually do the things that we need to do underwater here.

Like, no-fin free diving, some shots maybe without a mask, diving down 20, 30 feet underwater with sharks.

So I invited my friend Sophia Pallavicini from Florida, and she's a skilled free diver.

She's a free diver instructor.

And I think he's pushing the boundaries when it comes to underwater photography and, you know, videography, as well.

And I think he has a vision that not a lot of people out there have.

His projects and his photos and the way he brings ideas to life, I think it's different because he brings in the whole element of even if someone has never dove ocean before, if someone's never even, you know, gone snorkeling before, he makes it relatable to them.

And he is also shooting in the Bahamas, which is very eye-catching.

And so, to bring in concepts that anyone in the world can kind of relate to, it's -- I think that that definitely sets him higher than a lot of people out there.

Narrator: For André's next shoot, he chose a location very familiar to him.

Musgrove: Bimini, Bahamas, is one of the Northern islands in the Bahamas, and it's one of my favorite places to come because there's a lot of variety of stuff you can shoot underwater in a close proximity.

And coming here, for me, was the best idea for this shoot because I have a support team here of people I worked with before, who I trust.

I have Duncan Brake, who is an amazing underwater cinematographer, who I know understands sharks.

He knows the waters around Bimini because this is where he lives, this is where he shoots.

Talented scuba diver, decent free diver.

And I know anything with Duncan, especially when it came to logistics, actually planning a shoot, having him a part of the conversation is very important.

And then it goes to a boat operator.

Neal Watson from Bimini Scuba Center.

For this particular shoot, I'm hoping to capture shipwrecks, dolphins, and sharks.

But with dolphins being wild animals, it still poses a difficulty, because you need to go out in the ocean and find them.

Narrator: André and Sophia meet the crew for their first photo project.

♪♪ Their first task -- find a pod of dolphins.

But that is easier said than done.

Musgrove: Bimini is known for their family of dolphins that travel around here.

They're wild dolphins.

That's very important to, like -- Wild dolphins is what I prefer to shoot.

♪♪ Narrator: All eyes are on the lookout.

♪♪ After several hours of scouring the waters, they spot their first dolphin.

♪♪ ♪♪ Musgrove: The Dolphins have to be able to accept us into their pod to be able to interact with them, spend time with them.

[ Dolphin squeaking ] Narrator: Time is of the essence.

André and Sophia know they only have a matter of minutes to get the shot before the dolphins could decide to move on.

[ Dolphin clicking ] ♪♪ Musgrove: Being able to be accepted into that family of dolphins, when you introduce yourself and basically saying, "Hey, I would like to be in your presence.

Would you allow me to coexist with you for these few minutes that we're here," sometimes the dolphins aren't into it, sometimes they're really into it and they want to interact with you, they're playing around with you, swimming with you, passing you things, and, like, that's what we're hoping to get.

Anything that I shoot underwater to show dolphins, like this is how dolphins can actually act.

[ Dolphin clicking ] So I think we actually got a pretty good photo.

It was a photo with the two dolphins down to the bottom, and you dove down to them.

And as you guys were coming up, I was able to get some separation between the two dolphins and you.

So it looked like you were part of their yin-yang, their group and their pod.

♪♪ And that's what I was looking for.

Pallavicini: It felt like it.

You felt it?

Yeah?

Yeah.

I think we got something.

I think it was worth it.

That was a lot of fun to do.

♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: For André's next photo, it will involve Sophia and André free diving to a newly-sunk shipwreck.

This will be André's first endeavor to photograph this new wreck.

Musgrove: Shipwrecks can be beautiful, because if you're in the right place, like the Bahamas, we're in shallow waters where lighting is good, weather is pretty okay most of the times, you can get a beautiful scene with a shipwreck, whether it be -- even if it's just broken, rusted pieces of metal.

There's something in that story, and, like, that's what I hope to tell.

We actually have something in free diving called visualizing the dive, where you break down each part of what you need to do in the water before you actually get in the water.

And you can do that while incorporating physical movements.

You need to be able to be adaptable and, at the same time, pretty concrete on what you actually need to do.

Musgrove: We're out here at the...this morning, and I really wanted to dive this wreck 'cause this wreck is one of the new shipwrecks here in the Bahamas and especially here in Bimini.

It was just sunk, like, a few months ago.

And the guys from Neal Watson, Bimini Scuba Center put it down.

And ever since I saw it go under the water, I wanted to actually photograph it, especially since it's really close to the hammerhead track site here in Bimini.

I've never really seen photos of hammerhead sharks and shipwrecks in the same frame.

You've been in the water here a few times before.

Yeah.

Like, anything, we should keep our eyes out for?

The proximity to the hammerhead site means that we might get some of those large predators rolling through, which will be pretty iconic.

And, Sophia, you have probably the most difficult job today, where I believe we're going to have you doing some no-fin free diving, so no-finning down.

The top of the wreck is, like, around 25.

To the sand is like 50 feet.

Once I get an idea of, like, what looks good, I'll know where to put you and when you should wear fins and no fins today.

We're gonna work with what we got.

Yeah.

We're up for the challenge.

Let's get suited up and then get wet.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Camera shutter clicks ] ♪♪ [ Camera shutter clicks ] ♪♪ [ Camera shutter clicks ] [ Camera shutter clicking ] ♪♪ Musgrove: After each dive, we're fine-tuning things that we would change.

The first time, obviously, would be the most rusty, but after that, it's, "Okay, all you have to do is change this little thing," and be like that, where we get to the point where it's perfect.

From there, we let the wildlife do the rest.

♪♪ [ Camera shutter clicks ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ So when it comes to what I do and underwater photography, there's a lot of components involved, and it starts with your tools.

And it's not just the tools that's in your hand.

It's you.

You are a tool, especially for free diving.

And that's how I treat my lifestyle and what I do.

So my body is a tool that I need to be able to perform to actually execute the concepts I want to do.

That comes with being fit, being healthy, making sure I'm flexible, making sure that I can hold my breath long enough for me to actually do what I need to do.

And that also goes to what equipment I have on.

So whether it be a wet suit, fins, mask, making sure everything is dialed in where it doesn't feel like a foreign object on me when I'm diving, it just feels like a second skin, where I'm eliminating the things that are distracting me from my goal of being in the water and whatever I'm doing.

The camera is an extension of my arm, an extension of my creativity, and this is how I can actually show people what's in my head, but by pressing a button.

♪♪ ♪♪ So Bimini is famous for the hammerhead sharks because this is where they come to congregate at certain times of year.

What I'm going for is hopefully a shot with, like, a hammerhead going overhead of you, with you kneeling down in the sand.

If that doesn't work, we can try some where you're coming up the bait line with the hammerhead, swimming with it.

The hammerhead shark site here is literally like five minutes off from shore, which is, I think, crazy, to have one of the world's best dive sites a stone's throw away.

The nurse sharks are already here.

The hammerhead may actually show up.

But we have the tide shifting and a lot of green water coming out the channel right now, which we're literally watching it come in.

And that means we only have like 20 minutes max in the water before that actually happens and the viz is gone.

But, really, I'd be happy if we get anything here, because we only have a few minutes before the green wall of death comes through.

I can see it coming now, so maybe we should just, like, wrap this up and get in the water.

Yeah.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Musgrove: I enjoy shooting with sharks because there's a danger factor to it.

Especially for your average person or average viewer, they see sharks, they see "Jaws," they see sharks, they see a man-killing monster machine, and that's not what it is.

And that's what I hope to show people through the photo.

♪♪ Narrator: Photographing with wild sharks can be extremely unpredictable.

André and Sofia will free dive over 15 times before the end of their photo session.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Up to now, it has been a difficult shoot, and the team is running out of time.

The green wall of water from the port is almost to their dive site.

André and Sophia make their way to the surface.

The shoot is over.

Wow.

That got sketchy.

That got really sketchy really fast.

Did you guys see that bull shark come flying in with the green wall?

It was literally just right on the edge, coming in slowly.

So as I said before, we only had a few minutes in the water.

That was a bit sketchy to the end.

Yeah.

I just started to see you literally just fade away.

And I was just like, "Okay, I can't see Duncan."

I went down, tapped your shoulder.

I was like, "Hey, let's get out.

It doesn't make any sense."

Duncan was like, "Where's the boat?"

Yeah.

"That way!"

I'm just glad you guys called it because I wasn't having a good time down there.

Yeah.

I could tell.

When I start to lose you, I can tell, so... ♪♪ Narrator: For his final photograph, André has chosen one of Bimini's most iconic sites.

Musgrove: So the SS Sapona is one of the most famous shipwrecks here in the world and definitely in the Bahamas because most of it is actually out of the water.

It's an old concrete ship, and I've been shooting there a few times before, but there's a concept that I still haven't done there yet, and I hope to do that on this trip.

Narrator: The ship sits in about 15 feet of water, but it is a strikingly iconic wreck because it is only half submerged.

Musgrove: There's a lot of textures on the ship.

Like, there's a lot of pieces that are broken after different hurricanes.

Narrator: The SS Sapona was built during World War I.

She was made out of concrete because steel was hard to come by at the time.

She wasn't finished until after the war ended and, as a result, was sold for scraps to a famous Miami Beach developer who turned the ship into a casino before eventually being used in Bimini to hold liquor during prohibition.

She ran aground during a hurricane in the 1920s and later was used for bombing practice by the U.S. military.

It is said that the famous Flight 19, which disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle in 1945, targeted the ship on their practice bombing run before disappearing.

Thereafter, all bombing missions to the Sapona were ceased.

Musgrove: I'm thinking you're going to be doing no-fin free diving with your circular mask that looks kind of vintage, white one-piece suit, no fins.

And we actually should be able to execute it fairly easy.

We're not really working with any wildlife here.

There is wildlife that might swim past.

If we get some nice schools of tropical fish like the grunts and the snappers that are on the stern pass by, that would be really good, but we don't need it.

The shot is more so about the shipwreck and the lines and basically kind of just telling the story of the shipwreck that's been here for so long, all the broken pieces.

It's a concrete ship.

It's really rare.

It's a really rare shipwreck.

And seeing what else -- We might find something else there, too.

I know the propellers are a really cool, like, focus point.

May shoot some stuff there, may not, depending on how it looks.

But I'm excited to get in the water 'cause we got conditions that I was praying for.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Hang up on you quick, then you text back ♪ ♪ Such a crazy love, I don't get that ♪ ♪ Can we flip the page to the next chapter?

♪ ♪ Tell me what you want from me ♪ Well, the free diver in the photo or the video is the person that's connecting the viewer to seeing a human underwater ♪ Standing in the mirror ♪ ♪ Talking to yourself ♪ It's a weird thing when it comes to underwater photography because it changes, and you have to be able to change.

And that's a part of what goes through my mind whenever I'm preparing for something, is you have an idea in mind that you really want to do and you may want to really want to do it this way, but there's always that potential that it will change completely.

And you have to be okay with that, because if you're not and you don't actually prepare for it, then you just reach a wall and you don't do anything.

And I never really want to get to that point.

♪♪ The colors are just amazing on the wreck.

So that's something I really want to capture, is the colors from the coral that's on the shipwreck.

So that's why I was just like, "Mm, maybe we should try to swim around and see what else we find."

♪ Take it for another round ♪ ♪ Back up in this bed ♪ ♪ We keep going up and down ♪ ♪ I knew this would have happened if I called you ♪ ♪ You know this would have happened if I saw you ♪ ♪ Now here we go again ♪ ♪ Right back where we started now ♪ ♪ Illusion ♪ ♪ We're living in confusion ♪ ♪ Confusion ♪ ♪ Illusion ♪ ♪ Living in confusion ♪ ♪ You're saying you done, yeah, you done with me ♪ ♪ That body still calling for me ♪ ♪ Illusion ♪ ♪ Living in confusion ♪ ♪♪ ♪ We know, we know ♪ The visibility under the water is absolutely incredible.

And I can't wait to bring the colors back from the raw file, where the wall just looks super tall from the ship-- from the base of the shipwreck, like, underneath the ship, going to the surface.

And even out of the water, you can see the rest of the shipwreck that's out of the water.

And having you there kind of, like, as a human perspective, so small, really shows the magnitude of the shipwreck.

♪♪ My passion for the ocean and underwater started from when I was like 8 years old.

And that's what kind of encouraged me to pick up a camera.

I wanted to pick up a camera to show people this is what's down there, this is what I'm experiencing, this is what you're missing out on, and just to try to get people to see what's actually down there, especially Bahamians, since many Bahamians don't know how to swim.

Just the things that he captures underwater are so majestic.

And it has this quality of royalty and this etherealness that nobody else can capture like André.

♪♪ Narrator: In the end, André's creative gives us a glimpse into a world we still don't fully understand, a world beneath the waves.

But what is apparent is how important this unknown world is to our planet.

André's work paints the oceans in a way that connects man with the sea, and it's a connection that will continue to inspire André well into the future.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Hang up on you quick, then you text back ♪ ♪ Such a crazy love, I don't get that ♪ ♪ Can we flip the page to the next chapter?

♪ ♪ Tell me what you want from me ♪ ♪ Been doing this too long ♪ ♪ Quit looking through my phone ♪ ♪ Your insecurities... ♪ ♪ Standing in the mirror ♪ ♪ Talking to yourself ♪